Fishing - The one that "got away" today 9-04

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The one that "got away" today 9-04

Place: Lake Hodges CA
Bait: Yamamoto Fat Ika ~pumpkin color~

----

Why did I not have my net with me?
Because I AM AN IDIOT!

Just a very faint "tap" "tap"...set the hook!...
OMG, she rolled up to my kayak quickly and my adrenaline went off the
charts.
I knew she was "fresh" and kind of in a daze so I wanted to grab her lip
quick before she woke up.
NOPE! The hook pulled off the jaw and grabbing her slippery tail was of
no use.

This was my personal best. Big black/grey back, super wide mouth and
body. I have caught 9 and 10 pounders in there and this bass had them
beat by at least 4 pounds.

WOW!

Now, my net will be near me at ALL TIMES!!!
Fall is my best time for big bass.

This one broke my heart.

--
~~SHRED

And you will never forget it either I bet.

A few years back I was fishing early summer morning, lake was like glass at
my 4 a.m launch, I cast a Heddon Lucky 13 towards a huge tree standing in
the water, I popped it once and let it sit, It got slurped under and I set
the hook with a quick wrist snap. Then the fun began, this fish took off,
then launched itself way out of the water landing with a thunderous splash,
Like you my blood started pumping, two more jumps as it peeled drag, then
gone. It was a huge fish, could have easily been 7 + but I'll never know for
sure. A bit later Dave showed up and I trolled over to him at the shore, I
told him about the fish I lost and he says "What happened to your popper? I
look over at it and realize one of the hooks on the rear treble was
straightened. Just made me even sicker. You never forget the big ones lost

"SHRED" wrote in message
news:ODLSe.74027$DW1.17363@fed1read06...
Place: Lake Hodges CA
Bait: Yamamoto Fat Ika ~pumpkin color~

----

Why did I not have my net with me?
Because I AM AN IDIOT!

Just a very faint "tap" "tap"...set the hook!...
OMG, she rolled up to my kayak quickly and my adrenaline went off the
charts.
I knew she was "fresh" and kind of in a daze so I wanted to grab her lip
quick before she woke up.
NOPE! The hook pulled off the jaw and grabbing her slippery tail was of no
use.

This was my personal best. Big black/grey back, super wide mouth and body.
I have caught 9 and 10 pounders in there and this bass had them beat by at
least 4 pounds.

WOW!

Now, my net will be near me at ALL TIMES!!!
Fall is my best time for big bass.

This one broke my heart.

--
~~SHRED

alwaysfishking wrote:
And you will never forget it either I bet.

A few years back I was fishing early summer morning, lake was like glass at
my 4 a.m launch, I cast a Heddon Lucky 13 towards a huge tree standing in
the water, I popped it once and let it sit, It got slurped under and I set
the hook with a quick wrist snap. Then the fun began, this fish took off,
then launched itself way out of the water landing with a thunderous splash,
Like you my blood started pumping, two more jumps as it peeled drag, then
gone. It was a huge fish, could have easily been 7 + but I'll never know for
sure. A bit later Dave showed up and I trolled over to him at the shore, I
told him about the fish I lost and he says "What happened to your popper? I
look over at it and realize one of the hooks on the rear treble was
straightened. Just made me even sicker. You never forget the big ones lost

Great story. We will never forget.
I almost always land big bass with no problem but now I am going to
bring my net!

"SHRED" wrote in message
news:ODLSe.74027$DW1.17363@fed1read06...

Place: Lake Hodges CA
Bait: Yamamoto Fat Ika ~pumpkin color~

----

Why did I not have my net with me?
Because I AM AN IDIOT!

Just a very faint "tap" "tap"...set the hook!...
OMG, she rolled up to my kayak quickly and my adrenaline went off the
charts.
I knew she was "fresh" and kind of in a daze so I wanted to grab her lip
quick before she woke up.
NOPE! The hook pulled off the jaw and grabbing her slippery tail was of no
use.

This was my personal best. Big black/grey back, super wide mouth and body.
I have caught 9 and 10 pounders in there and this bass had them beat by at
least 4 pounds.

WOW!

Now, my net will be near me at ALL TIMES!!!
Fall is my best time for big bass.

This one broke my heart.

--
~~SHRED

Congratulations, Randy! You've got a gift; again, I urge you to not quell
it. A detailed trip report, dutifully logged, would have just ruined that
tale. In which case, your story might have come across something like this:

"June 12, 2001, Location: Pond X. Surface temp 63 degrees F. Humidity:77%.
Pressu30.22 in.
Dew Point:57°F, Air temp at launch (4:12 A.M.) 54°F. Sky: clear. Wind: SSW
0-3 MPH. Water: stained, vis to 18 inches. 1 bass hooked and got off at
4:49, near standing timber, on Heddon Lucky 13, Frog pattern. (Note:
estimate weight at more than 5 pounds.... Straightened hook.")

In its logless state, your fish story is alive and growing with each
retelling, as your bass continues bulking up on crayfish, bugs, squirrels,
ducklings, and smaller fish. It's already 7+ pounds after just a few years.
Stay the course, and it will someday challenge George Perry's record.

And, in accord with the Fisherman's Code, we will accept every word as
gospel, even if the story grows with each hearing.

By the way... Your straightened hook is a nich touch. I often overlook
reasons for escape in my own stories. Most of my bass wrap around roots and
break off. Looking back, I feel sure hook-straightening must have happened
several times. Look for it to appear in upcoming memoirs.

Other suggestions: Species of tree? I lean toward American Buckthorn.... so
unfamiliar to most readers that they accept it unconditionally. Check to see
if your area is within its range, and if not substitute Bow d'Arc, or maybe
Mulberry. Important for establishing credibility. Lure pattern? Frog is the
finish of choice for story telling, in case you're wondering. It gives a
nice "Field & Stream circa 1954" glow to the accounting. Garb? A worn
t-shirt, well-broken in Levis, and your lucky Dodgers cap will achieve a
similar affect. (Al singlehandedly killed the flannel shirt motif here at
ROFB, along with his "peaked cap."). I liked the wrist snap. Peeling drag,
and pumping blood were also very good. Add more exclamations and sound
effects. "Thunderous splash" was nice, but "fell back in the water with a
boom and crash, like dropping a pumpkin in the well" puts the reader right
there in the boat with you.

Yep, mighty good story. Reminds me of the old mossy-back bucketmouth I took
back in the fall of '87, off a beaver-dammed slough off the Tallahatchie
River.... With my trusty Beastmaster rod in hand, and my round, red reel
spooled up with 17-pound bargain-bin mono, I'd already fished spinnerbaits
and worms three hours without a bite in the Coldwater Bottoms near I-65. An
elderly bream fisherman sitting on the bank remarked his boy had taken some
nice fish on plastic worms in flooded timber the other day, so I loaded up
and drove to this nearby honey hole....

Joe
----------------------------------------
"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...

And you will never forget it either I bet.

A few years back I was fishing early summer morning, lake was like glass at
my 4 a.m launch, I cast a Heddon Lucky 13 towards a huge tree standing in
the water, I popped it once and let it sit, It got slurped under and I set
the hook with a quick wrist snap. Then the fun began, this fish took off,
then launched itself way out of the water landing with a thunderous splash,
Like you my blood started pumping, two more jumps as it peeled drag, then
gone. It was a huge fish, could have easily been 7 + but I'll never know for
sure. A bit later Dave showed up and I trolled over to him at the shore, I
told him about the fish I lost and he says "What happened to your popper? I
look over at it and realize one of the hooks on the rear treble was
straightened. Just made me even sicker. You never forget the big ones lost

"SHRED" wrote in message
news:ODLSe.74027$DW1.17363@fed1read06...
Place: Lake Hodges CA
Bait: Yamamoto Fat Ika ~pumpkin color~

----

Why did I not have my net with me?
Because I AM AN IDIOT!

Just a very faint "tap" "tap"...set the hook!...
OMG, she rolled up to my kayak quickly and my adrenaline went off the
charts.
I knew she was "fresh" and kind of in a daze so I wanted to grab her lip
quick before she woke up.
NOPE! The hook pulled off the jaw and grabbing her slippery tail was of no
use.

This was my personal best. Big black/grey back, super wide mouth and body.
I have caught 9 and 10 pounders in there and this bass had them beat by at
least 4 pounds.

WOW!

Now, my net will be near me at ALL TIMES!!!
Fall is my best time for big bass.

This one broke my heart.

--
~~SHRED

Hi John...good to hear from you.

I look for your son when I am in Henry's. Just want to say hi and throw
a few fish stories around. He must work in an office there now because I
don't see him on the floor.

How many times does it have to be said? Joe, you have some ability there as
a storyteller! Stephen King has made millions doing what you do naturally.

Don't waste your talent!

(And as your bass guide/writing critic/proof reader... I'll only stake a 25%
commission of the earnings)

"Joe Haubenreich" (removethis)swljoe-at-secretweaponlures.com wrote in
message ...
Congratulations, Randy! You've got a gift; again, I urge you to not quell
it. A detailed trip report, dutifully logged, would have just ruined that
tale. In which case, your story might have come across something like
this: