Sad Story

This morning I was tossing and turning around 4 am so I got up and went to a
park near my home to get a line wet. I got there and all rigged up around 5
am . Either way I threw on a green popper and thought i'd see if he lunker
bass really do come out at night(or when dark) I tossed it along side some
sort of concrete structure for drainage and I could barely see a large swirl
where I thought my popper was sitting. I lifted the rod up a tad and sure
enough there was tension on the line, allot of it. My poor 6wt was doubled
over...I swear the tip was dang near parallel with the mid section of the
rod. I fought this fish for probably 10-15 minutes...he kept making short
runs. I thought I had Orca the killer bass for sure. he was still pulling
pretty hard, so I held on with one hand and got my camera ready with the
other so I could do a quick photo and toss him back in the water. I finally
got him close to the bank and to my dismay it was a huge catfish that took my
popper. I honesty can't guestimate his size, but he was probably the biggest
fish I ever had on.

Well here comes the sad part. I had him at the bank which was about 6 inches
high, and I knew the bottom of the pond was muck, so being the stupid idiot I
am, I tried to horse him onto the bank by the leader...i'm sure you can guess
what happened.....early the other day I added some tippet..and guess where my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this leads
me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers before,
even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

I use a surgens knot. I have recently learned how to tie a blood knot since
I am tying my own non-trout leaders. Last night I tied tippet on for the
first time using the blood knot. It's not bad to tie. I'll see how it goes
for me.

wayne



"Tim Apple" wrote in message
al.net...
This morning I was tossing and turning around 4 am so I got up and went to
a
park near my home to get a line wet. I got there and all rigged up around
5
am . Either way I threw on a green popper and thought i'd see if he
lunker
bass really do come out at night(or when dark) I tossed it along side some
sort of concrete structure for drainage and I could barely see a large
swirl
where I thought my popper was sitting. I lifted the rod up a tad and sure
enough there was tension on the line, allot of it. My poor 6wt was doubled
over...I swear the tip was dang near parallel with the mid section of the
rod. I fought this fish for probably 10-15 minutes...he kept making short
runs. I thought I had Orca the killer bass for sure. he was still pulling
pretty hard, so I held on with one hand and got my camera ready with the
other so I could do a quick photo and toss him back in the water. I
finally
got him close to the bank and to my dismay it was a huge catfish that took
my
popper. I honesty can't guestimate his size, but he was probably the
biggest
fish I ever had on.

Well here comes the sad part. I had him at the bank which was about 6
inches
high, and I knew the bottom of the pond was muck, so being the stupid
idiot I
am, I tried to horse him onto the bank by the leader...i'm sure you can
guess
what happened.....early the other day I added some tippet..and guess where
my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this
leads
me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers
before,
even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

I use a surgens knot. I have recently learned how to tie a blood knot since
I am tying my own non-trout leaders. Last night I tied tippet on for the
first time using the blood knot. It's not bad to tie. I'll see how it goes
for me.

wayne



"Tim Apple" wrote in message
al.net...
This morning I was tossing and turning around 4 am so I got up and went to
a
park near my home to get a line wet. I got there and all rigged up around
5
am . Either way I threw on a green popper and thought i'd see if he
lunker
bass really do come out at night(or when dark) I tossed it along side some
sort of concrete structure for drainage and I could barely see a large
swirl
where I thought my popper was sitting. I lifted the rod up a tad and sure
enough there was tension on the line, allot of it. My poor 6wt was doubled
over...I swear the tip was dang near parallel with the mid section of the
rod. I fought this fish for probably 10-15 minutes...he kept making short
runs. I thought I had Orca the killer bass for sure. he was still pulling
pretty hard, so I held on with one hand and got my camera ready with the
other so I could do a quick photo and toss him back in the water. I
finally
got him close to the bank and to my dismay it was a huge catfish that took
my
popper. I honesty can't guestimate his size, but he was probably the
biggest
fish I ever had on.

Well here comes the sad part. I had him at the bank which was about 6
inches
high, and I knew the bottom of the pond was muck, so being the stupid
idiot I
am, I tried to horse him onto the bank by the leader...i'm sure you can
guess
what happened.....early the other day I added some tippet..and guess where
my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this
leads
me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers
before,
even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

Either improved clinch or Lefty's loop.

Yeah, once. Couple times on a grasshopper.


"Wayne P" wrote in message
...
I use a surgens knot. I have recently learned how to tie a blood knot
since
I am tying my own non-trout leaders. Last night I tied tippet on for the
first time using the blood knot. It's not bad to tie. I'll see how it goes
for me.

wayne



"Tim Apple" wrote in message
al.net...
This morning I was tossing and turning around 4 am so I got up and went
to
a
park near my home to get a line wet. I got there and all rigged up
around
5
am . Either way I threw on a green popper and thought i'd see if he
lunker
bass really do come out at night(or when dark) I tossed it along side
some
sort of concrete structure for drainage and I could barely see a large
swirl
where I thought my popper was sitting. I lifted the rod up a tad and
sure
enough there was tension on the line, allot of it. My poor 6wt was
doubled
over...I swear the tip was dang near parallel with the mid section of
the
rod. I fought this fish for probably 10-15 minutes...he kept making
short
runs. I thought I had Orca the killer bass for sure. he was still
pulling
pretty hard, so I held on with one hand and got my camera ready with the
other so I could do a quick photo and toss him back in the water. I
finally
got him close to the bank and to my dismay it was a huge catfish that
took
my
popper. I honesty can't guestimate his size, but he was probably the
biggest
fish I ever had on.

Well here comes the sad part. I had him at the bank which was about 6
inches
high, and I knew the bottom of the pond was muck, so being the stupid
idiot I
am, I tried to horse him onto the bank by the leader...i'm sure you can
guess
what happened.....early the other day I added some tippet..and guess
where
my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause
I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this
leads
me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers
before,
even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from
one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

Either improved clinch or Lefty's loop.

Yeah, once. Couple times on a grasshopper.


"Wayne P" wrote in message
...
I use a surgens knot. I have recently learned how to tie a blood knot
since
I am tying my own non-trout leaders. Last night I tied tippet on for the
first time using the blood knot. It's not bad to tie. I'll see how it goes
for me.

wayne



"Tim Apple" wrote in message
al.net...
This morning I was tossing and turning around 4 am so I got up and went
to
a
park near my home to get a line wet. I got there and all rigged up
around
5
am . Either way I threw on a green popper and thought i'd see if he
lunker
bass really do come out at night(or when dark) I tossed it along side
some
sort of concrete structure for drainage and I could barely see a large
swirl
where I thought my popper was sitting. I lifted the rod up a tad and
sure
enough there was tension on the line, allot of it. My poor 6wt was
doubled
over...I swear the tip was dang near parallel with the mid section of
the
rod. I fought this fish for probably 10-15 minutes...he kept making
short
runs. I thought I had Orca the killer bass for sure. he was still
pulling
pretty hard, so I held on with one hand and got my camera ready with the
other so I could do a quick photo and toss him back in the water. I
finally
got him close to the bank and to my dismay it was a huge catfish that
took
my
popper. I honesty can't guestimate his size, but he was probably the
biggest
fish I ever had on.

Well here comes the sad part. I had him at the bank which was about 6
inches
high, and I knew the bottom of the pond was muck, so being the stupid
idiot I
am, I tried to horse him onto the bank by the leader...i'm sure you can
guess
what happened.....early the other day I added some tippet..and guess
where
my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause
I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this
leads
me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers
before,
even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from
one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

Tis a sad but all too familiar story Tim relates then asks

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?
Clinch knot but why do you ask? Are you guessing that a "better" knot
wouild not have broken when you horsed your cat up over the bank?

Here is a test for you to answer your questions. Tie on the same length of
tippet, same weight and in exactly the same manner as you had on when you
had the cat on your bug. Then tie the end of a tippet to a strong hook. If
your cat was a 10 pounder, get a 10# bag of potatoes and hook it. (15 # cat
= 15 # potatoes, etc.). Now find a place in your yard or nearby that has
the same structure as your bank and try to drag the potatoes out in the same
manner as your cat and see if something breaks.

There are only two options. 1. Something breaks or 2. Nothing breaks. As
you compare this test and re-think in your mind what happened with your cat,
you may find the answer as why it broke where it did. Let us know what you
decide.

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper?
Yes but not many cruizing cats and only 2-3 times when I specifically
targeted cats via popping bug. Those were around Easter on a lake in
Northern California when thumb-sized lime green frogs hatched during catfish
spawning. About the only place I can recall catching cats on popping bugs
was when catalpa worms were dropping into the water. And anybody can catch
anything in a place like that LOL!

Several years ago I was fishing from the high bank of a big gravel pit when
I saw a pod of 3-4 about 5 to 10 pound cats cruizing the edge. I ambushed
them with 4 or 5 different popping bug patterns for a hour or so and could
not get a single take.

Congratulations on your cat. Good Luck!
John

Tim wrote:snip.early the other day I added some tippet..and guess where my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this leads

me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers before,

even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

I seldom catch large fish at that park and I have been fishing it since it was
part of the old TI Rod and Gun Club when I joined it back in 1966. For knots I
use the triple surgeon's knot, but I don't trust it either.

Catfish in this area seldom feed off the surface other than around dawn or dusk
and not all that often then. About the only other time is those years when
there is an invasion of HUGE grasshoppers. Every few years there are reports
of channel cats weighing up 10 pounds working huge hoppers on the surface. The
newspaper reported one caught on a fly rod weighing 10 pounds a couple of years
ago, I think it was on Ceder Creek Lake. These are BIG DAMN HOPPERS matched
with flies tied on size 2/0 hooks. For some reason, I have never had much luck
at the lakes at Bethany Park. I have never understood that either. Seems like
the average size bluegill even in that parkthat I catch is about half my
normal size, and somehow 4 inch bluegill don't impress me much.

Glad you are having fun with the new Orvis rod. Have you met the new cool
flyshop dog that lives at the Orvis store at Preston and Royal? She belongs to
the new manager Monica. ( Monica denies this, but I still think they hired the
dog and Monica came along with the deal.) g

As for leaders, for the past five years or so I have standardized on the Orvis
Superstrong as I think they sell more leaders in the Dallas area than anyone
else and I figure they will be fresh. I seldom drop below 3x for my bluegill,
so I am not a good one to judge trout leaders. My bluegill don't require that
you go very light. I prefer knotless leaders for using in the waters around
here to cut down on the salad collected on each knot on each cast.

Have fun with those catfish. There are some big bass in that park,but as far as
I can tell they must have been planted cause they don't seem to eat anything.

Big Dale

Tim wrote:snip.early the other day I added some tippet..and guess where my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this leads

me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers before,

even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

I seldom catch large fish at that park and I have been fishing it since it was
part of the old TI Rod and Gun Club when I joined it back in 1966. For knots I
use the triple surgeon's knot, but I don't trust it either.

Catfish in this area seldom feed off the surface other than around dawn or dusk
and not all that often then. About the only other time is those years when
there is an invasion of HUGE grasshoppers. Every few years there are reports
of channel cats weighing up 10 pounds working huge hoppers on the surface. The
newspaper reported one caught on a fly rod weighing 10 pounds a couple of years
ago, I think it was on Ceder Creek Lake. These are BIG DAMN HOPPERS matched
with flies tied on size 2/0 hooks. For some reason, I have never had much luck
at the lakes at Bethany Park. I have never understood that either. Seems like
the average size bluegill even in that parkthat I catch is about half my
normal size, and somehow 4 inch bluegill don't impress me much.

Glad you are having fun with the new Orvis rod. Have you met the new cool
flyshop dog that lives at the Orvis store at Preston and Royal? She belongs to
the new manager Monica. ( Monica denies this, but I still think they hired the
dog and Monica came along with the deal.) g

As for leaders, for the past five years or so I have standardized on the Orvis
Superstrong as I think they sell more leaders in the Dallas area than anyone
else and I figure they will be fresh. I seldom drop below 3x for my bluegill,
so I am not a good one to judge trout leaders. My bluegill don't require that
you go very light. I prefer knotless leaders for using in the waters around
here to cut down on the salad collected on each knot on each cast.

Have fun with those catfish. There are some big bass in that park,but as far as
I can tell they must have been planted cause they don't seem to eat anything.

Big Dale

Sorry to hear you lost the fish. Years ago we would test knots by tying 2
different knots on the same line/tippet and do a pull test to see where the
failure came first. We'd repeat this until we were satisfied which was
stronger. As for tying on a tippet, we found that the double surgeons knot
out-performed the barrel knot (and it's a lot easier and quicker). YMMV

Gene

"Tim Apple" wrote in message
al.net...
This morning I was tossing and turning around 4 am so I got up and went to
a
park near my home to get a line wet. I got there and all rigged up around
5
am . Either way I threw on a green popper and thought i'd see if he
lunker
bass really do come out at night(or when dark) I tossed it along side some
sort of concrete structure for drainage and I could barely see a large
swirl
where I thought my popper was sitting. I lifted the rod up a tad and sure
enough there was tension on the line, allot of it. My poor 6wt was doubled
over...I swear the tip was dang near parallel with the mid section of the
rod. I fought this fish for probably 10-15 minutes...he kept making short
runs. I thought I had Orca the killer bass for sure. he was still pulling
pretty hard, so I held on with one hand and got my camera ready with the
other so I could do a quick photo and toss him back in the water. I
finally
got him close to the bank and to my dismay it was a huge catfish that took
my
popper. I honesty can't guestimate his size, but he was probably the
biggest
fish I ever had on.

Well here comes the sad part. I had him at the bank which was about 6
inches
high, and I knew the bottom of the pond was muck, so being the stupid
idiot I
am, I tried to horse him onto the bank by the leader...i'm sure you can
guess
what happened.....early the other day I added some tippet..and guess where
my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this
leads
me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers
before,
even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen

Sorry to hear you lost the fish. Years ago we would test knots by tying 2
different knots on the same line/tippet and do a pull test to see where the
failure came first. We'd repeat this until we were satisfied which was
stronger. As for tying on a tippet, we found that the double surgeons knot
out-performed the barrel knot (and it's a lot easier and quicker). YMMV

Gene

"Tim Apple" wrote in message
al.net...
This morning I was tossing and turning around 4 am so I got up and went to
a
park near my home to get a line wet. I got there and all rigged up around
5
am . Either way I threw on a green popper and thought i'd see if he
lunker
bass really do come out at night(or when dark) I tossed it along side some
sort of concrete structure for drainage and I could barely see a large
swirl
where I thought my popper was sitting. I lifted the rod up a tad and sure
enough there was tension on the line, allot of it. My poor 6wt was doubled
over...I swear the tip was dang near parallel with the mid section of the
rod. I fought this fish for probably 10-15 minutes...he kept making short
runs. I thought I had Orca the killer bass for sure. he was still pulling
pretty hard, so I held on with one hand and got my camera ready with the
other so I could do a quick photo and toss him back in the water. I
finally
got him close to the bank and to my dismay it was a huge catfish that took
my
popper. I honesty can't guestimate his size, but he was probably the
biggest
fish I ever had on.

Well here comes the sad part. I had him at the bank which was about 6
inches
high, and I knew the bottom of the pond was muck, so being the stupid
idiot I
am, I tried to horse him onto the bank by the leader...i'm sure you can
guess
what happened.....early the other day I added some tippet..and guess where
my
line snapped....right at the damn knot!...

My wife was so mad at me...I called her at 530am dang near crying cause I
lost the biggest fish I ever caught(even if he was a catfish). Now this
leads
me to two questions...

What knot do you use to tie on your tippet?

Has anyone else caught a cat on a popper? I've caught on woolybuggers
before,
even on purpose but I never thought I would get a surface strike from one.

Tim Apple

ps Big Dale, you prolly know the park, it's right off bethany in Allen