Chuck7

Tell us about the one that got away...

I was down here in central Florida to go to Bible college. Up to this date ,my best bass was a little over 2 pounds. I didn't have a boat so I fished off the shore. I learned fast that Saddle Creek was a decent place for shore fishermen.

I was equipped with a 6 1/2 foot Eagle Claw rod and cheap Diawa reel. I had on 10 pound test Trilene XL anda 1/4 ounce white Rooster Tail. I castacross this pit by the local shooting range. I generally count down to see how deep the water is.Th ewater was about 16 foot deep.It was in Octpber.I also fish the lure like that anyway. Once it's on the bottom I give a twitch and retrieve it just enough to turn the blade. CRAP! I thought.."I'm snagged !." All of a sudden the snag honestly felt like a telephone pole with strong fins. he began fighting like a huge northern carp..side ot side. Now, I had just recently caught a tilapia so I actually thought it was a tilapia.They fight just like that. They rarely hit a lure but occasionally they will.

Then, the fish was doing somethng stupid. It was racing toward the surface. My wife was there beside me. The fish was so fast coming to the surface that I now had slack in my line...SERIOUS lesson learned there![:@]

Next, Honestly..Time stood still and {God as my witness} the biggest bass I've ever seen ..torpedoed straight out of the water..Her tail was a good 5 inches out of the water. The Rooster Tail slung out of her bucketmouth mouth. ...my body is silently SICK from my head to my feet.. Her eyes were big as half dollars.The fish was fat and a good 30 inches long.

A few daysafterwards...a man with a little jon boat and shiners caught a nice bass in this spot. He showed me the picture.He released her. It weighed 12.6 pounds. I've lost many big fish in Florida but none ever completely jumped up out of the water.I always keep a tight line now..ALWAYS.

m.t.hands

my worst/best big fish, i was fishing on pre-fishing on sam rayburn for an upcomming tournament, i was fishing with a friend who is also a guide on fork, him and his brother have caught numerous 10#'ers, well were fishing a deep water hump 17'-20' feet droppin off into 35-40' and we were catching great tournamnet size fish 3-5 #'s all of a sudden i hook into what felt like a floater, a sunken log, but then it moved, not quick just moving, i'm thinking carp, drum, cat, but it didn't ever really do the things i expected, then 35-40' out the biggest hole in the water showed up, the fish had never fought up till now, now she decides its time to head to the deep water runs beneath the boat, rod bending drag slipping and "POW", line breaks, 20 lbs test, i look at my buddy and say, well there was my shot at a 10 plus, and he just replied " keith, that fish was 12-14#'s if it was an ounce" that moment has been the source of many dreams both good and bad, i am still on a quest for a doulble digit fish even though i have caught a fewover 9#'s[:@], it will happen though

another small fish that i remember very well, i was fishing a redman (what is known as bfl now) wildcard tournament on boone lake in NE tenn., i had 9 bites in five days, the 1st day of the tournament i got on some fish, but i lost a 4-4 1/2# smallie, second day all i could catch were peanuts, i ended up in 12 or 13th and still got a check, but that fish i lost would have put me in the top six and sent me to the redman all-american to fish against 50-75 people for 100k, several of those guys are fishing flw and BASS events now

all i can do is keep fishin, and not worry about spilled milk

chuck i'm fixin to go look for one of those double digit fish in a few minutes, good luck too all of you

Chuck7

chuck i'm fixin to go look for one of those double digit fish in a few minutes, good luck too all of you

I hear ya..I'll be out tonight to fish a new pit that I hear has been producing good fish. We will see.
Good luck Keith.

Chuck7

Another one for my next door neighbor..

WE are flipping cattails in Lake Parker...big ole lake. We had caught some decent 2s and 3s. I just got a tiny pickup.. .Kevin is in the back.of the boat..I said LOL "Why don't you catch that tiny fish." OH MY GOODNESS ! Kevin caught it alright..he hooked into a monster bass. She pulled my jon all over. We are in 3 foot of water.he was using 10lb Trilene XL. After about 2 mnutes the fish is worn out. She is laying on some lily pads..It is huge ..about 9 pounds...super thick body.We both reached for herto pull her in...no dice. She is 12" too far.for our net...Line iswrapped around lily pads.I says.."Kevin, get out of the boat and get that fish." he says. "I think I can almost reach her.."[:-]Meanwhile ..Mrs. Bucketmouth has her mouth open and she is slowly turning her head side to side. her sand paper like teeth slowly cuts the Trilene into..Both of our mouths hung open in diebelief as she slowly fans herself backward back into the lake.
[8D]We rehearse that story alot..Of course by now Kevin's bass weighs every bit of 15 pounds..

Pygmy

Hehehehehe...Just last September I had some TOUGH duty ..... My sister, who owns a cottage on Keuka Lake, was going on a cruise in Hawaii, and asked me if I would stay at her place on the lake for a week and babysit her twoSCHNAUZERS.... A free week at the lake...??.. Tough to take...

Anyway, I had been doing quite a bit of lake trout jigging and smallmouth fishing from the boat, but also spent quite a lot of time fishing off her dock with small minnows under a bobber, catching mostly pan sized yellow perch, which I ate a LOT of that week...

The bobber went under and I immediately knew that it was no PERCH...I was using my UL spinning rod with 4 lb. test...After a long battle, I had the fish close to the dock and it JUMPED clear of the water...It was a smallmouth bassbigger than any I have ever caught...I've caught 5 pound smallies and this one was at least 6...I got a good look at it...

Seconds later the hook simply pulled out and the fish was gone......I would have released the fish anyway, but it sure would have been nice to hoist it up by the jaw and admire it... Perhaps take a picture...And I had hooked it while fishing off the dock while expecting 10 inch perch...