Your biggest fishing heartbreaker???

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by troy kelly on February 28, 2009 at 8:56pm

well since you brough up spanaway...i was out there a few years back fishing prespawn and found a fish suspended under the end of a dock. i mean this fish was a complete monster. fortunately he didnt really mind me skipping my senko up under the dock. i mean he wouldnt eat it but he would not budge. well with the wind blowing me in i got a little to close and the fish started to swim off. it went up the dock to shallow water and i tossed my bait ahead of it. the fish swam up to it and stared for several seconds and just sucks my bait in. in disbelief since i literally worked this fish for probably an hour. i set the hook hard...too hard and just like that the fish was gone. i used to live pretty close to the lake and fish it frequently and have seen some big fish in there but never a fish that big again.

troy

Permalink Reply by NickBarrFishing.com on March 1, 2009 at 10:24am

I got 3 ones that sting in my memory
-My first ever bass was well over 6 lbs. and I tried to bring it up to the dock on 4 lb. trout line and it snapped, going right back in the drink.

-Similar to Troy's, had a fish over 10 lbs. on a bed 4 years back, and I tried all throughout the day, but she wouldnt budge.

-2 years ago on the Lower Columbia Federation Tournament, lost a 4-5 lb smallie halfway to the boat, which would have given me around 11 lbs. and the win from the back of the boat, which woulda been pretty cool.

Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on March 1, 2009 at 10:54am

I have too many to list, but the 2 recent that stand out were:
Last year NW Bass T on Lk Wa. Drew 3rd and headed to my 5+ smallie on a bed. First cast broke her off and couldn't get her to go the rest of the day. My partner and I proceeded to break off/lose 5 more fish all over 4lbs. Never had a day quite like that...

Found a bunch of crappies on Tapps last year in the fall. Had a ball. Ready to leave and threw on a laydown in 6-7 ft of water. As soon as the crappie jig hit the water all I saw was white and green as the fish ate and turned. 8-9lbs if it was an ounce. Finally broke me off. What a sow.

Permalink Reply by Chris Blandi on March 1, 2009 at 11:17am

I have two that come to mind. First off was probably 10-12 years ago. My mom and I were trolling in our little wooden boat at the time at North lake in Federal Way. I was using a power egg I think ( lol, back in the trout days come on ! ) I was using 8 lb test, and had my drag locked down, what was I thinking. I hooked this fish, worked it all the way to the boat, and it started pulling the boat around in circles. The boat spun 3 times and then my line broke. I have no idea what this fish was. I have never had a fish even come close to spinning my little boat around and I've caught bass almost 7 lbs in it. :(
Next fish was recently. I hooked this bass, worked it to the boat because it was around some nasty cover. The fish was still fighting heavily since I ripped it away from its cover before it knew what was going on. I fought it up to the boat and I saw the full side of the fish as it turned its head and shook. The hook popped out and it was over. It was easily the biggest fish I had ever hooked, easy 8 lb Largemouth. I'll catch it this year.

One more I just thought of. I had been fishing Lake Desire for weeks throwing a buzzbait. I had hooked 3-4 lbers the past trips so I knew what they were fighting like. I hooked one fish on a buzzer and MAN this fish was pulling. It started to swim Deep like most smart big bass do. It shook off before I could see it. I knew it was huge. I was at a fish-in with a fellow club member who I told the story too. He said he hooked a Huge fish in the same area on desire, using the same color bait ! I told him man that was probably the same fish. Hope to have another run in with that piggy too.

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on March 1, 2009 at 1:28pm

I had one come unzipped a few years back that I would have REALLY liked to get my hands on. In early April, 2006, I got out to the lake and the conditions were perfect. There was a warm low-pressure system that had just rolled in that weekend following a week long warming trend. Within the first 5-10 minutes on the lake, I landed a 9.7# largemouth right near the boat launch. What a way to start the day.

20 minutes later I encountered a huge laydown perpendicular to the bank. When I had the boat in position, I fired a roll cast right to where the laydown met the bank with a nice soft entry. I began slow rolling my spinnerbait parallel to the cover and a giant swims out from under the laydown and engulfs my lure. I feel like I get a hookset on this fish, and immediately start working it away from the cover as quickly as possible. I instantly start scanning the area for any potential trouble that this fish can get me into. Besides the big laydown, this spot is pretty much devoid of cover with the exception of a couple small isolated patches of lily pads.

I work the fish closer to the boat and get a couple real nice broadside looks at this fish. Visually, I can now tell this fish is bigger than the 9.7# I had just landed. It also feels heavier and stronger. This fish is as good as landed but it makes one last surge towards a small patch of lily pads right near the boat. It gets its head into the pads and I can now feel the fish hung up for a brief moment. I maintain steady pressure and quickly work my way towards the fish. Next thing I know my spinnerbait pops out of the water. Talk about a gut punch.

My best guess is this fish was in the 10-1/2 to 11+ lb. range. Oh well, what can you do? Keep casting.....

Permalink Reply by David Parnicky on March 1, 2009 at 3:44pm

I lost a smallmouth up in the Hanford Reach 4 years ago that I still have nightmares about. It was a warm September evening and I was fishing a series of rocky points and was just hammering the smallies on a Ghost Minnow LV-500. I was catching 1.5-2.5 lbers left and right. Normally when you get into a bunch of little fish that are exactly the same size on the Columbia you don't run into any giants. I was content with catching a bunch of little fish that evening and hadn't even considered hooking anything over 3.5 lbs tops. I made a long cast along the side of one of the points, got about two cranks of the reel in and all of a sudden my cranking pole surged towards the water and this fish pulled me straight out into the main current of the river before I knew what happened. At this point I had no idea what I had hooked as the possibilities are endless up in the reach. I tried as hard as I could to keep this fish from jumping but it was pretty much in control of what was going on. It surged out of the water a long ways from the boat and all I could tell was it was about 24 to 25 inches long and almost as fat. It was getting a little dark and I didn't get to see what it was at first but because of the shape of the fish I ruled it down to Salmon, Largemouth, or smallmouth as it was way too fat to be a steelhead, sturgeon, or walleye. I was pretty certain it was a salmon and finally got it to the boat after what was probably 15-20 mins of fighting it just to have it come bursting out of the water at the boat and throw my LV-500. At this time, the fish was close enough to the boat for my dad (who was fishing with me at the time) and myself to get a good glimpse of the fish and realize it was probably the biggest smallmouth either one of us will ever see again! I have no clue just how big this fish was but the biggest smallmouth I have caught in my life was 6 lbs. 5 oz and this fish wasn't even a comparison. Its hard to say just how big this fish was and I hate to throw a number this big on it but my dad and I both thought it was 10 lbs. It was over 8 for sure. Of all the baits to hook such a giant fish on, a lipless crank would be my last choice..haha! I was surprised I was able to keep that thing hooked for as long as I did! I am glad I didn't have my own boat at this point in my life yet because it was dark after I lost that fish and I don't think I could have safely navigated the reach in the dark after that! Even with a GPS trail to follow...haha! I sure wish I could have found out how big that fish actually was! It's been great getting out of school, having my own boat, living in Western Washington, and being able to fish Whatcom, Terrell, Washington, and Sammamish whenever I want as they are all awesome fisheries but I sure do miss the Columbia sometimes! There is nothing like it anywhere else! Definately taking a trip or two home to Walla Walla this spring and summer to visit and fish the big river.

Permalink Reply by D.J. LaRoche on March 1, 2009 at 3:54pm

Last year at the Scholarship tournament on Banks was probably mine. We were tied for second going into the second day and we lost 5 or 6 fish during the final day that were all 2+lbs. That could have easily been my first tournament win, but that's fishing I guess. LOL.

Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on March 1, 2009 at 10:21pm

When I was a teen, I was fishing Kapowisin. I didn't have very good gear then, not much more than a cheap trout rod. I was fishing a tube around some logs on the main lake and had a TOAD come out from under this log and grab my bait. I watched this fish swim straight down to a submerged log and start rubbing his face against it. With the light rod and line I had, I had no chance to pull him off of it. He rubbed his face on it until he got me hung on the log. I would guess 7 lbs or better. It killed me.

On Potholes last year durring the second day of the qualifier, I hooked into a fish back in the dunes. For the first 10 seconds, I thought I was snagged. It didn't budge. Then, it started shaking its head around. I never saw the fish, but it busted 10 lb florocarbon without even swimming 3 feet. It was a monster, but I can only guess at what and how big it was. I couldn't budge it and it didn't want to leave it's spot. That's one of those " you can only guess" fish...

Permalink Reply by Richie Lambert on March 2, 2009 at 10:33pm

Man it was a PotHoles and it was a 7lb plus on a spinner bait in the dunes. got it to the boat with no prob then went net it and the line broke i pouted for ten minuts on that one.