I was fishing a 3 inch white grub on a 1/8 ounce head and hooked into goliath. I couldn't tell you if it was a smallie or a larry, as he barely broke the surface for just a second, but that was one huge ticked off bass. I got it about 10 feet from the shore when he fought me with such force that the botton part of the reel slot on my Lightning Rod broke and my reel went flying off. I tried to grab the line and pull with my rod but 12 pound mono just snapped.

I wanted to cry!

It was probably already cracked  and you never noticed it.

 

I had hairline cracks in a couple of rods before.  happens,,,

Reading the title I thought you had hooked a goliath grouper.

Something similar happened to me with a 24" largemouth but I managed to still pull the fish in using my hands and the line lol. I was mad that my reel broke but it was a good experience

Sounds like a fun time creating a memory of a lifetime!

I had a cheap Zebco reel completely disintegrate on me while reeling in a pretty sizable fish. I threw everything down and started reeling in by hand and then he shook it off. I was not a happy camper.....err fisherman. 

I had one like that one November. She bent my rod in half like I never seen it before. I put too much pressure on her then she spit out my money minnow. It's the only hookup I ever had with minnow. This is one of the reasons I'm going to heavier rods for casting the larger lures and harder hook sets. The rod tips are too flimsy.

I had a huge bigmouth buffalo rip my Zebco 808 off my bowfishing rig once. It was really a blessing because it hit the end of the line so hard I was going to go swimming or lose my bow. 

Something similar happened to me with a 24" largemouth but I managed to still pull the fish in using my hands and the line lol. I was mad that my reel broke but it was a good experience

Had this post in my mind yesterday...was on a salmon charter in Lake Michigan and something funky happened to the copper braid the crew had on.  1st mate did just this, and rebuffed my offers to pull in myself.   Did get the coho boated either way..

Have any guess on the size of the fish?