2 hours ago, Rich12 said:

You will probably never know how big your biggest bass is if you keep doing that.   I know how big my biggest is because I retie after every 5 fish.   Here are my 2 largest.

 

doh,  14.4 and 17.2    top fish is 27 long 24 dia.  bottom is 29 1/4 long 24.25 dia.

Beautiful Bass @Rich12

Welcome to Bass Resource. 

A-Jay 

1 hour ago, Bankbeater said:

I can catch dinks all day without a retie as long as I’m in open water. When I’m fishing around rocks or timber I check the line after every cast. If I feel something funny in the line then I will retie. 

There’s a certain poster on this site that often says “hookset are free”. Well, in a certain sense, knots aren’t free, as it takes inches of line. But it’s cheap insurance. I learned my lesson on that score once.
 

Once. 

 

Retying can only be postponed until the line breaks...now you have no choice. 

I check my line all the time.

I trust in the knots I tie, so the weakest part of the chain is the line.

Bass might not have musky like teeth but more like sandpaper.

On the hookset more often than not the lines gonna rub on those teeth.

Also casting into trees,bushes and around dock posts will shorten the life a lot quicker

You just caught a big bass on that knot.  That's a lucky knot!  Don't throw it away!