I've spent the majority of my fishing season on the backwaters of the Mississippi River.... I've caught plenty of bass.  Lots of smaller ones (12-15) with some pretty solid fish mixed in (16-18)… but nothing REALLY big.  I've been looking for one that's really big.... I don't know if the water is clearing up a little, or the coloring is working better with my glasses, but I've been able to see a bit better the last few times out.  I was floating down a stretch that I fish often pitching a jig into some brush areas that looked pretty good- this particular pile of brush was covered with some matted vegetation as well... my jig hit the water, floated there for a second, then I saw what I would consider a HUGE fish for this area come out from under the vegetation to take a look at my jig.  It didn't last long, she bolted back under pretty quick.  I am not sure if she would have hit the 5 pounds I've been shooting for, but it would have been really close.  One positive that I'll take from this is the areas that I'm targeting are holding big fish.... but I can't stop thinking about her....

I've always been enchanted by fishing, but I have one fish related encounter from my childhood that I remember most. Early 70's and I am around 13 years old and would often fish either a park lake or there was a golf course pond across the street that had better fishing opportunities.

 

One afternoon, I was looking out into a clearing in the reeds about ten feet across and a behemoth slowly drifted out into the opening and sat there for a moment. I ran back to my tackle box and quickly tied on a Creme grape worm that came pre-rigged with two propellers on the front of it and ran back to the clearing. The bass was gone.

 

I thought "what the heck" and tossed the worm out about ten feet from the shore where the bass had been sitting and just let it lay there for a minute while I was bumming out that I was ill prepared for the opportunity of a lifetime. Suddenly the bass mosied out from the reeds on the left side and took a position facing me, directly behind my purple plastic worm and sat there for what seemed like forever. Then, her gills began to flare and my worm disappeared in a flash.

 

The fight was short but very violent and lasted maybe ten seconds before my line snapped and it was over. . . .

 

Midnight, on the water
I saw the ocean's daughter
Walking on a wave's chicane
Staring as she called my name

 

And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head

 

Breakdown on the shoreline
Can't move, it's an ebbtide
Morning, don't get here tonight
Searching for her silver light

 

And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head, no how?

 

I feel for you my friend.

“Never give up” it will come. It’s going to happen. I hope you get her the next time out. A moment like that changes your mind some and you see things a bit differently. Good luck. 

Big Hands, I can semi-relate. 

 

There’s a reservoir on the Susky in Maryland a few miles upriver from the Chesapeake Bay called Conowingo. On the north side of the reservoir is an inlet underneath a railroad bridge that connects to a decent-sized pond. When I was a kid, it was a great place for big 8”-9” bluegills. 

 

When I was 13, we were fishing there one spring day and I saw two of the biggest bass I’ve ever seen slowly cruising the shoreline. Just lazily swimming around the perimeter of the pond. I threw everything in my tackle box for hours and they would do nothing but stop and stare, then slowly swim off. It’s been 47 years and I can still clearly picture them in my mind taunting me lol. 

 

They had to be 7-8 lb’ers, which are big bass in Maryland. 

When they built the levee system here a lot of backwater areas were cut off from the Mississippi river . I have caught scads of toads in those waters .

Growing up, breaking old 8# Stren with a Zebco that had a terrible drag was a daily event on any fish with size.

It happened so often I became desensitized to it....oooops there she went again.