Struggling to land this particular bass

[Ryan N]

A fellow angler told me he hooked a fish in this pond and swore it was double digit, but he lost him (And nearly lost his combo apparently lol).

I’ve already caught him a few times but I’m struggling to land him. I’ve hooked him 4 times already in the span of months, had some good fights but then hook gets loose. He’s doing two things, swimming toward me and violent aerial headshakes to loosen the hook. This bass is a very technical fighter. He doesn’t seem to tire out as quickly as the giants I’ve caught in the past, so he’s probably either smaller or just built like that. I’d say he’s around 5 pounds since he doesn’t seem to pull line… Or maybe since he swims toward me, I could be mistaken him for a “smaller” feeling fish when it could be a double digit.

 

I’m going to wait two days and have a rematch. I’ll apply what advice is said here! Here’s what I currently know about fighting a fish:

1. Keep the rod bent at all times. This can be done by tightening the drag just enough to keep it at a good pull that your setup can handle. Reel in quickly when you feel your rod giving some slack.

2. Raise and lower your rod according to what the fish is doing. Aerials are countered with a low pull, and dives with an upward rod.

3. You should lip the fish as soon as it comes up on the bank, still making sure you have sufficient tightness on the line.

[islandbass]

It always sucks when that big one really gets away. Sorry!😰 my mind would torture me by replaying the lost fish over and over like a broken record. 

 

My only rule is never ever let the line go slack during a fight. There must be tension in the line at all times. Failure to do that is angler error. You If they’re swimming toward you and don’t pick up that she is, that’s more than enough slack for them to get free. 
 

 Try not to let them jump. Keeping tension on the line is one way to minimize this. Don’t get mesmerized and hypnotized getting caught with your pants down watching the acrobatics. Establish tension on the line asap and.

 

check the angle of your rod. I believe you get the most power from the rod when it’s at 45 degrees regardless of what plane your rod is in. Don’t succumb to going past that 45. 

[ironbjorn]

I dunno, there are just a lot of assumptions here that I find astounding.

[12poundbass]

[LrgmouthShad]

I believe I’ve got a fish at a small pond that has defeated me three times. Twice on a spinnerbait. Normally if I hook a fish on a spinnerbait, it’s lights out. Not with this particular fish. It’s the only fish in the whole pond that will eat a spinnerbait and it lives on a particular piece of timber at a corner of the pond. It’s gotta be huge by now.

[Swamp Girl]

I wish I could help you, Ryan, but I lose so many fish. This is all I've got: There are certain lures that increase your odds. Wake baits move so slowly across the water that bass get a good bead on them. On the other hand, lures with single hooks that aren't exposed mean more lost fish for me. 

[Susky River Rat]

Set the hook like you want to break your rod. Let the drag do the rest.

[A-Jay]

Use HEAVIER TACKLE; much heavier.

The 'fight' will be considerable shorter,

with less time for things to go sideways.

Good Luck

A-Jay

[Kev-mo]

Didn't understand at the time why an old river rat used MH tackle when most others were using M or ML. I do now. Also the bigger fish may not reason but they are not stupid. One for three on a bigger fish (19) that once hooked makes a beeline for the shallowish rocks on the bottom to pop that hook out. Lost several large fish that way over the years.

[Woody B]

For decades I would try holding my rod low to discourage jumping.  This works for some Bass, but the smart.......or at least the hard to land ones try to go the opposite way you're pulling.   If you pull up, they try to go down.   Also, when a big Bass reaches/breaches the surface if you're quick enough you can jerk them on their side, and basically surfboard them in.   I do this to get Bass out of heavy cover.  They usually come up when first hooked.  When they breach I pull my rod sideways and reel like crazy to surf board them to open water.   If you're on the bank, and have room run away from the water to keep your line tight.  I will put my trolling motor on a fast speed and run from them as needed.   

 

I'm not pretending to land every big Bass I hook but I think my record is pretty good.   I think I lost my PB a couple weeks before I landed it.  I hooked it on a t-rig in fairly shallow water near a brush pile.  I "surfboarded" it away from the brush, right to the boat.  Basically not fight at all due to it being skied on it's side.   I got it to the boat, had my line in one hand and was attempting to lip it with the other.   It "got traction" and broke off.   2 weeks later I believe I caught the same Bass, and landed it.  This was on devils horse.   I surfboarded it away from the brush pile, but at the same time I was moving the boat away from it.   After being surfboarded for ~15 feet I let it go under and swim.  It didn't want to jump anymore.  When it was tired I was able to land it.  

[Pat Brown]

I definitely agree in general with all the keep the fish coming and beef up your tackle suggestions.  If you get a hook into the fish, it won't come off no matter how hard it fights.

 

Sounds like your issue is that you haven't been hooking her - probably just pulling her in but not getting the hooks past the barb and she comes right off every time.

 

There is no playing big fish.  Get them in.  Get them photographed.  Get them back!  The quicker the better.

[WRB]

Him is a she if this bass is a big as your imagination.

This fish isn’t being controlled you are!

Are you sure you are losing the same bass? Very unusual for a big bass to strike any lure serval times in a year.

Tom