I know most have been here before but I have been fishing pre-spawn which seems forever since the weather has been like a yo-yo this year and struggling to catch anything size wise. Today started pretty slow just more dinks but water temp has been creeping up and while it started bluebird and calm it became overcast with a little wind towards late afternoon. I was really starting to grouse about not running into any decent lmb so far this year and bam, wind blown flat off of some deep water up shallow near the dead water willow I hooked into a decent lmb with my spinnerbait. Had her all the way to the boat and knew she was 5+ and reached down to lip her and she jumped and shook her head and back into the water she went minus my spinnerbait...sigh. I just really wanted to weigh her and see how big she was....and the back end of the boat sits my net, man that stings. Why is it that the 2-3lb never have an issue, its always the larger ones that obviously wasn't stuck good enough.

 

I tend not to use my net when by myself since I find it cumbersome to try to get to it and fight the fish but I think I need to just do it since if I had she would have been in the boat. I also need to re-think maybe having a stinger hook on my spinnerbaits, I tend not to use them either since I like to through into cover and the stinger hooks seem to get caught up way more.

 

Second decent fish I have lost this season the other one was on a jerkbait early in the season...been doing this a long time and I don't think it ever gets easier loosing a fish.

 

Thanks for letting me rant

For me at least it never gets less maddening losing 5lb+ fish.....I don't care how many I catch, every single one drives me insane.    Once it happens it's really hard for me to get my head back in the game, it's a real weakness of mine.  

 

Buzzbaits and spinnerbaits can be especially frustrating, and I've lost a number of 5lb+ fish on both baits, but I won't use a trailer hook except for rare open water situations.   It's just the price you have to pay to fish with them in my experience.

 

The silver lining is that you listed quite a bit you learned from the experience, and that's always a fantastic thing.   The more I fish, the more satisfaction I get when I come home and know I learned something new that will help me in the future.  You'll 1000% get more opportunities in the near future......Keep fishing!!!!! 

16 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

For me at least it never gets less maddening losing 5lb+ fish.....I don't care how many I catch, every single one drives me insane.    Once it happens it's really hard for me to get my head back in the game, it's a real weakness of mine.  

 

Buzzbaits and spinnerbaits can be especially frustrating, and I've lost a number of 5lb+ fish on both baits, but I won't use a trailer hook except for rare open water situations.   It's just the price you have to pay to fish with them in my experience.

 

The silver lining is that you listed quite a bit you learned from the experience, and that's always a fantastic thing.   The more I fish, the more satisfaction I get when I come home and know I learned something new that will help me in the future.  You'll 1000% get more opportunities in the near future......Keep fishing!!!!! 

Yup, glad it's not just me but for me it really stays with me....when the fish shook the spinnerbait it just froze for a split second like they do and I tried to grab her tail and poof she was gone...it's been such a grind lately and even today was a grind, weather has really slowed the lakes from warming up and bass just appear to be scattered. Lots of males but very few females until the one today...one side of the lake is much warmer than the other...more rain coming so not sure what it will be like after the weekend...thanks for the encouraging words!

  That's why I use my net for all but sub pound bass, when I'm on my boat. I want the netting of a big fish to be muscle memory when she shows up. We all release some fish too early. Just check your knot/retie and keep casting.

Losing a fish, is a feeling hard to describe and understand unless you’ve lost one. And why are we so cruel to ourselves?  We replay the scene over and over in our minds, and as 

@AlabamaSpothunter said they pause for a second, so we can burn that image in our brain, to tease and taught us.

Then a split second later, correct if I’m wrong, we look to see if our bait is still on and think “ at least I didn’t lose my lure”

It's an awful feeling...but still better than a day at work.  

Everyone should ingrain the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared".

 

 

Awwwww man - get back out there and find her grandma!

 

That's bass fishing!  If we caught every single one that bit - wouldn't be much of a big deal when we caught and landed a big one!

6 hours ago, GreenPig said:

I want the netting of a big fish to be muscle memory when she shows up.

 

9 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The silver lining is that you listed quite a bit you learned from the experience, and that's always a fantastic thing.   The more I fish, the more satisfaction I get when I come home and know I learned something new that will help me in the future. 

 

25 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

If we caught every single one that bit - wouldn't be much of a big deal when we caught and landed a big one!

 

Three invaluable perspectives above.

 

My perspective:

 

Solo netting is tricky. I fish with big, long-handled nets to extend my reach, but when I see a big bass, the question is, "When do I reach for the net?"

 

Reaching for the net means I'm no longer fully focused on playing the fish.* Plus, reaching for the net takes some of the tension out of my line.* And if I reach too early and the bass is still green and takes out some line, then I have to drop the net and work the bass back to my canoe.* And you can miss with the net and hook your lure and now the bass is on the outside of the net, but hooked to it.* 

 

* means I've lost big bass in all these situations. A rod in one hand and a net in the other is NO guarantee I'm about to land a big girl.

 

My point is that SO MUCH can go wrong when you reach for a net. 

 

As Pat wrote, landing big bass is a challenge that we all fail sometimes, even the biggest sticks at Bass Resource. On the other hand, when you do lose a bass, we are all primed to commiserate with you because we've all lost big bass. That said,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahhh the age old dilemma, to boat flip or not to boat flip. I seem to find myself losing more fish when I start looking for a net then when I just swing em over the side. That's largely due to having 10+ rods on the deck of my 1448 most of the time. I lost the two fish that would've filled out my limit in my derby last weekend by monkeying with the net. First one was trying to look and see if the guy nearby would be able to see me grab the net- took my attention off the fish and she jumped and threw the bait. Second one I lost I was in the process of netting. I think I spent so much time playing it while I got the net, that the hook must've worked loose. 

 

I tend to find myself following the logic that if the fish is less than half the weight the line is rated for and hooked well, I'm flipping it. If it exceeds the 50% threshold, I want a net.

At times like that I hope there are no little kids on the water, voice carries pretty far.

11 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

 

 

Three invaluable perspectives above.

 

My perspective:

 

Solo netting is tricky. I fish with big, long-handled nets to extend my reach, but when I see a big bass, the question is, "When do I reach for the net?"

 

Reaching for the net means I'm no longer fully focused on playing the fish.* Plus, reaching for the net takes some of the tension out of my line.* And if I reach too early and the bass is still green and takes out some line, then I have to drop the net and work the bass back to my canoe.* And you can miss with the net and hook your lure and now the bass is on the outside of the net, but hooked to it.* 

 

* means I've lost big bass in all these situations. A rod in one hand and a net in the other is NO guarantee I'm about to land a big girl.

 

My point is that SO MUCH can go wrong when you reach for a net. A net is no guarantee that you'll land a big girl.

 

As Pat wrote, landing big bass is a challenge that we all fail sometimes, even the biggest sticks at Bass Resource. On the other hand, when you do lose a bass, we are all primed to commiserate with you because we've all lost big bass. That said,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is something I recently had to do a crash course on Katy!

 

Fishing from a Jon Boat in a small tournament alone with no Meagan or Jake and catching a 7 a 9 and a 10 in practice with my dinky Walmart rubber net was quite an experience!  

 

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about with regards to the big one coming up and you gotta decide if you're still fighting the fish or if you're landing the fish.

 

Completely the peak of adrenaline in bass fishing.

 

Losing big bass is always a major downer

Especially when it's the sole mission of the day.

@bishoptf no doubt you'll get her next time. 

Over the years I've come up with my own 'system' of fighting and landing bass.

Clearly every fish & fight is different,

but with such a large percentage of big bass being lost close to the boat,

I try my best to be ready.

For me, repetition helps a ton.

So except for the dinkiest of dinks,

I work to fight, net and land all my bass the same way.

Same side of the boat, which is always clear of any obstructions,

(nothing to trip over, get tangled in or otherwise add more of a challenge

to an already emotionally charged deal)

Net very close by and always at the ready.

*** A-Jay's tip of the day ~ Choose to bring/lead the fish into the net

and forget about lunging at the fish with the net going for the speed scoop.

You'll be glad you did. Anticipating where the bass is going can help.

Works best when the bass is mostly played out, which I allow her to do AWAY from the boat. 

A big bass boat side full of pizz & vinegar is an accident waiting to happen.

Netting a mostly tired bass is surprisingly easy.  

Perhaps most importantly, I go slow - take my time.   

Can't stress that one enough.  

Looking back through my videos over the years most all of the fish I've lost

close to the boat, were operator error on my part.

But sometimes they just come off. 

Like this one . . . btw begging doesn't always help.

https://youtu.be/yfnYSE-HjIE?feature=shared&t=887

A-Jay

2 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about with regards to the big one coming up and you gotta decide if you're still fighting the fish or if you're landing the fish.

 

And we have a speck of a second to decide and the bass is fighting the entire time, changing the circumstances nanosecond by nanosecond. You're spot on when you wrote that "you gotta decide if you're still fighting the fish or if you're landing the fish." Plus, if you're in a light boat like my 32-pound canoe, you're not even fighting from a stable surface. The bass is constantly moving the canoe and oftentimes spinning it, so that the bass is suddenly behind me. Then there are the weeds. All this leads me to wonder: "How do we land any big ones?"

9 minutes ago, JHoss said:

Ahhh the age old dilemma, to boat flip or not to boat flip. I seem to find myself losing more fish when I start looking for a net then when I just swing em over the side. That's largely due to having 10+ rods on the deck of my 1448 most of the time. I lost the two fish that would've filled out my limit in my derby last weekend by monkeying with the net. First one was trying to look and see if the guy nearby would be able to see me grab the net- took my attention off the fish and she jumped and threw the bait. Second one I lost I was in the process of netting. I think I spent so much time playing it while I got the net, that the hook must've worked loose. 

 

I tend to find myself following the logic that if the fish is less than half the weight the line is rated for and hooked well, I'm flipping it. If it exceeds the 50% threshold, I want a net.

There was no boat flipping in this case, medium action rod and just wasn't going to happen. Thats probably on me also since I am re-doing my rods and reels and probably should have maybe been throwing on a stiffer rod but I was able to get her to the boat and it was just when I reached down she shook her head....is what it is, obviously some slack when reaching down etc. 

I would NEVER boat flip a 6 + lber.  I'm too poor and I've broken way too many rods trying to do silly things like that.  🤣🤣🤣 

 

In all seriousness I like a more moderate action on a longer heavier rod because you get the power and the tip to fight and land the fish.  Big game also seems to help and not having my drag super tight.

4 minutes ago, bishoptf said:

There was no boat flipping in this case, medium action rod and just wasn't going to happen. Thats probably on me also since I am re-doing my rods and reels and probably should have maybe been throwing on a stiffer rod but I was able to get her to the boat and it was just when I reached down she shook her head....is what it is, obviously some slack when reaching down etc. 

Do you think the lighter action played a role in losing the fish? Perhaps not driving the hook home as well as a MH would've. 

 

4 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I would NEVER boat flip a 6 + lber.  I'm too poor and I've broken way too many rods trying to do silly things like that.  🤣🤣🤣 

Ok, the formula does need some tweaks. I do usually try to net or grab the ones over 5. 

2 minutes ago, JHoss said:

Do you think the lighter action played a role in losing the fish? Perhaps not driving the hook home as well as a MH would've. 

Nah spinnerbait single hook is sharp, all the small fish hasn't seem to matter. I think it was just one of those things when I reached down and she jumped one last time she threw the hook. I touched her but just wasnt able to lip her. 

 

Like A-Jay and everyone mentioned, just need to use my net more often...the other day caught a 10+ catfish with a crankbait i'd have no issues with those coming off, lol.

Nearly all my lmb rods are MH. I came to lmb fishing from open water smb fishing, where a M rod is just fine for five-pound smb and 100-smb days, but I was overwhelmed right away by lmb using M rods. My lone exception is a M fiberglass rod that I prefer for surface lures. It keeps them pinned and it's 7' 2" length gives me the leverage to boat big girls.

Dust yourself off and get back on the horse..

11 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

Dust yourself off and get back on the horse..

Yeah thats no problem but man id be lying that I don't think about it...lol.

1 minute ago, bishoptf said:

Yeah thats no problem but man id be lying that I don't think about it...lol.

She’s probably still on that point, about to go really shallow. I’d try and stick her again! 

5 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

She’s probably still on that point, about to go really shallow. I’d try and stick her again! 

She was really shallow, probably less than 2ft, first female Ive caught this year. Everything else has been males, lots of males. I circled back to that spot about an hour later but no joy...will for sure I fish it from here out, lol.

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Works best when the bass is mostly played out, which I allow her to do AWAY from the boat. 

Words of wisdom.

It’s called fishing not catching for a reason.

Tom