Could you land a 15-pounder? Why or why not?

 

 

I don't think I could. A three-pounder spins and pulls my canoe and puts me in the most awkward positions. If I hooked her in weeds, I simply don't have the strength to keep her from burrowing into weeds. My only chance would be hooking her in deep, weedless water. I've caught 15-pound-and-heavier pike and muskies, so I have experience landing fish that heavy, but I couldn't be disadvantaged by wood and weeds. Sitting in my canoe, I also don't think I could bury a hook in one. When you're low in a canoe, you don't have the advantage of your big leg muscles like bass boaters do. So, I think my chances of landing one are quite low even I hooked one.

Yep.........if I had to go in the water to get it I most certainly would......

I wouldn't see why I would not be able to.  The DD that flopped out of my yak earlier this year wasn't really that hard to land honestly.  I have caught plenty of fish in my life MUCH bigger than 15lbs, and also in fast rivers with very strong currents as well.  Hell, a 10 to 20lb winter steelhead in a high flow river can tail walk and run on you for literal minutes before you ever even get it close to the boat let alone able to net it.  You have to tire those big girls out for quite awhile before they will present themselves to you.  I have caught a few offshore fish and sharks in my lifetime in the 100 to 200lb range, but granted that was on ocean tackle, not 15lb copolymer that I typically use for bass.

I'm with @Rockhopper.  Every now and then a 20+ pound drum comes along to test me and my tackle.  I usually pass the test.  I was fishing with a buddy of mine when he caught a monster drum while we were fishing in a tournament.  It was the biggest freshwater fish I have ever seen.  He wanted his Rattle Trap back so he fought the fish for 30 minutes before he finally landed it.

Having caught several 15+ lb LMB landing them successfully depends where you hook them. If the big bass is in or around trees or brush your odds are low keeping the big bass out of the cover.

Big bass unlike other game fish can turn on a dime and very strong when turning sideways to the line pulling force. You must control the big bass keeping the fish coming towards you, easier said than done.

If the big bass come up after hooking it your odds improve greatly but keeping hooked when on the surface is also problematic. 
Tom

PS, hope you all get the chance👍

I believe I could. I landed several fish, carp and gar, in that range in heavy current at the river. Using 10 and 12 pound line on bass lures. I always check my drag and keep it set so a 4-5 pound bass could peel line off.

I think I could do it but I think the odds of getting one to bite are VERY low.

15 pounds .... for me, that's 7 or 8 bass.  So YES, I could land a 15 pounder.

I’ve boated carp that were upwards of 15lbs. They probably fight harder than  bass of the same size. I think I could

pull it off. 

Largest LMB I ever caught was 8lbs, was bank fishing.

 

I've caught some Pike close to 13bs, the big net sure helps.

 

A 15lb LMB...I would likely faint! That would beat the Nebraska State record by almost four pounds!

 

I have no doubt I could land a 15 pound bass fishing out of my kayak.  I also realize I could easily loose a 15 pound bass.  One thing for sure is, if I loose a 15 pound bass it will be pushing 18 pounds by the time I get home.

 

If you hook a 15 pound bass in Maine you better land it becasue no one will believe that big one that got away story.

43 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

If the big bass is in or around trees or brush your odds are low keeping the big bass out of the cover.

 

1 hour ago, Swamp Girl said:

If I hooked her in weeds, I simply don't have the strength to keep her from burrowing into weeds.

 

Tom agrees with me and whereas I'm just conjecturing, Tom has caught world class bass.

 

43 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

You must control the big bass keeping the fish coming towards you, easier said than done.

 

Yeah, this is where I'd fail. Too old and too low in my canoe.

 

5 minutes ago, king fisher said:

If you hook a 15 pound bass in Maine you better land it becasue no one will believe that big one that got away story.

 

For sure! Even with photos, I'd still be doubted. I am the buddy of a woman who landed an exceptional fish. She was doubted and doubted and doubted, even with multiple photos and witnesses. 

 

My best chance of landing a 15-pounder would be weedless, wood-less water, a just tied knot, 30/40/50-pound braid, a hook so sharp it could scratch Wolverine's claws, standing in a motorboat, and having @WRB-2.0 coaching me and holding the net. 

 

I've caught 20-pound and larger carp, sturgeon, musky, etc., but a 15-pound bass feels like a FAR greater challenge.

I’ve landed bigger and meaner bass than a 15.    I can handle it. There are other species that fight unfair and I’ve held them up to  a camera.   
 

now the variables I can’t control?   All I can do is try.  
 

I think getting it to bite is the real challenge. 
 

 

Aint no bass even half that big swimming in the waters where I am.

 

But hypothetically, yes, I think I can do it.  From my bass boat.  I've caught northern pike and muskies that big on bass gear.  It felt like I was trying to land a submarine, but I succeeded.

Not in the current of the susky 

1 hour ago, crypt said:

Yep.........if I had to go in the water to get it I most certainly would......

If you have to go in the water then by definition it landed you 

If I landed a 15 pound bass in my neck of the woods they’d probably erect a statue of me in the town square.

 

Like the OP I’m mostly fishing from a canoe, and you just don’t have the same amount of leverage that you do on the bank or standing on a bass boat.  
 

That being said if I got lucky enough to keep it out of weeds/wood then yeah, maybe.

Yes - but I'd need my passport.

Locally I am predominately a smallmouth angler so 10 lbs is totally dreamland and most likely the ceiling on weight.

However I've got a few decades under my belt of catching various saltwater fish quite a bit bigger than me.

So with the right gear and some good fortune, anything is possible.

In the mean time, I'll usually get into some local by catch to help 

keep my big fish fighting skills sharp.

Take your time, especially at the boat. 

This fish was landed on 10 lb FC

https://youtu.be/c8ncmrbV3-M?feature=shared&t=304

 

and this one last summer was on 15 lb FC

https://youtu.be/ex3v1uogEcg?feature=shared&t=330

 

Didn't weigh either but 15 lbs for both was probably a while ago.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

2 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

Could you land a 15-pounder? Why or why not?

 

 

I don't think I could. A three-pounder spins and pulls my canoe and puts me in the most awkward positions. If I hooked her in weeds, I simply don't have the strength to keep her from burrowing into weeds. My only chance would be hooking her in deep, weedless water. I've caught 15-pound-and-heavier pike and muskies, so I have experience landing fish that heavy, but I couldn't be disadvantaged by wood and weeds. Sitting in my canoe, I also don't think I could bury a hook in one. When you're low in a canoe, you don't have the advantage of your big leg muscles like bass boaters do. So, I think my chances of landing one are quite low even I hooked one.

Not saying I could land a 15 lb. I'll probably never know. But that's one of the cooler things about the kayak. I can't tell you how many fish I lost over the years that went under the boat when I fished from an actual boat. In the kayak, big fish will just turn the boat and they don't get under it. On the other hand, they can drag you to cover and you can't stop them without some one-handed paddling. When I fish with m y buddy in his small jon boat, he engages the motor to keep the fish at the side of the boat. Fish also drag that boat around and it turns easily. It's only 10 ft.

Northern strain LMB can achieve 15 lbs , it’s possible but very rare.

My PB  37 lb Musky was caught using average bass tackle, 6’10” custom Lamiglas 4 power rod, 2500C reel with  8 lb UG copoly line and 1/4 oz hair jig fishing for Smallmouth bass. 
All my Musky fishing was using Heavy tackle with big lures, yet caught this big musky with my wife in the boat. Musky are fast strong fish but can’t make sharpe turns like a bass does. Keep the line tight and in front of you the fish wares itself out fighting.

Tom

3 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Musky are fast strong fish but can’t make sharpe turns like a bass does and wares itself out fighting.

 

When Tom, who's caught a 37-pound musky, writes that muskies can't make sharpy turns like bass, believe him. For me, big muskies and pike are one run and done. Sure, it's quite a run, but it's straight line, unlike bass.

I've landed red drum over thirty pounds and I hold a drum out fights a bass pound for pound. It was a very long fight that I depended on drag to win. I've also landed catfish and striped bass close to 10 lbs. This leads me to think I can land a 15 lbs bass.

 

However, I try to apply some healthy skepticism to myself. It's very possible a huge bass fights in a way that I'm just not prepared to deal with. 

 

Also, I like to go after bass flipping and pitching in the gnarliest cover. That probably would turn this into a whole other kind of fight. A bass that big is probably crafty and will somehow find a way to try to break off in wood given enough time. 

 

All I know for sure is I'd love to have a chance at it! 

37 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Northern strain LMB can achieve 15 lbs , it’s possible but very rare.

 

Is there a single state record with a northern strain LMB that is 15 pounds?

 

Its rare that I doubt you, but I'm skeptical they can reach this size.

23 minutes ago, gim said:

 

Is there a single state record with a northern strain LMB that is 15 pounds?

 

Its rare that I doubt you, but I'm skeptical they can reach this size.

Massachusetts ~ 

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-freshwater-fish-records

😵

A-Jay

Virginia 16 lb 4 oz

Alabama 16 lbs 8 oz*

Arkansas 16 lbs 8 oz*

S. Carolina 16 lbs 2 oz*

N. Carolina 15 lbs 9 oz.

Mass 15 lbs 8 oz.

* records older than 1985 more than likely not FLMB strain.