Okay guys I have a question that's kinda subjective and most likely depends on a few things, but I just want a general kind of answer from anyone who's landed a big bass or even a carp.

The state of Colorado record LMB is 11.5 pds. I was just fishing a spot on the front range that is stocked with perch, crawdads, bluegill and other yummy forage for the LMB in there. I've heard of 7+ pounders come out of this place.

Anyway I was just fishing with 10 pound test and a medium/heavy action rod and a pfluger supreme reel. I threw a rattle trap out and gave it a few quick jerks as it lay on the bottom. I felt a tap and set the hook.

For literally the next 5+ minutes I fought this thing. It literally felt like a good friend of mine was under the water, pulling my line, as a practical joke. It bent my rod as far as it could be bent. I had to reset my drag even tighter as I reeled this fish in. I felt like I was deep sea fishing and had a huge marlin on!

I'd get a few yards of line in and this thing would just pull as if it was a very large dog attached to the end of my line. After about 6 minutes, as I got this darn fish about 15 feet from shore, my rattle trap just shot out of the water and the fish was gone. I know there are gigantic carp in this pond, that grow to 40+ pounds, could I have snagged one? Is that likely?

Would a 10-12 pound bass be this strong? I am 200 pounds and in shape and this thing was pulling to the point to where my biceps hurt.

What does a 10+ pound bass feel like? ( I know, very tough to answer)

Pleae tell me I probably snagged a carp, as I swear to god if this was a bass, I just lost the state record. I'm still shaking.

T

Sounds like "Nessy" to me. Big cat's have a habit of doing that and I am sure that you could have snagged on an old carp that was nosing around, but I'm kinda leaning toward "Ole Nessy".

www.ragetail.com

You most likely did NOT snag a carp

because carp have been known to pick up/eat rattletraps  ;D.

I'd say you most like had a carp, especially if the ones in there grow up to 40lbs.

A 10lb bass would put up a fight but I doubt it would take 6minutes and strain your arm muscles to full potential. Watch some videos on youtube of guys catching hawgs in Cali on swimbaits, most bass fights don't take any longer than a minute or two.

Whatever it was, I doubt you'll be fishing with 10 pound line anymore.  None of my buddies down here in Texas fish with anything less than 20, and at least 25 to 30 if fishing around heavy cover.

Before I started using heavier line, I lost quite a few monsters and it drove me crazy.  The hard part is not knowing, maybe YOU DID lose your state's record bass.

Be ready next time.

I'm gonna say carp  ;D. still a great fight though!

Sounds like a big carp or cat to me. Just to make yourself feel better , use a heavier line the next time you fish this lake.

Why heavier line?  The line didn't break, the lure came flying out of the water and almost hit me in the face.  The darn hook(s) just came out.  I had pressure on this fish the whole time and never was there slack line when it was on.  I still literally can't get over the power this thing had, seriously unreal.  I had to lean back and push the pole into my belly and the thing was still pulling me.  

What we are saying is that if you are fishing a lake that is known to have 7lb+ bass in it then you might concider beefing up your line to at least 15lbs.

Line probably isn't the issue.  I've fished redfish with 17lb mono.  Some people would call that crazy, I called it a heck of a lot of fun.  

Were you using a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap?  If so, buy some owner or gammy trebles and replace those junk hooks.  That may not be what happened, but it's a good thing to do anyway.  Rat-L-Traps come with crap hooks, unless their setup has changed in the last year or so.

I realize the line didn't snap, but what I'm getting at is that if you were using heavier line it wouldn't have been a 6 minute fight.  You would have been able to have your drag set a little higher and possibly catch the fish before the hooks turned loose.

And as Brian said, the hooks that come on rattletraps aren't the best either.

I bet it was a big carp rooting on the bottom looking for food, and your rattle trap snagged him when he was digging around. Carp fight hard.

Id say it was either a big carp or a big catfish

lol...happened to me last year. 12 pound test on a jig n pig. felt a hard bump and fought.Whatever it was almost unspooled me.I'm almost 100% sure it was either a carp or dogfish(never saw it).Both are well known hard fighters in that lake.They both grow incredibly big too.I now go to a carping site here in MI. and it's not uncommon for our water to catch 20 pounders all day.Heck of a lot of fun and boy do they pull your line.

I lost 4 carps last year due to them running to shoreline and wrapping around something.Smart creatures they are.I'm thinking about getting some carping gear and go after them once in awhile...only thing is i like to move around.Carp is a sit and wait game a lot of times.I still love my bass fishing more.

I suspect a carp hooked in the back or tail. I recently hooked one in the tail and he pulled my boat. That may explain why the hook popped out the way you described.

I'd say the chances of it being a catfish or carp, are much higher then it being a bass.

My thoughts on the matter. 99.9% of the time, a bass during a fight that lasted this long would have probably broken the water at least a half dozen times and you would have gotten a good look at it.  I'm saying a large cat, they fight like you described.

My guess is a carp that you snagged in the tail or belly.  I once snagged  an approx 5lb carp in the tail belly...wow was that a ride.  When you foul hook a fish in the belly or tail, they pull a lot harder.

prob not a bass if it didnt jump .when i caught my 10 pounder it jumped 2 times like slow motion i can still see it in my mind 20 yrs later.then agian maybe colorado bass dont jump cause of the gravitaional force of the moutnains???  Also  if u snag a carp  very seldom in teh mouth usally there body>>> there scales are pretty tough and when ur trap came back u woulda had a scale the size of a silver dollar

then agian maybe colorado bass dont jump cause of the gravitaional force of the moutnains???

What the....?  

I've caught my personal best (12-8) on a Rat-L-Trap using 15# Berkley Big Game and have caught many bass in the 8-10 lb range on Traps. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what you caught or did not catch because it would only be a guess.

Most people blame lost Trap bass on the hooks but years ago I learned something about Rat-L-Traps and lost bass. A bass in the 8 lb plus range can and will grab a Trap in it's mouth holding on with so hard that when you set hook you actually don't move the bait. Once the bass opens its mouth there goes the Trap flying through the air. How do I know this takes place you might ask; examine your Trap and if the bass actually mouthed it you will see a perfect semicircle of teeth marks. I will add that every time I noticed this my Traps had brand new Excalibur Rotating Hooks replacing the original hooks. If by chance y'all are thinking will maybe I didn't set hook hard enough ask Matt Fly about my hook setting ability vs. his rear seat.

For a different opinion maybe 2 good bass got it at the same time.

Talked to some friends who have fished the pond longer then me by far.   They told me there's huge catfish in there.  I didn't know that.  I bet that's what it was.  Thanks for all your opinions fellas.  I really wish I could have seen what it was.  It's been killing me all day and night, and I know I'm going to have a hard time sleeping tonight.

t

If you contiue to fish there, you'll catch another monster of the deep!

8-)

Yeah I say carp or cat, I had a few fish fight me like this, 2 were on a inline spinner while going for trout, one of which was in about 1 1/2 foot of water where carp are rarely ever seen in this river I was fishing. Don't know what it was, but it sure did fight.

Had a few saltwater fish do this to me too... never got to see them eitha.. :'(. But you got to think positive, remember.. these are the events they keep you fishing 8-).