I went out on my local lake, and things have been picking up.  I wound up catching 10 fish nothing over 2#.  It was a fun day overall, untill I rolled up on what looked like a dead grass carp floating by the bank.  I got close enough to identify it as a big LMB.  It was covered in flies,  I got swarmed when I shooed them off of the big girl.  I layed my rod from nose to tail and measured the rod to reveal 28" I thought that she would definitly be a 10# fish or better.  What a shame,  she may have just died of natural causes,  but there is so much bait I think she took a hook wrong and wasn't handled properly.  Oh well I am pretty sure there are more like her in this lake.  Here's the corpse

Hey Kevin, I'll be the one to take claim, here's how that beauty passed! My friend and I were fishing at night and were getting skunked bad on his pontoon boat. We tried live bait, cranks, worms, swimbaits, nothing liked us. Our last stop around 9:00pm at a canal near Forest Hill road, I hooked into this beauty and she ran me for a couple minutes. I pulled her in the boat tired and found my rear treble hook in the back of the gill plate and the front treble through the front of the gill plate. She literally inhaled my bait. She bled like I massacred a bonito. Anyways, sadly, we tried to revive her in the livewell for 40 minutes but all we got was a kick or two out of shock. We tried to revive her back in the lake, but she slipped out of my hands and sank. It turned a great catch into a sad fish tale. I have a pic on my cellphone if you want to pm me your cell #, I took it after she wouldn't breathe, believe me, we didn't mishandle the fish, she ripped part of her gills out from the fight!

Hey Kevin, I'll be the one to take claim, here's how that beauty passed! My friend and I were fishing at night and were getting skunked bad on his pontoon boat. We tried live bait, cranks, worms, swimbaits, nothing liked us. Our last stop around 9:00pm at a canal near Forest Hill road, I hooked into this beauty and she ran me for a couple minutes. I pulled her in the boat tired and found my rear treble hook in the back of the gill plate and the front treble through the front of the gill plate. She literally inhaled my bait. She bled like I massacred a bonito. Anyways, sadly, we tried to revive her in the livewell for 40 minutes but all we got was a kick or two out of shock. We tried to revive her back in the lake, but she slipped out of my hands and sank. It turned a great catch into a sad fish tale. I have a pic on my cellphone if you want to pm me your cell #, I took it after she wouldn't breathe, believe me, we didn't mishandle the fish, she ripped part of her gills out from the fight!

If thats true, I respect your integrity.

Goes to show you it's a small world.

I wouldn't see any reason for New to doubt you 2Many. It sounds like you did everything you could, just must have been her time.

When you loose so many in that lake at the boat that size, you dont want the one you actually catch to not make, my friend and I tried everything. I felt really bad, but from the fight, the rear treble already tore through the gill plate real bad. I had blood spots on my shorts that looked very bad. But im pretty positive that was her, cuz she had to be about 6lbs and no belly just overall size.

Small world for sure.  Sad to see one like that go but that just comes with the game.  

You know what they say "Poop Happens". Its not uncommon in fishing crankbaits, for a fish to get hooked in the gills and bleed to death. Nice fish either way. ;D

Hey Kevin, I'll be the one to take claim, here's how that beauty passed! My friend and I were fishing at night and were getting skunked bad on his pontoon boat. We tried live bait, cranks, worms, swimbaits, nothing liked us. Our last stop around 9:00pm at a canal near Forest Hill road, I hooked into this beauty and she ran me for a couple minutes. I pulled her in the boat tired and found my rear treble hook in the back of the gill plate and the front treble through the front of the gill plate. She literally inhaled my bait. She bled like I massacred a bonito. Anyways, sadly, we tried to revive her in the livewell for 40 minutes but all we got was a kick or two out of shock. We tried to revive her back in the lake, but she slipped out of my hands and sank. It turned a great catch into a sad fish tale. I have a pic on my cellphone if you want to pm me your cell #, I took it after she wouldn't breathe, believe me, we didn't mishandle the fish, she ripped part of her gills out from the fight!

Next time that happens rub some Please Release Me over the wound and put some in the livewell then drop the fish in the livewell for a little while. Please Release Me clots the bleeding usually if not then atlease you tried to help.

                                        joe

I had never heard of that till now, but I noticed TW carries it! At first I thought you were kidding, but I will definitely pick up a bottle and give it a try. Thanks for the info!

Yep no joke, I use Please Release me or Catch and Release for all of my tournaments and never lost a fish. There made by the same company Sure Life Laboratories www.sure-life.com. If you do a search on here you will find alot of info about it.

                                              joe

Well there's no blame being laid on anyone.  It was just a shame, and I know that lake very well, and that even in the condition she was in, it looked like she had been eating, and was healthy enough.  But I do agree that those fish always seem to get away close to the boat, it must be in their genetics.  LOL  At least you tried to save her.

wow. a typical 28" bass would have to be close to 15 lbs.

sucks to see a nice one floatin'

.....

and if that truely is the same fish,

then........ wow, crazy coincidence how the story unfolded right here on BR.

wow. a typical 28" bass would have to be close to 15 lbs.

Just to set the record straight, that LMB was maybe 22", definately not 28", if I had to guess, I would say about 6 - 7 lbs, maybe pushing 8lbs, but she was slim. I will tell you this, I had both hands in her mouth with ease one trying to pull out the rear treble hook, while holding the lure with my other hand.

sucks to see a nice one floatin'

.....

and if that truely is the same fish,

then........ wow, crazy coincidence how the story unfolded right here on BR.

And yeah, im pretty sure it is. Kev lives nearby the same lake that i've grown up fishing. Ive seen some of his posts

if i know the fish has no chance of living. I would probobly make a meal out of it.  Letting em float around doesnt do anybody good.

I dont think you would eat a LMB out of a lake surrounded by thousands of residential homes that have drainage into this lake. Probably not a good idea, but leave me your address and if it  happens again i'll send it to you! Sorry for the sarcasm, but I wouldn't eat anything out of there.

I dont think you would eat a LMB out of a lake surrounded by thousands of residential homes that have drainage into this lake. Probably not a good idea, but leave me your address and if it  happens again i'll send it to you! Sorry for the sarcasm, but I wouldn't eat anything out of there.

Last time I checked ur lake doesn't apply to every lake in country. And im pretty sure that you didnt state anything about it being a residential area in your post.  Sorry for the sarcasm

Shame it happened. Fishing is a blood sport and try as we might some just don't make it. Congratulations for making the effort.

Jack

Oh ok, sorry I didn't mention it. That's why I was sarcastic before. My mistake

Sad day but it happens. Hope you find her twin

Mottfia

if i know the fish has no chance of living. I would probobly make a meal out of it. Letting em float around doesnt do anybody good.

Nature will take its course.  Another animal of some kind will eat it.