So the lake I fish, in 3 years I've never hooked a fish other than a bass or crappie. That being said me and my buddy headed out on the water yesterday afternoon. I'm using 50lb power pro on my 7'2" jig rod with my shimano curado reel drag set to the max. Basically I've been horsen them to the boat or net with this rig. I'm working probably 12-13 feet of water with a 12" worm 5/0 straight shank with a gambler rattlin weight when I feel a bite and I set the hook. (Let me mention I caught a couple 7+lb bass on this setup just days before.)

So I set this hook and immediately almost snap my wrist when this thing starts peeling out my line. I'm talking about drag pull strength that is tough for me to even muscle off my own spool. Obviously I start going crazy, because this (whatever it is) is pulling about 100 times harder than my PB. My buddy is understanding this so he's clearing rods and tackle and helping me try to bring some sort of direction to this fish. After another run, I'm wondering if this is a gator that bit my worm in 12feet of water?! I try to bring him up and I simply can't. Then it makes a incredibly quick run under the boat to head towards the grass line and pulls my 7'2" med-heavy jig rod into the water at a speed towards cover letting me know this is definitely a bass. This is when I start to really go ballistic as me and my buddy are assuming I'm hooked into a world record. Well about another 30 seconds pass in a circle around the boat, I still haven't seen this fish, as it has not even attempted to jump. I'm so confused, and just assuming it is just so massive it doesn't want to come up.

Well when I finally wore it down, up through the 16" of visibility water comes a bass with a hook deep into the meat of his upper back. My buddy nets him and we both just sit down in shock. I just never felt so let down in my life. My body was shaking like the worst case of buck fever, could hardly put my words together. I didn't bother to take a pic, didn't even bother to put her on the scale, as I was honestly expecting a bass three times the size.

Me and my buddy tho will never forget it. Which makes me wonder how many of you have a story like this? I think what made it so crazy was knowing it couldn't be anything other than a bass. Unfortunately I was right, just didn't expect that kind of foul hook would do such a thing. I've had foul hooked bass on cranks that were fun, but this was in a whole different category.

All a fish has to pull wit his its fins and body depth. Tail-hooking a big fish gives you no control. They are facing the wrong way! You are fighting their total swimming power.

With light tackle (no lifting power) tail-hooking a big fish is a rush at first -then it just sucks.

I empathize with you. I have had that similar experience with smallies before as well as other species. It really lets your mine wander about the record status you have hooked only to burst your ballon when you find out the truth.   

I was ripping a crankbait through grass last weekend, and then the rod bends double.  I played the fish as well as I could and finally seen a grass carp that would of went 35-40 pounds.  Never weighed it, didn'd feel like getting slime all over the boat.  was excited for about 15 minutes.  BIG let down.

I had a similar experience with a carp last summer as far as thinking I had hooked into a world record bass. I had my daughter's ultra light rod and reel in my Pilot (she wasn't with me) and got it out when my spinning reel broke.

I put a real night crawler worm on it and tossed it out from the shore toward where some stick-ups were and where I had caught a couple of bass earlier.

As it went to a slack line on my first cast with her equipment, it immediately went back to a tight line and began pulling out line.

I thought it was a huge record bass and could only imagine the endorsement deals that would come my way! Too bad it wasn't an artificial lure on there, I thought as I slowly got back some of the line it had taken out.

After a long time of playing this monster bass, I finally got it close enough to the shore to see it was a carp! I managed to get it landed and it weighed 14 pounds...sure felt bigger on that u/l equipment. 

Probably part of the reason I was able to get it in was the u/l rod and reel and line were relatively new, the fish never swam through any coverage, and the reel was so small I didn't try to "horse" the fish in and just took my time getting it to come to the shore.

Oh, well...so much for world-records and endorsement deals  :'(

This happened to me before, when i was salmon fishing in scotland. I thought i was into a 20 pounder when the reel went screaming. I shouted to my brother to bring the big net, and when i got the fish in it was about 4 pounds but hooked in the belly. Its amazing how much bigger they feel when they're foul hooked