Fishing Fork all through the 90's there were a few occasions that I still dream about on fish that never made it to the boat.
Fishing with guide Ronnie Byrd in Dale Creek. Flipping jig next to a tree in 16 feet of water. Hooked the fish started reeling, then the fish turned, stripped out drag and went back to the bottom and hung up. Worked for over 10 minuites trying to fee the bass before breaking the line.
Night fishing mouth of Caney, throwing big black Hilldebrandt spinnerbait with Uncle Josh pork trailer where a creek bends into bank area. Got a hit and set the hook. Fish took off and we had to turn the boat and start heading to where the fish was going and felt the fish hang into a couple of stumps or brush piles before breaking off.
Night fishing again up in Shotgun using same spinnerbait, got a hit and set the hook and felt the bait rip out of the mouth of the fish and rip through the water. Started reeling in real fast to make another cast telling my buddy I was fishing with that I had just missed a fish and right when my bait go to the boat fish crushed it and took off. I didn't have enough time to do anything but hold on as I am watching this fish tail walking and stripping line away from the boat in the moon light. Fish looked huge.
Fishing a 10" worm behind my buddy throwing a frog. Blow up and a miss on his frog. I throw the worm in and immediately fish smashes it and takes off through the hydrilla striping off line and about jerking the rod out of my hand until he breaks off.
These are memories of some of my time on that lake. My largest bass on Fork is still under 10 lbs and I don't know if it was my fishing ability or just bad luck on losing fish like this or maybe both.
But they are still great memories I think about all of the time and wonder about the true size of some of these bass I lost.

Had my heart broke at Oak Creek a few weeks ago, the only bite I had on a Thursday afternoon was her. I don't know exactly how big she was but I do know it would've been a personal best. Largest mouth I've ever seen come out of the water with my hook in her mouth. She came up, did a little dance and threw my hook. Went back Friday and missed her again, lost another fish over 5 lbs later that day as well. Then went back Sunday and the laydown and brush she was near was all messed up, my guess is someone else caught her or she wrapped them up and the habitat was disrupted, haven't been back since.

guide said it was at least 17. clearly the biggest bass I have ever seen. but a long story. At Rodman in Florida

the male with her was 8 lb.

Been quite a few years since I've heard that name.

Was out fun fishing with JR Simpson one July night and hooked a tremendous fish. The way it stayed down and pulled, would have swore that it was a big flathead catfish. I finally saw it and tried to turn the fish to bring it back to the net and the hook popped out. Stupid mistake on my part...should have just led the fish around the boat.

Losing that fish still haunts me today. Biggest bass we've both seen in the water at the boat.

Luckily or unluckily, i have caught the biggest fish i have hooked that i could see. I have lost fish that felt big, but never got eyes on them so its hard to speculate how big they were. Of course when i break off a fish on a hookset or lose a fish in a tournament my partner always says it was a 12lber...

Dr JL messaged me and asked what was the Rodman story. I had a few minutes so I wrote it all down. It was fun re-living that adventure so here it is:

I didn't mention that Rodman has the biggest gators I have seen anywhere and great pickerel fishing as well.


So my friend owns a computer store in Gainesville, Fl but has a manager to run it and then he guides at Rodman 4 days a week. We were down visiting and he said want to go? Of course. It was in February and it was spawning time in northern Florida.

He said don't bring your boat you can run one of mine. Ok This was in 1999. He gave me a brand new 1999 Skeeter to run because he hated the boat but had a contractual agreement to run it for one of the senior writers for Bassmaster Magazine. He brought his "Storm".

We bought 2 dozen wild shiners and headed out. We started out with he and his wife, and me and my wife and another women. Ten minutes in and he and his wife had a terrific argument so we switched. Now it was him and me and the three girls in the Skeeter.

And man did they tear of the bass that day. We could hear whooping and yelling forever.

We were trolling the shiners and caught a bunch of smaller size bass up to around 5 lb and then I got a much bigger fish on and after I got it in it turned out to be, according to Flip, a male. An eight pound male. He said "there has got to be a really big female in the area real close to where I hooked him". So we started looking for beds.

He claims in the 15 years he had been fishing that area that he and his customers have caught 35 bass over 15 pounds. Florida actually has a reputation for big bass like Texas.

The lake was down some and we were basically fishing in a forest of standing timber but we had been trolling down a waterway that adjoins the wood. We turned around and went back and found a small opening in to a very small cove like area but there was no creek. Just a rounded out deal in the trees.

As we went in there was a very large bed on the right so he went right past that for about 50-75' and we tied up at the back to a tree and let everything get quiet.

His rod and reel had 30 lb mono and mine had 20 lb mono. I fish left handed and he fishes right handed. So we put floats on and both throw our shiners, and we had bought all big shiners to start out, over onto the huge bed. We had already released the male.

I might have failed to mention we also had a case of beer in the boat. So we were yaking and drinking and I happened to look over at our lines and both of the floats were gone. No kidding.

He asked me what pound test I had. And said let me have your rod. He gently popped my shiner out of the basses mouth and said to me "wait until I get this long handle net ready and then set the hook with my rod".

I hate right handed reels. I just have no experience with them at all. So I did and the rod was pulled down so hard it nearly pooped out of my left hand and then up she came. Wallowed on the surface and he said either oh [censored] or oh my God. Loudly. Down she went (It was about 8' in there with no trees underwater between the fish and our boat.)and she
came right at the boat.

I was reeling as fast as I could and Flip said she is going to go under the boat and into the wood behind us as she went under the boat. He had put the net down but missed the fish and the 30 lb did not stop her one bit and it went pow. Period.

He said to me if I had gotten the fish what would I have done with her. What I do with all of the fish I catch. Well not all. The big ones get their picture taken and then released.

We had another beer and sat there shaking. He said he has seen many many 15's and he was sure she was at least 17.
That's good enough for me.

When we went out he put a marker on the opening. He never told me if he went back and caught her.

Great story Bruce. Thanks for sharing.

The biggest fish I personally have ever seen hit my small lipless crank bait on Kurth. I got it to the side of the boat and my Wife tried to grab it with a lipper. One shake and away it swam. I sat there in stunned disbelief. Then my Wife started bawling like a baby and I spent the next 1/2 hour consoling her.

Great story Bruce Allen!!!
I love hearing these, probably therapeutic somehow...!

Toadsnatcher threw my pb and possible share-a-lunker overboard at Falcon one day when he lipped it and pulled into boat just to have her head shake, he lost grip and she hit side of boat and back into water!

Back in the late 80's I was on one of many guide trips I took in those days with a number of the guides on Fork. I was with Gene Snider in late Feb or early March and we were Way Way up in the upper reaches of Fork pitching jigs at standing timber in about 6 ft of water. Gene said "which side do you want" and said I would take the left while he pitched to the right of this particular tree. I felt a tic and set the hook-she started running to the left and I couldn't hold her. She wrapped a small stickup and rolled to the surface. The jig was lightly stuck in her lip and just spit it back to me. Gene said: "I had an 11 lber in the boat last week and that fish was a lot bigger-"-we both guessed around 14.

We tried later in the day for her and Gene tried several times the following week but never saw her again.

Great memory!! Gene taught me an awful lot about jig fishing.

11.78 lbs......I know the exact weight cause after she came unbuttoned......my cousin landed her. Weighed her at Stowaway on Conroe.......;)

Fished Ray Roberts about 5 years ago by myself in the Spring. My partner called the night before and had to cancel, so I just decided to fish all new spots. Was fishing a flat in about 3 feet of water just on the edge of a deep creek, with a blow down cedar right next to the edge. Fishing 60 lb Spider Wire to 20 lb YoZuri with a Chartreuse Pumpkin Lizard on a CR. The cast was perfect... the lizard landed right next to the blow down, and then the toilet flushed. This pig was so big she couldn't even get out of the water when she broke surface. I knew it was a good fish, biggest I have ever had on. She ran right at the boat, and we locked eyes at about 3 feet. I've seen plenty of mounts of 12 lb fish and she was easily as big. I reached down to lip her, she wallowed and I watched my lizard fly past my right ear! She sat there for a second, tail flipped and was gone. I sat in the bottom of the boat and shook like a leaf for at least 10 minutes. Tried to fish some more and couldn't, just packed it in for the day. I've been back to that same spot each Spring...but she isn't making a repeat performance.

I was lucky enough to catch the biggest couple of bass I ever hooked. The biggest one went 10pounds 3oz, however I did manage to hook up to a nice fish in Turtle Creek in Dallas but after I beached it, it spat the hooks and flopped back into the water. At this point it's always speculation but would've given her 6 - 7 pounds. Definitely the biggest fish I've seen in that creek.