I woke up yesterday about 8:00. I walked out into the front yard and became as giddy as a little school girl. Light winds, overcast, warm...IT'S TIME FOR SOME TOPWATER FISH!!!!!!

I ate breakfast with my girls, kissed my wife and daughter and headed out the door. When I arrived at my first spot I still had a Zoom speed craw tied on from my previous outing. Even though I had planned to break out the frogs I decided to make one cast. Just as it hit the water...BAM!!! Set the hook, 2.5 pounder. I got it to the bank and realized the fish had another hook firmly stuck in its jaw. After some minor surgery I removed both hooks and set the bass free. Shortly after that I switched over to a Zoom frog and started killing them. It was AWESOME!!! Well then the wind picked up. Now the conditions are overcast, warm, and breezy. What shall I throw? Everyone in unison now...SPINNERBAIT!! I tied on a 3/8 oz Stanley Wedge in a perch pattern and again on my first cast, BAM!!! Unfortunately the outcome was a little different. After I set the hook I saw a big bucket mouthed bass briefly break the surface sloshing around and then she dove again. I had her stuck good, so I thought. I had her almost to the bank and inexplicably the line went limp. I slouched over in defeat and slowly reeled in my line. This is what I saw:



I've had bass straighten out hooks on cheap spinnerbaits before but Stanley makes a great product in my opinion, and I have never had this happen with one of theirs. I can't even guess how big she was. Oh well, I killed 'em all day anyway, and she's still there for another day.

It was at least 18.5
That hook is rated for 18 by stress engineer gurus.

Now you'll have dreams of that fish forever. Keep fishing for her, you never know what will hit your bait.

24.6lbs

that's awesome....


Broken hooks are the reason, we all keep going back

WOW

wow is right, thats impressive..bet you almost had a heart attack

if it makes you feel better....I have had carp as small as 15lbs straiten hooks ;)....either way this happend to me once a long time ago I was so upset I called the company that made the lure and sent it in to them and they sent me 24 baits in the mail...just a thought...

Great story....keep yer hook in the water and you can stick her again!

Still fishing your honey hole that supposedly doesn't have any fish?!?!

too bad you didnt have a trailer hook on

This is actually another spot in my neighborhood. Some of the neighborhood kids go there to catch perch but other than that I've only ever seen one other guy bass fishing and I'm there at least 3-4 days a week. I've had a lot of people pass me on the bike trail and strike up a conversation. A couple of weeks ago an older guy stopped and asked me if I was having any luck. I told him no. Little did he know, I had a 3 pounder free spooling while he was talking to me!!! He looked down and saw my rod move and he said, "Hey, I think you've got a bite." I told him that I was just hung up and he said, "Yeah there's a lot of trash in there." He went on to tell me that I was probably wasting my time because he thought the pond had been "fished out" years ago and then he went on his way. I reeled in my fish and returned it to the pond smiling the whole time.

i did the same thing to a crank bait a few weeks ago but i think it was the fact that i was using braid, got it caught in tree and wasn't going to cut the line.

I took your advice and sent an E-mail to Stanley with the picture attached. I have heard of companies having a bad batch of lures from time to time so I just wanted to let them know about it.

They responded to me in less than 10 minutes!!! They were very apologetic and offered to send me a replacement ASAP even though I hadn't asked for one. The lady said she had personally placed the e-mail and the picture in Mr. Stanley's hand and that he personally was going to look into it and contact me if he found a problem.

I have no affiliation to Stanley but I'm here to tell you that I am very impressed. I have always been more that satisfied with their products and now I know they have impeccable customer service as well. They just made a customer for life!!!

having fish stories makes you a real fisherman!!!LOL,,,,,rick

Yep, Stanley makes some real fine lures. They use nothin' but quality hooks on 'em too! Since seein' your pic, I tested a batch of mine. Didn't bend a hook till I got over 28 lbs. of weight hangin' from them! Guess that means you've got a new World Record swimmin' around in your fishin' hole! But don't cry too long about losin' her, just let me know where you were fishin' and I'll go get her out for you. He He

Congratulations on findin' a Great Secret Spot!
LlindeX

Loosen your drag.

Yup......then you won't need 200# Power Pro!

I was actually using a deep sea rig with 300# kevlar well rope. I didn't realize that would be an issue!!

The funny thing is that she was actually taking drag during the fight so I don't think that was the problem. I really think I just got a bad lure. After talking with the people at Stanley, I think the hook was not tempered properly. The fish was big. Probably around 8+ but not big enough to do that to a Mustad hook. Either way she's still there and I'm going back after her this weekend with a surf rod and a tuna lure!!

Maybe you could send the bait back to Stanley and have them do a test for "temper". If that is the problem, they would have a lot more baits out here in the field with the same potential for failure. While I know it's not practical to have a bait recall, they could notify everyone of the problem via magazine and forums. If they do nothing and more folks lose fish, they won't be getting any good press, that's for sure!

can you hear the DRUMs fernando ' la la la . i bet that was what hit ya

Heartbreak

I love the stanley baits and will continue to use them but I will have to admit in the last two trips to Fairfield I've had three broke. None broke at the hook all at the bend in the shaft. I can't complain too much cause I think it is from being bent from the fish and adjusting them afterwards. I've been catching several good fish on them and I guess nothing lasts forever but it sure hurts ur feelings when it snaps right at the boat!!!!!
Justin

Must have been a nice fish. I haven't seen a Spinnerbait hook straighten out before.

Was It a stanley wedge(bleeding) double willow(gold&silver).
Mine was, and it was in a perch color, too.
I hooked up on a decent fish about a month ago at a small goverment lake and had the same result. This fish wasnt a beast though, maybe about 5 1/2 #. Ive probably gone through 20 of these due to wear and tear. But only one here recently actually bent the hook.
I'll tell you what though. Its always a go to lure for stained water or mud lines on any small lake.