Lost a tourney by mere ounces when my partner and I should have won by a few pounds had it not been for a really bad mental lapse on my part. Shaky head got hung up so I cinched my drag down on the spinning reel, broke it off, retied and threw back in only I forgot to loosen my drag back up. WHAM!!! BIG fish from the hook set. At least 6-7 pounds. I get her close to the boat, she surges straight down and SNAP - my leader breaks at the knot and I know IMMEDIATELY what happened and why. No, it wasn�t the Bassmaster Classic but I don�t like losing because of something I did wrong. A lesson learned the hard way and I feel like a shmuck.

So what lessons have you guys learned through experience that were either painful or that saved you from agony?

Yeah we have all done bone headed stuff like that. Don't beat yourself up. I have done just the opposite; loosen the drag to pull line thru the guides to tie on a new leader, then forget to tighten it back. The next time I set the hook it was too loose and the fish jumped off on first jump while I was trying to set it.

I can recommend something that may help you in the future. With a spinning reel if you need to snug down the drag to break off, just cup the spool with your hand to keep it from spinning while you are pulling. That way you can leave it the way it was and not have to remember to reset it.

I learned the painful lesson to always carry a spare trailer hub last week. 100 miles from home, and I was by myself so I got to unload everything out of the boat, into my truck, and leave the boat on the side of the highway. No one had a hub the size I needed in stock. All said and done I got to change the entire axle while wind gusts from semi trucks were nearly blowing the trailer off the jack stands. Got to lake and never got bit.