How big do you think.......

The biggest fish you ever lost was? I realize it is going to be a guesstimate but let's hear the story.

Mine was on Fork on Chaney point with a 1oz red trap at the boat. Easily 14 lbs or better.

back in the early 90s at fork thought i was hung up started pulling the rod straight back to me then it pulled back realized i had a fish it just rolled on top of the water didnt even jump and came off seems like it had 20"+ of its white belly IDK i always underestimate my fish size so i'm gonna say around 10-12lbs probably way bigger lol....

When I was a kid late 80's fishing with my grandpa at Fork I also lost a monster and a red trap lol. Ended up getting tangled in a tree and trolling motor battery was to weak to get to it. Felt like it was wrapped up for 10 min before he got over to it then it came off at last second. I've caught one over 13lbs that wasn't as big as that one.

Big enough it made me wanna cry...

500-600lb hammerhead. In front of my beach house WADE FISHING!!! I was done for the day after that.

Bass? I've caught all of my big hookups. 12lb 9 oz is my biggest.

Now...a real question? How many DD's and SAL's have watched my line dance on by? Probably countless.

I lost one on a Zara Spook years ago on Rayburn and it looked to be
about 22lb 6oz....fairly big...

Steez did that mad dog put up a fight? Let's hear the story.

On fork I was throwing a 2 oz holographic shad swimbsit and I thought I was hung so I let some line out and something had picked up all the slack and slapped my rod against the boat 3 times before my line got caught in the prop and broke off. I don't know if it was a bass but whatever it was it was big.

Lost one over 9, probably over 10 on a trap in very shallow water. I hooked her up and she took off for deep water. I thumbed my spool thinking I could stop her run. Ha! Yeah, right! She jumped and spit the trap back at me. Earlier that year my buddy caught a nine and this fish looked bigger, biggest bass I have seen in person. I just stared at the water in disbelief......
I regained my senses and caught her nest mate on a worm. He weighed 2 1/2 lbs.

Hell no. It hit my line and never stopped. I almost walked on water trying the get to dry land. Bad idea to use hard heads for bait. Lol

My PB is 12.54 and I had one quite a bit bigger follow a RomanMade Negotiator almost all way to boat one day. I saw her and it literally shook me bad enough I had to sit down for about 10 min. I don't want to even try and guess how big.

Now fish wise it was an estimated 10-12' tiger Shark that decided to hit a bait intended for a medium size (5-7') shark on a 6/0 boat rod when I was off the beach at PINS. She could have ate any of the 4 14/0 we had out but no she had to eat the small rod.

12-13lbs had it right at the boat tried to lip her and she took on last dive and broke the line, was way bigger than the 9lb 5 once I had boated a few days before. Laid on the deck for about 20 minutes thinking about how big that fish was.

Biggest fish I lost would go about 8 I believe. I'm glad I ended up catching the biggest one I've had hooked!

I'm pretty sure I've seen a few of you guys mention the old Spindletop bass club on here before. I lost one in there that was every bit of 16 pounds, flipped a watermelon red baby fluke into a hole in the grass maybe 12 feet from the boat, felt the bite, set the hook, she came up and jumped and that was that.



I'm also sure anyone that was on that club and remembers Mr. Perkins had heard the story several times of the fish that he estimated to be 22 pounds that he had lost twice.

I sure wish I could go back and fish that place with the knowledge and gear I have today.

U talking about the place in winnie? That's where I had my giant encounter.

That's the place.

Last year on Sardis. Fish was a true Sardis pig. Easily 10+.

Many years ago at Bass Pro in Grapevine I shook off a 19 pounder! I was doing a demo in the tank using a new lure the still had the hooks (YOU MUST CUT OFF ALL HOOKS WHILE ON THE TANK AT BPS) - well, of course, the biggest fish in the tank ate the lure and swam around with it for a good while. I bumped the rod butt, strummed the line, and did everything I could to keep the hooks from sticking her. Well, she finally did let go and I got the new lure back in. I was certain that the Bass Pro Shop police were going to take me to the back room for the incident. The only result is that I get to honestly say that I had a 19 pounder on my line.

400+ lb Blue Marlin

big catfish at fork on a C-rig, got it to the boat and wouldnt fit in the net, even if it would have
I'm pretty sure two of us couldnt have lifted it,..I'm guessing 40 pounds easy..i felt like we were doing a
off-shore fishing show..

I thought i was pulling in a stick one time and pulled a bass up to the surface. When the head came up it opened its mouth and my fluke just fell out, then it slowly rolled sideways to give me a good look. That was the biggest bass I've ever had on,I'll say it was a solid 11lbs.funny thing is the hook was still texsposed in the back of the fluke...I set the hook on every think now.

So big I dislocated both shoulders trying to describe it one day.

I was T-Rigging rock and timber on the back side of Wolf Island on Ray Bob, and had a hit that almost took the rod out of my hand. Set the hook and she came right at me and past in front of the trolling motor, By the time I caught up with her I could not turn her head and it was over. With the great look I got at her my guestimate was 15#+. I have a 12.75# and this was so much bigger than that one.

Not sure how bit but I have had 3 on Fork that I could not turn or do anything with.

The latest one was this past Sunday. I backlashed on like my second cast with a wacky rig ... i got it picked out and reeled up all my slack line. When I got it reeled in my line was tight and one was running with it. So I set the hook and she was already under the boat. Then headed so the side and started pulling drag. Finally I got her next to the boat and she was huge. My friend had the net ready but before she got there she made one big surge under the boat an broke me off... It was atleast over 7 for sure but I'm not sure an exact weight.

I hate to think about it but pretty dang big. I sight fish a lot for big ones and I can say I caught the biggest one I have ever seen , so far anyway, so that at least is good.

the guide said over 17 because he and his clients already caught 38 over 15. Popped 30 # test. Florida

I believe I caught the biggest LMB I've hooked, in my sig. I have lost a 6+ smallie (Lake Wentworth, NH), lost a 40+ pound striper (Merrimack River, NH). I have witnessed my partner losing a freight train of a fish on a crank bait, just couldn't stop it, we never saw it but easily a SAL by the way it pulled

7-8 pounder bank fishing a NICE pond in Kansas with a jig-pig. That would have been an epic fish for the state of Kansas.

Actually the biggest one that hurts the most was when I was a kid a long time ago at Sam Rayburn - my dad let me take the boat from the ramp at Powell park out-I had to stay in the cove but I trolled out across to the mouth of the cove and threw a grape worm out- thought I was hung up but the line started to move, then a giant freak bass rolled up-probably 8 plus but to my eyes it was Jaws- she dove and started taking drag-12lb stren was doing ok but I got scared and tightened drag too much - she broke me off then- my family had a hard time believing my story. To this day I never never tighten the drag in a fight.

Best story I've heard yet!

LOL. I know. That's even better than the ol' "hell, the fish was soooo big, the pic weighed 7 lbs!"

'bout80

Lost one over 8 for sure at the boat by myself at lake Alvarado

same day I had one on that put that one to SHAME fighting... i guess 10+ but not way over... big enough to whip me with a heavy rod and 1 ounce jig...

One thing is certain, every big fish I've ever lost was much larger in my mind than in actuality.

over 300 lb Blue Marlin in the Sea of Cortez 5 years ago fish on for 45 minutes and pulled off 50 yards from the boat.

The far back of Birch when grass was still thick. Lost the biggest bass I have ever hooked. 4" senko, watermelon/red. Had 3 witnesses and she jumped 3 times only getting about 1/3 of her body out of the water. All 3 said she was at least 14 lbs. Still have the memories of her jumping and then the line going slack. I have caught 4 other DD fish and she was the largest I have seen on my line. My partner ask what happened and all I could say was "I didn't break off" repeating that about 4 times.

A shark that was over 100 pounds lol didn't really want to mess with it anyway

Ray Roberts. Indian creek. Squarebill stuck on a log in about a foot of water. I popped the line, shook the line, pulled in every direction but it wouldn't come lose so I took the boat over to it. (I hadn't wanted to spoil the spot) Got up to where I could see the SB just under the water, laid the rod on the deck, rolled up my sleeve and bent over to get it and it popped lose. In a split second two big ol' bug eyes and a giant mouth came out of nowhere, swallowed my squarebill and very slowly swam with it under my trolling motor. I've caught a 10 and she was well over that. I didn't know what to do. She was going under my boat towards main lake so if I set hook I would have had that to deal with. Plus I only had tip of rod next to me as I was laying on the deck. In the one or two seconds of thinking what to do my squarebill came floating back to the surface. Weirdest part about it is that she would even bite with a big boat and person hovering right over the lure. Almost like she knew.........

Which lake was that if you don't mind telling.

Mine was on Toho last February while on vacation. It was within the first 10 minutes of fishing in the pouring rain in the morning. I was shiner fishing and when I saw the bait go down I reeled the slack and set the hook hard. After a few seconds of reeling and the boat getting turned from the fish she finally surfaced and you could see the big football gut on her. She made one last ditch effort to change direction and that's when she came unhooked. The guide estimated her to be 12-13 easily. That wore on me all day fishing even though I caught a 10 along with some 6's. The next day or so the guide emails me a pic of a 13.5 one of his clients caught in the same area. Could of been the same one, who knows.

Were you with Dean Haller on Little Lake Toho? I've heard a similar story. Dean used to drive a black GMC Jimmy with a skin mount in each of the rear windows. Both were 15++. Not doubting you, Bruce. I feel as though I've lost a mid-hi teen or two at Fork, myself.

There are probably 1,000-1,500 bass guides in Florida with similar 'credentials'. Less than 10% are the real deal.

Over what period did the guide and his clients boat 38 over 15? What was the largest? Phosphate pits and other private waters or all public? Thx.

The biggest one I ever lost and saw was somewhere between 11-12 pounds probably and what hurts is it was during the McDonald's on lake fork... Was pulling a jig out of 25ft water and she must have followed it all the way to the top... I saw her hit the jig, hook herself, go around the boat, me scream net, and her come off right next to the boat.. I still feel sick about it to this day and that was 3 years ago. Nothing I could really do though. Biggest bass I ever seen on the other end of my line. I've caught many 8's and 9's and this bass was by far much larger and thicker.

It still has some monsters in it. A LOT of 5-7 pound class

I sure wish Flarin Tool would drop us a good story in this thread.

For you new guys not familiar...

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3423741/Night_Fish_on_Fork#Post3423741

Late summer in 2014, I lost one on a frog on Austin that was likely 12+. Saw the fish cruising shallow and at first glance, I thought it was a grass carp because it was so long. Realized it was a bass and threw the frog about 10 feet in front of her. She just lazily swam over to it and I twitched it once and it gently came up and slurped the frog down. I laid into her hard and she took off fast to my right and then turned towards the boat, came up and shook her head a couple times and threw it. It is a very vivid image in my head. I've never lost any other that I saw that compared to that fish.

Estimated 10 foot sawfish on 15 lb test, 30 lb leader and less than 120 yards of line on Shimano Cardif 100 and StCroix Legend Tournament rod. Since the fish was foul hooked I doubt if it would have qualified as a legal catch by IGFA standards, but I did leader it (leader touched rod tip). Took the picture below when I first hooked the fish on the flats of Flamingo, Florida, Everglades National Park. Thought it was a tarpon when I made the cast using a Rapala Skitterwalk. Thought the fish wasn't interested as I worked the topwater right in front of her face and nothing happens. Watch in amazement as plug sticks on dorsal and line and fish starts moving to my right.. set the hook and fish shoots off in quick burst and then slows back down almost immediately. Dadgum fish doesn't even realize its hooked. I quickly paddle closer to get some line back, then tighten down on drag.. fish shoots off again then almost stops. Still thinking I have hooked a tarpon but think I might have hooked a dying fish as it never jumps and seems to lose energy very quickly. Loosen drag to make it think it isn't hooked, get back line, repeat. Chased fish around in big circle as it seems determined to stay in the area. Decide my best bet is to sneak up on it and try to get picture as it is getting late in the day and I've still got a long paddle back to ramp. Everything going as planned, fish is just about stopped and I loosen drag again as I don't want it shooting off again while I'm taking its picture and I surely don't want a SkitterWalk coming back at me if it pulls loose. Fumbling around for camera, reeling line in gently as I drift towards it, have fish parallel to kayak as wind is drifting me right next to it. Camera on, top of two foot leader in rod tip, camera pointed. At one micro second before I take picture, kayak drifts on top of monster and the mother of all explosions took place. I was almost knocked out of the water, arm flailing as I take picture, other arm still holding rod as I get tail end view of twin roostertails. I'm loosing line fast and in panic mode. Over the next 6 to 8 seconds I tightened drag in fear of getting backlash, loosened drag knowing it was hopless, and then tightened drag again and used thumb drag. Now hoping to break line rather than loose it all. Line pops. I'm sitting there thinking about what just happened, pull out a smoke to calm the nerves, look at pics in camera and see my money shot was of inside of kayak and not of behemoth, then almost dump my kayak. Realize I've taken on a lot of water inside hull (leak from kayak flying off car a few years previous) as I must have knocked the patch off on ramp. Back to panic mode as I paddle like a madman to make it back before I tip over. The day's excitement was just too much.




Picture above was early in the fight and got me to thinking I could sneak up on it.




Another rod throbbing run.. drag was starting to give me problems


Relieved to make it in.


Had about 10 gallons of water inside hull. All is well that ends well.

I was guiding Fayette a number of years ago and had a client and her boyfriend who had won a free trip I had donated to charity. I had them fishing waterdogs at the hot water discharge in December because neither had fished before and couldn't cast. I saw something take her bait and start running for deep water. I yelled at her to set the hook but she didn't know what to do. All of a sudden a 12+ lb fish jumps 5 feet from the boat and spits the waterdog straight at her. Fayette is known for a TON of 3-8lb fish but rarely do you see a double digit fish from there. She'd have definitely broken the lake record. Funny thing is the client thought that catching fish that size was normal...LOL

Really? I had heard the rollers and levee were destroyed during Ike? Is it still a club? I'd love to get back on that place. If you have the info on how to go about that let me know please.

They are always bigger when you loose them. I broke one off a couple of weeks ago that I would have sworn it was 7-8 lbs and saw it jump trying to throw the hook an hour later with the worm still in it mouth. I bet the fish wasn't 4lbs, made me laugh.