I'll go first

Fork - cold as hell
January 2006, maybe 2007
Cheney Point

We throwing 1oz red traps in hydrilla (when it was there) in about 10' of water in the cold. I make a long cast and get a hit about half way to the boat. She gets off. I'm reeling the trap in and about to pull it out of the water to cast again and she's following it and hits it again about 3' from the boat. True giant submarine tank hawg!! Giant, wide back, super long, and eyes the size of half dollars. She's got the rear hook of the trap in her lip. I'm yelling for father in law to get the net and she's pulling like hell. Braid holds but I can't turn her. She's so close and her back is actually out of the water. She straightens the hook on a dead pull. We just standing there looking at her as she just floats there a few seconds and then gently swims away. Biggest fish I've ever seen with my own eyes.

I've got a few big fish under my belt and I've netted 10-15 of my father in law's 10 +lb fish up to 12 .2 lbs. This gal made those fish look like guppies.

I don't know about big fish, but there was girl in High School..............

Big girls need love too Harold.

Story #2

Fork
April 2008
Willaims Creek

Fishing a Media tourney, we already got an over in the livewell and we know where we found a giant on the bed in practice. Wind out of the north and murkey water and it;s just a pitch and pray kinda thing. Father in law makes a few pitches and sees his line move and sets the hook. The fish that comes up has the biggest mouth on a bass that we;ve ever seen. a true giant. Shes thrashing just out of reach of the net. The jig comes out and shoots right over my head as we sit there in disbelief. She just floats around there on the surface for a few seconds and then swims away.

Father in law has 60+ fish over 10 with a few 13's. This fish was insanely huge. We both agreed that she was the biggest fish either of us had ever had one or seen with our own eyes.

Obiachic, Mexico - Late Feb. 2017
Heavy Wind at 35 mph.
Danger Cove full of rock islands.
We were throwing 1/2 oz. T-Rigs with Big Brush Hogs.

I went in there trying to get out of the wind. We're working the shallow water islands and points off the NW. Shoreline. We came to a small point with an island off the end and shallow water between the point and island. We picked up the big motor and TM and let the wind take us across the shallows. My partner dropped the TM and swung the boat around the point to a lone standing bush in 3 ft. of water sitting in some calm water. I am in the back of the boat and it is now closest to the bush for the cast. As soon as the Brush Hot touched bottom it took off to deep water. No Spot lock on the TM and I need my partner to get the net. We are at the mercy of the wind with a fish of a lifetime on and a mouth that you could drop a Volleyball into.

I have never seen a fish that big jump so many times on the first trip to the net. It is a big Frabill Net; but she wouldn't fit. I am dragging her with the wind which made netting from the head very difficult. She makes another run and we are now out in the full force of the wind; bringing her to the boat for the second attempt. We try to net her this time from the tail to the head and only got her in up past her belly. He tries to bring her aboard and the handle breaks in half and she takes off again. My partner is going to lip her this time; so I drag her up beside the boat where I can see a big whole ripped in her lip from the fight.

Just as he starts to grab her, she tail walks down the side of the boat and the hook comes out. The bullet weight hits him in the head and a huge knot pops up on his forehead. I have caught many fish on Oviachic over 10 lbs and up to 13 lbs.. She was twice that big. I go back to that point every year in hopes.

Awesome story DH. It's amazing how vivid these stories still are in our mind. I'm not so sure they aren't better than actually having caught the fish.

Rescue Fire and DH you both may need therapy. Ouch!
Lost a massive bass at Camelot Bell-2012-only bed fish I ever knowingly hung there due to poor clarity. Caught the very large male(largest I have ever caught - >7lb )first-then later saw a massive tail in the same spot-after many throws with a yum dinger she finally bit-so strong she pulled me to my knees and rammed my rod against the motor-broke line then completely cleared water behind the boat-made the 13.5 I caught earlier that day look small. Mike Frazier just giggled at me and made fun of my non braid line…at least he named the area after me-Joe’s slide.
Saw a huge bass on a bed at Fork 2001-very spooky but easily visible across the mouth of the cove-a true submarine. Tried for 2 days but she just never bit-I tried until she left though-every trick I knew. Just a very wary massive fish-another one that would not tolerate a boat anywhere near her-male was 1 lber too lol-witnessed many boats go by and she was long gone for 30 minutes-even saw a guide catch the male blind casting a spinnerbait-they had no idea. Stared at her for so long there’s a permanent spot on my retina lol. I was actually gonna get some equipment and lash myself onto the back side of a tree not too far away but she left before I could get to that step!
Hung the heaviest fish I ever felt at Bell-2013-hung her on a 7in senko in the “cable pile”. I was using braid and finally pulled her out of the mess -as soon as I got her to the top the bait just came unbuttoned and flew into my leg-I just shook for a couple of hours, no big deal. I got revenge in 2015 with a 15.25 out of the same pile but not the same fish. That one I lost was an original stocker.

Lost one over 10 this past summer fishing crappie in a brush pile. Not much you can do with 4lb test and 10ft crappie rod but hold on. Just as I was reaching to lip her jig popped out. She just slowly swam back down. I put my hand on her tail as she swam off.

Sir, we do not care for your stories of woe AFTER you tell us about having landed a 13 and a 15.

Plesae take your embarrassment of riches to another thread.

LOL

Biggest we lost was my wifes fish. It was every bit of 11lbs maybe a 12. We were fishing a point that i had been catching fish on and it was either kentucky's were there or big fish were there. That evening i decided to ease down the drop to get there quietly and let her throw first while i fished the drop. Sure enough she hung something but i thought it was a catfish. It rolled and never came up so i didnt pay any mind and figured i would mess with it when she got it to the boat. So she gets it close and this giant rolls up on its side right beside the boat and i freak out. Instead of just grabbing the thing i decided to try and get the net, which was put away of course. That split second let the fish go back down and it ran for a second and came up and jumped and threw the hook. Im still sick about it to this day. The only redemption was the next cast she caught one about 7

I'm lucky in that I don't believe I've lost the largest fish I've ever hooked. There's 3 that are stuck in my mind that I wish I could've landed, but I can't say they would've been my biggest.

1.) 2012 Falcon, crankbait, never got to see it...
2.) 2010 Palestine, Senko, Wrapped around a T-post and was thrashing on the surface until my line broke, est 8-10lbs
3.) 2013 small etx lake, crankbait, had it at the side of the boat trying to get a hand on it's mouth and it just came off. est 8-10lbs

I have always thought that Palestine was a dark horse to produce a state record fish. Such a great lake with plenty of hawgs in it.

Lol
It’s funny the lost ones stick in the memory more than the catches.
Palestine I agree.

My son and I were fishing Whitney. We were in Juniper Cove, and I was throwing a crankbait. We had caught some good fish up to 4 lbs. I make a cast and hook up one. My son who was 14 at the time ask, "It is BIG"! I said I do not know because it is running straight to the boat. About halfway to the boat she decides hum I don't like going that way and then the fight was on. She finally jumps and we both said "OH [censored]" she is a monster. My son grab's the net and I am fighting the fish and I finally get her up to the boat and she decides to go under the boat and come out the other side. I get her around the trolling motor and to the other side and she just let's go. We both about died. My biggest fish on Whitney was a 10.02 and this fish was much bigger than the 10.02. I am glad I was not fishing in a tournament. I would have been crying then whole way home. It is a good memory to have with my son, but it would have nice to land her.

Lake Conroe - Summer Night Fishing
July 2021

Night fishing lights. First stop we made, I hooked up with a big fish. No net in the boat. The bait pulled out after a minute or two of fighting. I caught one last spring that was 10.93. The one I lost was in that ballpark size.