I know this is will be a sore subject with atleast a few but hopefully some will share!
Mine happened 8 years ago when I was fishin the first day of the mcdonalds tournament at Rayburn. Me and my partner were on a few fish about mid afternoon on redeye s shads. I got my redeye shad hung in some grass for the hundredth time and I was popping it and carrying on when all of a sudden a huge bass started sloshing around on the surface about 30 yards out from the boat. I told my partner, "oh my god, I think that fish has got my lure in his mouth!" Sure enough, the "please stay on, oh my god!" After what seemed like an eternity, the fish tired out and was laying on her side coming on in. My partner was ready with the net. I didn't realize just how big it was until it got about 20 from the boat. I was frantically hollering, "it's atleast 10, please get him in the net!" All of a sudden about 10 feet from the boat the gold redeye shad just casually came out of the fishes mouth but she was still on her side gliding toward the net. My partner reached out as far as he could but he came up about a foot short. Talk about an emotional crash and burn. I didn't know how to act. I started to go Ike on my rod but decided against it. It is something that weighs on my mind every time I go fishin.

Oddly enough, my most memorable heartbreak happened at Rayburn during the McDonalds too. Two years ago, final day, hadn't even hooked a fish worth taking to the scales. I ended up getting a quality bite a little before noon. I was throwing a c-rig and I remember thinking, "Man, that was a long cast." Well, long story short, I got her about 20 feet from the boat and she jumped and spit my worm out like it was nothing. When I reeled my worm back in, I saw that the hook had only come about a quarter-inch through the worm. I figured I wasn't using a long enough or heavy enough rod or didn't set the hook hard enough. To-date, that is one of the only Sealy tourneys I've fished and not cashed a check.

But this story has a good ending. That heartbreak haunted me for a year, and I was fully motivated to give it 110% when I went back last year. And I was very blessed to get a good one during last year's tournament.

My best happened back when I was just getting into fishing. We had an inflatable boat. I was using a 4ft 11inch ultra light ugly stick spinning rod with 8lb test. It was in mid March on a small lake. All I knew about the spring fishing at that time was the fish get shallow. I was using a wacky rig just beating the banks in a cove when I see a swirl where my worm landed near the bank. I still to this day don't really know why I had the bright idea of using an ultra light. Other than it is fun it was a stupid idea. I handt ever caught a real big bass at that point so I guess I just didn't know any better. So I see a swirl and THUMP I set the hook into what I think is a log. The drag starts screaming. The fish almost gets beached on the bank before it swims back out. After it swims back out I somehow manage to get it to the side of the boat and lip it. It weighed a little over 8lbs this was all on ultra light.

My worst happened last summer. Short story. Not much to tell. I was on my favorite little lake. Hooked a 10+ on a T-Rig. Didn't get a great hook set. Came off close to the boat. Thats all she wrote.

Pulling my jig over a log at Fork and it got stuck, not hung, just stuck. Gave it a quick little jerk and let it fall. Giant bass comes from under the log and eats my jig. 3 of us watched it happen. I set and have the fish on for a few seconds, line pops. Then the fish comes up and wallows around on the surface trying to throw my jig. Oldfield thinks mid teener. He has seen a few teeners in his life.

Lost what my partner and I think was a 12-15 pound bass last year at 7 am in a tournament on Ray Roberts. Haunts me to this day.

Saw a huge bass swallow anouther bass the size of a thermos
on Roberts.

My buddy and I were fishing lake Casitas in California with friends in another boat. We were fishing a long point with a single bush sticking up out of the water at the tip. Our friends were fishing towards the bush from the other side of the point. It was the only cover on the point and I knew it probably had a bass in it. I was using spinning gear with too much line on the spool. The line became tangled as we got closer to the bush. We were an ultra long cast from the bush, and I wanted to reach it before we got close and spooked the fish. I picked up an ultra light crappie rig from my rod locker with 2 lb. test on it. I found an old Salted Bengal Tiger Roboworm on the floor of the boat. The head was worn out from previous use, so I bit it in two and put the tail end on my small hook. With that 2 lb test, I was able to reach the bush easily. The worm never made it to the bottom. I set the hook on what I could tell was a pretty good fish. As I started to turn the boat towords the fish, I hollered Fish of the day ! My buddy saw it jump, and hollered, Fish of a lifetime! I began to try to chase the fish with the trolling motor. My drag was set way loose, but just the line going through the guides rapidly creates more drag on the line. After chasing that fish for what seemed like a block, the line popped. My buddy and I had caught several fish over 10 pounds together, and he said that fish was well over 15. Our friends in the other boat said I should have known better than to use 2 lb test. I didn't feel too bad, I never could have made that long cast with heavier line. The water war gin clear. The fish might not have even bit the same worm on heavier line. Although Casitas is a proven big bass factory, We were having a tough day, I just wasn't thinking big fish when I picked up that crappie rig.

I wouldn't use anything lighter than 20lb in Cali!!

My scumbag cell phone lost all of the pics of the 3 biggest fish I've caught, all last March-April, plus 100s of other really good fish pics. I'm still sick about it.

Was prefishing for TTT on Amistad several years ago, and was up the Devils River and it was SSSLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWW! to say the least. I got up in a secondary creek off the main river and noticed that I wasnt seeing any timber along the bank, up this this point I was using 17-20lb line, so I got the bright idea to get out my fairy wand with 6lb test and throw a finesse shakey head. About my 3rd cast I felt that not right feeling of weight and set the hook. Well this fish decided it wanted to go deep so I just held on with a smile on my face knowing there was nothing to get hung in. Fish went under the boat, and I eased my rod around the trolling motor and the fish just kept going. I finally got her turned and headed back toward the boat and under she goes again, and I just follow her and back around the trolling motor I go, and as I start to turn around I see the submerged tree just off the bank, you guessed it right in there she went with me doing everything I could to keep it from happening. Now on this exact rig I have caught fish up to 7 pounds and never has a fish just abused it and me like this one did. So back to the tree, she went in, and in less that 30 seconds my 6 pound test gave up the ghost, and I never even got a look at the fish. Now this fish could have been a 6 pounder, but I really think by the way it acted that it was much bigger, oh well I will never know!
JR

I threw a blue fleck Power Worm beside a boat dock on Lake Nacogdoches in April of 1995. I felt a tap and set the hook...against a piano. The fish immediately swam as fast as she could within five feet of my boat and out toward deeper water. When she got to the end of my 20 lb line she never slowed down. It sounded like a .22 firing when she broke it.

Just to add insult to injury, she came to the surface a couple of times 15 feet off the back of my boat, trying to throw the hook and worm.

My partner and I both got a good look at her and she was easily a Sharelunker.

This past Wednesday at Monticello.

Best





I caught my longest bass, over 24 inches.

Worst

Same fish on scale.

2 fish on Falcon, one took me under the boat (snap), the other bent 2 of the three hooks on my DD22 completely backwards and came off at the boat! Heartbreaking, I've never landed a fish in the teens to this day!

My passion all started when my dad got me into fishing for the first time, but my sickness began when I lost my first big one. I was 12 in a 12 foot aluminum boat with a 2 horse motor, fishing at my camp on Wyman Lake in Massachusetts, Short spinning rod, 6-8 pound mono and a t-rig u-tail worm, mid morning on a summer day, threw my worm out and my line went sideways, set the hook and fought the fish for 10 minutes, I was all alone, fish started comin to the boat and then when close took a dive instantly breaking my rod in 3 pieces! Still had the fish on the line, yes Berkley trilene :), started bringing her in by hand, got her close and me being very inexperienced tried to pick her up by the line and SNAP, there she goes, I fell back in the boat and cried, slowly went back to camp and told the story, I am sure people believed me, but it was confirmed, there was an old lady on he shore that saw it happen and told my parents about it. I am guessing the fish went about 6# which is very good for Massachusetts and that Lake.

Some 18 years later, a move to Texas and redemption is served

2 DD's and boom .

I was on Ray Hubbard early spring and took the wife to catch some sand bass. My 520 has a hole where you slide the net into and it lays flat on the floor. We had a school of sandies nearby and I was directing my wife to throw her trap in the vicinity. I was working a drop shop on an 8' ledge and felt a slight tick. I reeled into it and thought I was stuck on a rock. Line kept moving slowly out to deep water, no head shake, no nothing, just swimming like it didn't know I had a hook it it. So I am thinking its a turtle or catfish and lock down the drag with 25' of line which causes the yet unidentified creature to pendulum up. As it rises from the depth I see its a fish, a big fish - holy &^%$ its a really big bass! Honey! Get the net! get the net! I have never seen a bass this big on my line - ever. It almost scared me it was that big. Now it is on the top and headed back towards the boat. It still doesn't know its hook. Honey GET THE NET! Get the NET! I can't she says, its stuck. &&%^^&*%$%^#$@%$%^. I don't know exactly what I said to her (I claimed to have blacked out). I kept the line tight as this huge bass slowly disappeared under by boat, I could see the hook in the corner of its mouth - then with one huge surge - the line snapped! It could have been a new lake record.