The ones that haunt you... Big ones that got off 2025
Craigholland reply :
Care to share? Just lost a big one in Ohio on a Chatterbait call Many 5 pounders and this how I hooked into it I thought was a log and the log moved . Prob fought for 20 seconds and could barely move it before it came off. Don't know I could have did anything different but it sure sucks my guess would be 7 lb but who knows bigger than 6 for sure. Also had two in Florida that got off that haunt me as well. Anyone have a story to tell about a big one I got off?
Glaucus reply :
Jana and Dionna, mostly.
bc106111 reply :
I was fishing a small pond today, just trying to get the first one of the year. Pitching a weightless craw let it sink to the bottom then slowly swam it a bit and it got picked up swimming towards deep water. Set the hook hard and was barely moving the fish as I lifted the rod to try and lift it over a patch of weeds the whole thing came off.
I think my knot slipped as I have straight braid on that reel. So now there’s a big bass swimming around that pond with one of my 3/0 hooks in his face.
I hate losing any fish and so far this year I’ve lost 3. Still haven’t got one on the bank.
Tlauz reply :
The one I will always remember wasn't a bass, but it happened when I was bass fishing with my son. He was reeling in a wacky rigged worm fast to recast. It was skipping across the water and when it was about 3 feet from the boat I heard a giant splash. His rod doubled over and his reel started screaming. His eyes were huge. I said I think you may have a musky. Just as I said it the fish jumped completely out of the water 20 feet from the boat. It tail walked and crashed back into the water. It was a mid-40-inch fish. It made another run and broke the line. Late that day he caught his PB smallmouth, but all we could talk about was the big one that got away.
Fairtax4me reply :
Three come to mind, but the most recent was week before last.
Fishing a local lake from the bank I had been catching some decent bass in a spot near shallow water where some tiny bluegill were schooled up and hiding in some grass patches. This day it was maybe 55° out, mostly sunny and calm all day, and because I’ve started paying attention to it, it was the day of the new moon.
Casting a small swim bait on a VMC 4/0 jig head and reeling SLOW I was getting bit coming past grass patches. Caught a couple 2-3lbers doing that. Made a few casts for deeper water and then saw bait fish scattering again up near the grass. I reeled in quick and tossed over there.
I thought I had reeled into the grass clump... I simply lifted my rod to try to pull the lure free...
And then the grass clump started reeling back! Two SLOW head shakes and then it started pulling my rod back down as it moved out toward deep water.
This is on a medium heavy rod sporting 40lb P-line braid, and the drag on my shimano curado is Locked down. So when my rod is BENT, and the braid is creaking, and the drag starts to slip I knew what I had on, and it was far beyond new PB territory!
She swam out at what I can only describe as a “leisurely stroll” for a cold gigantic bass, about 5-6 feet from the grass and came to the surface. I can still see her outline under the surface in the slightly stained water. The first thing that breaks the surface is my lure, skin hooked right in the very edge of her upper jaw. Then the top half of her jaw, and back to around the front of the dorsal fin come out of the water.
She said NO with one more SLOW head shake. It was so slow it didn’t even splash!
My lure pops free, and she continues on her way back to the depths. She cruised off just a few inches under the surface like nothing had happened.
She didn’t fight, and didn’t “run”. She was a cold, lethargic, monster bass in 45° water, and I don’t think she even knew or cared that she was hooked. She just knew the bluegill she tried to eat was still stuck on her lip instead of in her gut, and something about that bluegill was sorta kinda holding her back from swimming off to her cozy home out in the deep.
That ones gonna leave a mark. She was every bit of 10lbs, or even a little more. Biggest bass I’ve ever had on a hook, and she was gone in less than 10 seconds.
Heartland reply :
Lost a real nice one at Amistad, sure would have liked to at least got a good look at.
Koz reply :
I've never lost a fish that I thought would be my PB, so I can't tell you if I'd be haunted by it. But I did lose a 5+ pounder last week as I was trying to get it up the bank. I was disappointed for a minute or two, but just went back to fishing.
I'm lucky enough to live in an area with a lot of quality bass and I know the next cast could bring in a trophy. But if I lived in an area where big bass were rare I'm sure it would be a different story.
dodgeguy reply :
I've been fishing 52 years. I've got more stories of lost big ones than I care to remember. It still sucks when it happens. The really bad ones are the monsters you've fought and got within 10 feet of the boat and they get off. You learn to shake it off. That's how they got big .
scaleface reply :
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Bankbeater reply :
A few years ago I was fishing from the shore with a weightless fluke. I cast out over a log and a nice one hits the bait. For the life of me I couldn’t get that fish back over that log. After about the third try that bass swam off.
RB 77 reply :
Nadine...
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
Oh the one that got away.
i have one happened recently, it was not huge by any mean, but still hurt me quite a bit.
I lost a good size fish on jig after floating and dragging jig around for a couple hours. I’m pretty new to jig fishing and this fish might help boost my confidence. Anyhow after look back I now know my weaknesses and need to improve that a lot especially for jig fishing. I don’t have Hollywood hook-set, and also the action you see a lot in YouTube like “there’s a fish....123 loaded the rod... and bam”.
fishingIsAddicting reply :
I still have nightmares about the giant one who got away. A piece of my heart turned black from the loss. I was devestated. I will never be the same.
TOXIC reply :
2 come to mind. First on Lake St Clair a Smallmouth that would have been the wall hanger I have been searching for for 15 years on that lake. Hooked it, fought it to the boat and my buddy and I both said at the same time....."I/you finally got a wall hanger". Normally we fish with braid but I had downsized and was using mono. I was shaking so bad I was afraid I would knock the fish off before I could lip it, so my buddy went to reach for it and wrapped the line around his hand (like we always do with braid) before I could get a word out, the big girl turned around and snapped that mono like is was nothing.
Second was a largemouth about 3 years ago on the Potomac about this same time of year. The big girls were moving up and we were throwing rattletraps (Aruku Shads) for them. I had mine tied on 35lb braid and as we came into a good shoreline stretch, I decided to really heave the trap out the back of the boat to get the line to lay tight on the spool. I made about 3 turns of the handle and got railed. It was such a vicious hit, I thought it was a catfish. Then about 30 feet from the boat it jumped and my buddy and I looked at each other and knew it was the fish of a lifetime on the Potomac. He grabbed the net and I worked it to within 5 feet of the boat. She came out of the water one last time and we both got a very good look at her as she flipped her head and tossed the rattletrap onto the front deck of the boat and swam off. It was for sure a double digit bass and a heartbreaker. As a matter of fact, we will be fishing that same spot this Saturday and I hope she gives me one more shot.
Choporoz reply :
I hooked mine a couple hours after dark in my kayak. Fought it in pitch dark for a good while, deciding it was certainly a flathead or snakehead. When I got it alongside, I still hadn't turned on a light and didn't want to lip it...I held the line at the side of the yak, not lifting the fish out of the water....I flicked on my light and was reaching for the fishgrips and saw a LMB mouth that looked like I could fit a soccer ball in....and in that same instant, she thrashed and broke the line.
Logan S reply :
Mine is kind of lame...It was a 2lb class fish and it actually made it in my boat because my co-angler caught it. The story needs a little framing...
I'm a tournament guy, nothing super high stakes just local stuff with my club and various others. 20-ish boat tournaments with occasional bigger ones and smaller ones...But my goal every year is to weigh in a limit on every tournament day. I've never done it, but it's a pretty tall order when you have 17 to 20+ tournament days during the season on many different bodies of water and ranging from March thru November...You need to be really dang consistent to pull it off - and that's why it's always my top goal.
So in 2011 I came up 1 single fish short of doing it. 18 tournament days that year, so I went 89 for 90. March thru late October and on 8 different fisheries...Ranging from shallow, tidal river largemouth to deep, clear mountain lakes for smallmouth and almost every water type in between - So I am a little proud of coming that close, but that 1 fish I didn't get is all I remember.
It was the 2nd day of a tournament on Smith Mountain Lake and I was having a rough day. I had 4 fish early and then went a long time without getting another keeper bite. It's essentially the end of the day and I spotted a fry-guarder on a dock post. Normally if I see a fish I'm targeting I tell my Co about and ask him to let me have my chances at it before trying..However I didn't do that this time. I pitch in there and the fish bites, I miss it and it balls up my worm...I reel in to fix and make the next pitch in, but as I'm doing so my co-angler unknowingly pitches to the dock piling - The fish eats his bait and he lands it...Only had about 5 mins left before weigh in we basically had to leave right after landing. So I know with almost 100% certainty I would have hooked and landed that fish to complete the 'perfect season' 
. It burns a little more since the exact fish came into my boat and got weighed in, just not by me ????.
It's 100% my fault for not mentioning the fish to my Co...Who is actually a good friend of mine, he didn't know and had every right to make a cast there without knowing the situation. All I had to do was what I normally do, "Hey there's a fish here, give me a few casts at it before casting up here," and I know he would have been fine with since we've both been in the same situation before.
I've come close in several other seasons, 2 or 3 fish off the perfect season...But never just 1 fish and certainly not with those circumstances. I've obviously lost some giant bass over the years that hurt, but my disappointment is maxed with this stupid little fish story here ????.
geo g reply :
Like everyone that fishes a lot, I have lost my share of big bass for one reason or another. It really doesn't bother me because I don't fish for money, and I feel so good just setting the hook and feeling the fight, I feel blessed. I know where she lives and always go back with the intention of catching her. Most of the time it doesn't work, but I few times it has. I always release her in good shape after a quick picture, so I can share the experience. I'm really just happy being out there, seeing nature in action, feeling that tug on the line, coming up with a solid pattern regardless of size, and sharing pictures and the experience with friends. It doesn't get any better then that!
Brandon O'tinger reply :
Last year I was crappie fishing and found a shallow slew that a lot of baitfish like to congregate in, so I drop a minnow and a float in that 1.5 foot of water thinking I would just get a decent crappie, but not long afterward, something absolutely SLAMMED the minnow. It almost doubled my little light rod over and started peeling drag, making the reel scream. I get it up about a foot from the bank, and it was this big ole bucketmouth that was EASILY 5 lbs, quite possibly 6 lbs. But after I got it that close, it did a very violent head thrash and sent my hook flying back at me. I was absolutely broken hearted. That easily would have been my biggest bass ever and was the first bite that day. I wanted to puke.
EGbassing reply :
On 3/17/2019 at 10:35 PM, Koz said:I've never lost a fish that I thought would be my PB, so I can't tell you if I'd be haunted by it. But I did lose a 5+ pounder last week as I was trying to get it up the bank. I was disappointed for a minute or two, but just went back to fishing.
I'm lucky enough to live in an area with a lot of quality bass and I know the next cast could bring in a trophy. But if I lived in an area where big bass were rare I'm sure it would be a different story.
I've lost five fish over four pounds this week. ???? (by my estimation; some were probably 5+ pounders) I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I've started losing a lot recently.
Koz reply :
On 3/28/2019 at 6:01 AM, EGbassing said:I've lost five fish over four pounds this week. ???? (by my estimation; some were probably 5+ pounders) I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I've started losing a lot recently.
It happens to most of us now and then. You may want to sharpen your hooks and see if that helps.
EGbassing reply :
On 3/28/2019 at 6:27 AM, Koz said:It happens to most of us now and then. You may want to sharpen your hooks and see if that helps.
Yeah, I just took these out of the package but I think I may be losing them because I'm not getting a good hookset. Several of them were just on before I felt a thump or anything so I never really could set the hook. (and I de-barb my hooks, but I've always done that)
Craigholland reply :
Feels like I've lost a few more fish latley too. I use mostly florocarbon I now which I think I get more bites over braid which I used to use for about everything. Flouro streches more over braid so may not be driving hooks home as hard but maybe getting more bites. Ah who knows?
atpns1234 reply :
All of them but the first that comes to mind is a 7-8 lber in a bed. Saw her and decided to throw a jig at her. Surprised she actually took it I set the hook into what felt like a log. The fight of u can call it that lasted only seconds. One shake of the head and out the jig comes flying at me. Until just a few days ago she haunted me and guess still does a little.
GreenPig reply :
On 3/17/2019 at 7:18 AM, bc106111 said:I was fishing a small pond today, just trying to get the first one of the year. Pitching a weightless craw let it sink to the bottom then slowly swam it a bit and it got picked up swimming towards deep water. Set the hook hard and was barely moving the fish as I lifted the rod to try and lift it over a patch of weeds the whole thing came off.
I think my knot slipped as I have straight braid on that reel. So now there’s a big bass swimming around that pond with one of my 3/0 hooks in his face.
I hate losing any fish and so far this year I’ve lost 3. Still haven’t got one on the bank.
Never had a San Diego Jam knot slip. You might want to try it.
N Florida Mike reply :
Ive had a few in my lifetime...
The one I am thinking of today went like this.
I had lost access to my home lake ( the one I live on now )
A friend had been doing some work for someone that lived on it, and got me access. It was spring, and I was super excited, having fished there for years before. But I made a crucial mistake in preparation, that I will explain later.
So we get out, caught a few, and I made a perfect long cast at an angle under a dock. The worm got tapped. I set the hook , and the fish was huge. Did get her turned and out in the open. Fought her perfectly, got her up near the boat, and.... y'all know how they make that last effort at the boat to get away ? She made a rather feeble little run and head shake and... the line broke. ???? I yelled NOOOOOOO !!!!!
There were 2 guys out on that property watching, which made it worse. The fish was was easily 10+. I immediately remembered the lazy decision I had made before the trip to NOT respool my reel with new line !! I dropped my rod and went home.
txchaser reply :
I'm currently in pursuit of a big girl on a big farm pond I fish. Pretty sure it's the same one, had her hooked up twice now.
First time I was fishing a 4" bluegill swimbait, with the front treble taken off because of heavy weeds. Had picked up a few decent sized fish, but they were pretty tough to get in with only the rear treble. Decided to cast it to the deepest part of the pond and just let it sink all the way down and slow roll it back. Line got very heavy, and something started pulling very hard after a hookset. I had that stop, think, don't overreact moment. Got it about halfway back and then it was off. Running deep the whole time.
Few weeks later, same spot, big spinnerbait bite was on, I felt the "dangit I'm snagged" feeling. Then the snag started pulling back. Got her to about six feet from the bank, flashes sideways to show off length.... and then... slack line. I was being really dilgent about maintaining tension too.
I've caught quite a few 4-5lb (>20' but skinny, some weighed) from this pond, and this one seemed way bigger based on the action, and long too. Skinnier ones seem back towards the creek more.
Anyway, I'm convinced this fish is mocking me. Or maybe there's a few of them mocking me.
Somewhat related, it's interesting to see how much better fed the main lake body fish are than the creek arm cover-huggers.
The Maestro reply :
2 giant largemouth and a giant smallmouth the likes of which I may never see again.
Koz reply :
On 3/17/2019 at 10:35 PM, Koz said:I've never lost a fish that I thought would be my PB, so I can't tell you if I'd be haunted by it.
Funny how things change in just a month. Today I was fishing an "ugly lagoon" that I first tried the other day and had great success. The clarity in this lagoon is non-existent. Even when your lure is skimming the surface the water is so dirty it's hard to see the bait. And there's thick algae all around the edge of the basin. But it makes great cover for bass.
Today I was fishing the bank standing in a corner so straight in front of me I could cast parallel to the shoreline or cast to me left down that shoreline. There was a ton of slop in front of me. So I cast straight ahead and my rod tip is off to the right so I can keep the bait close to shore as I reel in.
When the bait gets close to me I need to move the rod tip to my left to avoid the slop and lift the bait out of the water clear of the algae. Just as I cross the rod over and begin to lift the bait out she made a stab at my chatterbait. I don't know if she actually got it in her mouth but it caught me off guard and I was a split second late going for the crossover hookset. She came out of the water and she was big, probably 6 or 7 pounds and close enough that it may have been my PB.
I followed up there and all around the area, then moved down the bank but she was gone. I fished another lagoon for a while, came back, but she had not returned. I missed my chance...
Until tomorrow evening - then I'll be back!
On 4/7/2019 at 1:11 AM, txchaser said:Anyway, I'm convinced this fish is mocking me. Or maybe there's a few of them mocking me.
Fish are scoundrels that way ????
aaronw08 reply :
over the summer i had an absolute giant come off. it was at dawn, and i was throwing a jig in a cove. This lake has some nice fish, and holds my current pb, and the last one, and the last one, and so on. i got a huge bite on my dirty jigs football jig n set the hook and it honestly felt like trying to turn a log that would come up but resist some. I didnt even know it was a fish until a few seconds into the fight when it really started pulling and it eventually got off. Im thinking it was in the 9-10lb range, absolute brute.
but then again that just gives you another reason to go out there and catch that one you lost, so its not necessarily a terrible thing losing fish if you look at it that way.
Jadams reply :
Not one I lost but one that will haunt me forever. I was prefishing the day before a big bass tournament and first cast with a spook on a point less than 500 yards from the landing a fish rolled on it. As soon as I hooked it I knew it was a beast. I got it to the boat and it was my personal best lake Murray bass weighing in at 8.4lbs. I fished the next 2 days and the biggest bass I caught was 2.75
TroxBox reply :
Fishing a tournament just under a year ago, doing mediocre. 5 bass, 9lbs. Super slow day in the dead of Texas summer. About an hour before weigh in, I figured that I would throw a wacky rigged senko (my "nothing is working, I don't even care anymore" bait), because why not. Skipped it under a dock, didn't feel the bite at all but noticed my line moving so I set the hook on what would turn out to be "the one that got away". The fish got juuust outside of netting distance before taking one last hoorah of a dive, never to be seen again. It was every bit of 10lbs and would have taken the tournament in a 70 boat field, as well as been my PB. I still have nightmares...
Koz reply :
After responding to this thread the other day I've jinxed myself.
The line just stopped....
I didn't think much of it because after all, I had already lost 3 chatterbaits in the past week when the line just stopped on something hidden in the water. That was partially my fault because I had downsized to 20 pound braid for longer casts from the bank, but that line sure does snap easy when you feel the line stop and set the hook only to have it snap off on a submerged tree branch.
So now my line stopped again near a submerged drop inlet about 30 feet out. The line didn't pull or run, it just came to a dead stop. So I dropped my rod tip a bit hoping to free the hook from around whatever branch the single hook caught on, then reeled down and put a little tension on the line. That's when she breached - all mouth and huge red gills flaring while spitting out my chatterbait. She was 8 pounds easy, and she was gone.
The good news is that there's a pattern on that lagoon that is tried and true on sunny days and fairly calm days between 11 am and 1pm and 5pm and 7pm. The bad news is that since then it's been cloudy and windy every day and I haven't had one bite in that area since. But today is all sun, although windy and tomorrow will be sunny and calm. You can guess where I'll be the next few days - searching for my "white whale".
And yes - this is the same section of the lagoon that I posted about last week.
everythingthatswims reply :
Weighed over 22lbs on Kentucky lake, my 3rd cast of the morning I lost a fish that was over 7lbs. The smallest of our 5 was 3.5lbs, so you do the math 
SC53 reply :
Two I can remember.
One was in a buddy tournament on lake Kissimmee back in November ‘89. Had one easily over 7 on a spinnerbait. Got it to the boat and my buddy knocked it off with the net trying to get it. We took third in the tournament but would have culled our small one and even if it was only 5 would have won it. I got over it pretty soon but my friend never did until he netted my PB at 11.3 close to 20 years later. Never knew it bothered him until he said he was redeemed netting that fish.
Other one was down at the Stick Marsh 10 years or so ago. I was throwing a Golden Eagle spinnerbait. Hooked a giant, I mean a giant. Got to see her jump ( or try too) a couple times pretty close before the spinnerbait broke in half. Didn’t throw another Golden Eagle for a long time and still am reluctant to tie one on.
gnappi reply :
L-O-N-G ago when I was a kid, my dad and I were on a section of a bridge close to the water in New York striper fishing.
The line started to pull drag, dad set the hook, and for the next few hours he'd reel in a few yards, then lose it plus some more, till finally the reel was spooled and the fish wasn't going to give any more back. With one tug of its head the bakelite spool cracked, and the line parted.
After all of these years I'm guessing it was either a shark, a big cow of a striper, or maybe a big piece of flotsam in the currents... ???? Gads, I wish we could have at least seen whatever it was even for a few seconds.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 4/21/2019 at 2:21 AM, SC53 said:Two I can remember.
One was in a buddy tournament on lake Kissimmee back in November ‘89. Had one easily over 7 on a spinnerbait. Got it to the boat and my buddy knocked it off with the net trying to get it. We took third in the tournament but would have culled our small one and even if it was only 5 would have won it. I got over it pretty soon but my friend never did until he netted my PB at 11.3 close to 20 years later. Never knew it bothered him until he said he was redeemed netting that fish.
Other one was down at the Stick Marsh 10 years or so ago. I was throwing a Golden Eagle spinnerbait. Hooked a giant, I mean a giant. Got to see her jump ( or try too) a couple times pretty close before the spinnerbait broke in half. Didn’t throw another Golden Eagle for a long time and still am reluctant to tie one on.
The big uns can bust anything. At least she bit it! Haha
MountainMan83 reply :
On 4/21/2019 at 2:21 AM, SC53 said:I got over it pretty soon but my friend never did until he netted my PB at 11.3 close to 20 years later. Never knew it bothered him until he said he was redeemed netting that fish.
That's my fear. I know things happen, but I would feel terrible.
Yesterday, I lost perhaps the fish of a lifetime here in Maryland. I was fishing a heavier Dobyn's spinnerbait, slow rolling through shallow water, when all of the sudden I feel the blades stop and a slight disruption. Go to set the hook and this thing is running towards me like a freight train. I'm reeling as fast as I can, and after what felt like an eternity, I finally feel the weight on the line...and that's when she makes a single jump 2 feet out of the water and spits it.
I silently crouched down, trying to comprehend what just happened. I couldn't believe it. She looked every bit of 8 or 9lbs. I should have went and tied on a plastic, but I didn't. The next cast I caught this 20" gal:
Then, maybe 10 casts later, a snapping turtle decided he was hungry. So now he's got some jewelry.
WRB reply :
This topic tends to come up often but I will share my stories agian.
2 giant bass have haunted me for decades. The first was a long time ago during the Lower Otay lake prime period of the early 70's. I hook a giant bass that ran under another anchored boat and it wrapped my around the anchor rope. The other boat angler was Ron Hugget fishing with crawdads and he got a good look at the bass before it broke off. Ron has caught lots of DD size bass and he told me the fish over 30" long a 20+ lb bass.
The 2nd lost giant bass was at lake Castiac where I caught my 19.3 lb PB LMB. I was back seating while fishing with a friend, the late Gary Gerber, when I hook a giant bass and fought it to within about 8' from the boat and could see the bass clearly and it was about 2" longer and bigger then my PB bass. The next thing I noticed the bottom was comming up quickly, we were fishing a long point surrounded by deep water and I looked to see Gary standing next to me, not controlling the boat on the trolling motor, we had drifted up to the point , the bass instantly made a hard run over the point ridge breaking my line on the rocks. Heart broken loosing a bass of a lifetime and still haunts me. At the end of the day it's just a fish that got away because of mistakes made.
Tom
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