Has a bass ever taken away your rod and reel? 2024

burrows reply :

This happened to me one time wile striper fishing I went to set the hook and I slipped as I fell on my back side I let go of the rod and I watched my rod and reel take off into the abyss never to see it again. Has this happen to anyone else?

ww2farmer reply :

Once, sort of...............I was flipping a jig into a laydown in a creek in the spring, got a bite, set the hook, and had the rod ripped right out of my hand. It seemed like it happened in slow motion, I belly flopped on the deck reached into the water and grabbed it.....thinking it was going to be a whopper of a bass...........it was a snapping turtle, a big one.

Bassin' Brad reply :

Not a bass...but one time me and my Father in law were out at night at this pond doing some catfishing and he leaned his rod on the back side of his lawn chair to help one of his kids when all the sudden his rod shot over his chair and took off into the pond with him scrambling after it, almost completely drenching himself in the pond but to no avail!???? It was gone for good....

Bankbeater reply :

Years ago I was catfishing off of some rip rap. I cast out the bait and put the rod down behind a big rock. I was putting the bait away and I saw the end of the rod swing around the rock. I ran over the rip rap to get the rod before it went in the drink falling down several times. I got banged up a little, missed the fish, but I saved the rod and reel.

OCdockskipper reply :

I was fishing Oso Reservoir back in July of 1986 before it had any public access (which is another story). It was a hot morning and I was fishing from the bank. wearing a bathing suit so I could enter the water as need be. There was some dense brush on one part of the shore near a small pocket and the best way to fish it was to go to the other side of the pocket and wade in waist deep, casting to the deep side of the brush. I was using a plastic worm and caught a fish on my first cast. I made a second cast and as the line moved, I reeled down to set the hook. At the same time the fish moved away from me, deeper into the brush and since my hands were wet from catching the previous fish, he popped the rod right from my hands.

Instinctively, I dove forward in the water looking for the rod. After a few moments underwater, I saw the Stren yellow florescent line, which I grabbed and hand-lined back to the rod. I stood up, now in chest deep water and began reeling. Amazingly, the fish was still on, he most likely hooked himself in his initial surge. The rod & reel, an old Diawa Millionaire combo, was no worse for the wear.

Bassguytom reply :

While bluefishng on a party boat at night My friend put his rod down against the rail. As soon as I said you shouldn’t do that it sling shotted overboard. Pound for pound best fighting fish in the ocean.

BassWhole! reply :

Bass no, salt water yes.

riverbasser reply :

Almost when I was distracted a big spot bit and immediately made a run for it.

Armtx77 reply :

Sort of.

I was fishing for reds out of my kayak, during their annual migration into marsh(October) around Grand Isle.

I decided to troll a gold spoon and a world record red(had to been, right?) hit that lure and pulled the rod out of the holder.

So, it wasn't technically in my hands, but that fish took a 200.00 set up none the less.

Chowderhead reply :

It started to, but I stopped it just in time.

I was a kid fishing from shore (dam area with deep drop off along the riprap) on a reservoir in Massachusetts. Had a plastic worm on a spinning rod -- cast it out and engaged the bail, then set it down to talk to some friends. Fish decided to eat the worm and then swim off. My friend starts pointing and yelling, so I turn around to see my rod/reel getting pulled into the water. I ran over and got it when it was about 3/4 of the way into the water. The fish really wasn't all that big but we sure had a good laugh. I still remember the moment many decades later.

Darren. reply :

Yup. Well, just the rod, since it was a 10' long pole

with a line attached. One of my sons wasn't paying

attention and it was pulled right out of his hands

and across the pond.

When retrieved it had a 2 pound bass attached!!

ohboyitsrobby reply :

Yep lost a falcon lowrider 20 last summer on a hookset. Not sure how but it was demoralizing.

lo n slo reply :

saw my friends brand new Daiwa Procaster get dragged off a dock by something one Saturday morning about 30 years ago. he never did find that thing. we horse-laughed him for a long time after that.

PROCASTER SON! ????

AggieBassin10 reply :

One time I was fishing in the bay with my grandparents and my grandma asked me to get more bait for her (I was about six). As I was digging out a shrimp for her something hammered my bait and my little spincast rod didn't stand a chance. It was gone!

CroakHunter reply :

Not me, but my fishing partner and best friend. We were fishing early morning throwing topwater and flukes. It's was drizzling so everything was wet. He was working his fluke rod tip up, almost on the top of the water. About the time he went to twitch it a feisty 2 pounder smashed it and ripped the rod right out of his hands. He jumped for it But I snagged the tip with my buzzbait and the cork on the handle of the rod floated so no harm no foul.

Bluebasser86 reply :

I've only ever lost one rod to a fish, probably a carp, I was fishing under a mulberry tree during the berry hatch and that rod launched into the lake like Ike threw it out there.

One of the Lane brothers had a rod jerked out of his hands by a big spotted bass several years ago while he was fighting the fish. It was really hot and he was cranking the face of a dam or something and as he moved towards the back of the boat to land the fish, just lost it. It happened so fast that I wasn't sure what had happened at first.

TOXIC reply :

One of the first lessons we were taught by our local friends on Lake St Clair was to NEVER set your rod down with a bait in the water. Tube, Senko, Fluke or any other bait that a smallmouth could grab and run with. ALWAYS reel in if you were going to help net or land a fish for someone else. I have heeded that advice for 15 years and not lost a setup. Now in the rain, I have thrown a buzzbait and rod out into 30ft of water when my reel unexpectedly engaged at about 1/2 cast. Never did find it and I drug the spot for 2 hours.

soflabasser reply :

I never lost a fishing rod to a fish while fishing, not even to a shark,billfish,tuna, or other fish that is far more powerful than a bass.

Catt reply :

Had em put me on my knees! ????

the reel ess reply :

No, but my dad had a habit of letting catfish take his rods. He lost a couple before we put some cheap rod holders on the dock.

Jigfishn10 reply :

Not a fish, a passing Ford Truck. My spook jr. caught the side mirror on the back cast.

scaleface reply :

Twice .

Once an uncle and I were on the fish hot and heavy , he helped me land a nice bass . In the mean time he laid his rod down with the lure hanging over . When he got back to where he laid the rod , it was gone .

Another time I was canoeing with a lure dangling in the water and a smallmouth hit it and jerked it in the water . I lunged and grabbed it and in doing so flooded the canoe .

EGbassing reply :

Nope, although a few years ago I lost my rod on a cast. (don't ask)

Dtrombly reply :

A big bluegill has taken my daughters, she casted and sat it down to go play and it took off into the pond. Luckily it was a very small pond and she had a bobber on, kept my eye out for it and saw the bobber surface after a few minutes, casted to it and drug in back in.. and caught the fish!

mattkenzer reply :

On 4/11/2018 at 10:40 PM, EGbassing said:

Nope, although a few years ago I lost my rod on a cast. (don't ask)

Fishing with a buddy two years ago.

He makes a cast with a spinning rod and the line wraps his finger so he let go of the rod and in the drink it went .... 15 ft deep. Could not get it back.

That afternoon we stopped at a second lake.

After catching a few fish, we take-off to try another spot.

My buddy doesn't strap his rod down and away goes pole number two into the drink .... 30 ft deep. Recovery fails again.

Needless to say, it was a sad day for him and one of the funniest days of my life.

I wish i was making this up.

ratherbfishin1 reply :

On 4/11/2018 at 10:52 PM, Dtrombly said:

A big bluegill has taken my daughters, she casted and sat it down to go play and it took off into the pond. Luckily it was a very small pond and she had a bobber on, kept my eye out for it and saw the bobber surface after a few minutes, casted to it and drug in back in.. and caught the fish!

I just hate it when the bluegills take my rods ^_^

BassWhole! reply :

On 4/11/2018 at 7:25 AM, Bassguytom said:

While bluefishng on a party boat at night My friend put his rod down against the rail. As soon as I said you shouldn’t do that it sling shotted overboard. Pound for pound best fighting fish in the ocean.

Used to work on a "night time blues" boat, that was almost a nightly event. Bluefish are great fighters for sure, but a 10 lb amberjack will drag three 10 lb bluefish backwards. Bluefish, much like cudas and carp get little respect from most anglers, never understood that.

Paul Roberts reply :

No. But I've caught a few of them. One was the baited rod of a friend was lost -yanked right off his boat dock. The talk was that it was a HUGE carp; The ultimate"big one that got away story". A couple days later I caught the rod, and reeled in a 15" carp.

SDoolittle reply :

I just caught a lost rod last weekend that had obviously been underwater for a very long time. I wonder if a fish took it away from someone of if it was simply dropped or kicked off a boat by accident. Of course, somebody could have just thrown an Iaconelli fit and tossed it into the lake on purpose!

Pro Logcatcher reply :

I lost a rod while catfishing a small pond with big catfish in it. I got bored and walked down the bank to make a couple of casts at some nearby structure and when I turned back I saw my buddy waist deep in the water sloshing after my rod! I've also had a ton of times where I will make a cast with a two-piece spinning setup and half of it will go flying. So far, I've managed to retrieve all of those.

Bill Kowalski reply :

My buddy lost a rod without a bite, but on his cast. He forgot to oepn the bail and some how it came out of his hand. I was up front and turned around to see him bent over with his arm in the water reaching around franticly. Unfortunately it was gone. I didn't know what to say. lol

BCline reply :

I have never lost a rod, but once when I was a kid I was out in the boat with my dad getting ready for a day of catching red fish. I picked up the cast net and made the first cast for the shrimp we would spend the day fishing with only I neglected to tie the net to my wrist. I looked at my dad, he looked at me and not a single word was spoken. I took off my shirt, kicked off my shoes and went in after it. Fortunately I was and still am an excellent swimmer and after a few minutes it was found and recovered.

AggieBassin10 reply :

Another time my little cousin lost her reel. We were out on the lake and she went to cast. As she did so she cried out "uh oh." I glanced back to see her spinning reel, bail open, fall into the lake in about 20 ft of water. I began pulling in the line to try and save the reel. Sadly however, after pulling in about 200 yards of line, there was nothing on the other end. The line had broken at the spool and the reel was at he bottom of the lake! Has to be the funniest thing I've seen happen while fishing ????

Cak920 reply :

When I was a kid maybe 12 years old I was fishing live bluegill as bait and I casted one out and set my rod down to take a drink and my rod took off towards the water. I caught it just in time to reel in one of my biggest bass.

Jigfishn10 reply :

On 4/11/2018 at 7:25 AM, Bassguytom said:

While bluefishng on a party boat at night My friend put his rod down against the rail. As soon as I said you shouldn’t do that it sling shotted overboard. Pound for pound best fighting fish in the ocean.

They certainly are hard fighting fish, no doubt about it. When they hit, they hit hard. I'm surprised I haven't lost a rig or 2 over the years.

Seth_7 reply :

I wish!

All Day Fishing reply :

There is an awesome video on Youtube by LunkersTV where he is fishing for gar and it breaks off after nearly spooling his reel, then I think its actually a couple hours later they find a bobber in the river and he goes to pull it up and it is his fish still connected! He then ties that end back onto his rod and catches the freakin fish! Sorry its not about losing his rod and reel but it made me think of that, you should check it out!

EGbassing reply :

On 4/12/2018 at 10:56 PM, All Day Fishing said:

There is an awesome video on Youtube by LunkersTV where he is fishing for gar and it breaks off after nearly spooling his reel, then I think its actually a couple hours later they find a bobber in the river and he goes to pull it up and it is his fish still connected! He then ties that end back onto his rod and catches the freakin fish! Sorry its not about losing his rod and reel but it made me think of that, you should check it out!

What video was that? I must have missed it.

All Day Fishing reply :

On 4/12/2018 at 11:25 PM, EGbassing said:

What video was that? I must have missed it.

It was from about a year ago I believe, it has like a million views!

Bassun reply :

lol great stories... I've had a few incidents but never "lost" a rod.

Trout fishing - had a reel just literally fall apart. It was a cheap spinning reel, and I'm not entirely sure what happened I just remember reeling and then the bail flies open, flops around then the whole spool, winder, etc just falls into the water. Ended my day. I still alternate blame for the sabotage between my step brother and step dad. Neither accept it lol.

Carp Fishing - had a few rods lined up, sitting back enjoying the warm sun peeking over the ridge and BLAM. Rod takes off like a rocket into the water. I went in, and managed to grab it and tried to set the hook. Apparently she stopped the run or turned back as I didn't feel any set--- so I kept leaning back. Ended up with my needs dug into mud and laying almost on my back with the rod well above my head when I finally made contact. Ended up being a 30 ish inch common carp.

Buddy on a boat -- Well, he didn't lose his rod to the water, he went into the water. Something big hit near the boat... he jumped and jerked and lost the rod... it fell harmlessly to the deck of the boat - but he, on the other hand, stumbled around and ended up flailing his way into the water. I missed the hook set, but saw the rod flopping around and him falling over in slow-mo. I think it was a big grass carp, he swears it was a striper. Either way, he lost the fish and got a wet wallet out of the deal. No harm no foul, unless you count his pride, lol.

sdsc357 reply :

No bass but a striper took my 8 ft rod that wasn't secured well enough.

WRB reply :

Nope, no bass but a big trout pulled my dads rod and off a dock when I was 8 years, left the rod in the water to go take a pee. My brothers heard the clicker zing, watch a big trout jump then the rod take off. Should have never barrowed my dads tackle????.

Tom

N Florida Mike reply :

I've never lost one to a bass.

My middle son accounted for most of my lost gear in one way or another !

The closest I came to it was fishing Ocean Pond in N. Central Fl. I had pulled into a little cove and saw a bass nail something near a Cypress tree. I killed the motor and grabbed my rod excitedly but another combo's line got snagged on the handle and it fell overboard. It was April, the water was still cold, and I had forgot an anchor. I stuck a paddle down to see how deep it was, (6 feet )took the flannel shirt off out of my overalls, whispered a prayer, looked around for gators, and jumped in. Amazingly, after about 5 minutes I stepped on it and got it back !!!

haggard reply :

Fishing from the boat on the day of the total solar eclipse (Aug 21 2017), anchored near the shore with a couple friends, I was casting and retrieving for 30 mins with no luck so really wasn't expecting anything when the smallie hooked up. Reeled it in and when it was almost at the boat the reel fell off the rod. I never thought I had to check the nut once in a while but apparently it had worked itself loose. I managed to grab the reel immediately, don't know how it didn't hit the water, set the rod down, and brought the fish in the rest of the way with just the reel. That small fish was my only fish of the day and he made me work for it.

Columbia Craw reply :

Never. If were to happen....I would never admit it.

Joshua Vandamm reply :

Almost.

Had a $230 rod n $250 reel setup in a coil spike rod holder at night with a plopper tied on and out in the water. Crossed over my own line with a t-rig worm and was slowly hoping it back when the plopper was hammered. 3lb Fish hit it and the whole setup came out of the ground and went sailing. So did I. Right into the dark cold water. Lol

saved the setup tho. ????

lesson #2 was a fish will hit a non plopping, virtually immobile whopper plopper.

..oh I even landed the fish after all that

Edited April 16, 2018 by Joshua Vandamm

riverbasser reply :

Well we can add Keith poche to this list. He fumbled a hookset on MLF yesterday and the fish took the rod lol

burrows reply :

On 4/16/2018 at 6:02 AM, riverbasser said:

Well we can add Keith poche to this list. He fumbled a hookset on MLF yesterday and the fish took the rod lol

Wow

frosty reply :

I’ve only had one come out of my hands, and it was a big 1/2 oz chatterbait is been throwing for a couple hours, my hand was a little tired and the line got around the tip, so when I went to cast it the momentum just jerked the whole thing from my hands. Luckily it landed on the bank but it did freak me out for a second!

Lures'n'Liberty reply :

I used to drink a lot, and so did most of my friends. We've spent many a night on the riverbank flathead fishing, and even if you never caught a fish, it was nothing to catch 12-15 beers while a mason jar of something got passed around. One summer, losing rods became such a common occurrence that several friends started carrying "after midnight" rods and reels like the $14.99 Shakespeare Tiger so they could switch out from their high end gear when they neared the point of being "too drunk to fish."

Personally I've never lost one to a fish. I lost a Daiwa featherlight while bicycle fishing a river trail, it must have fallen from the holder that was behind me when i was looking forward. I've also had 2 fall victim to the dreaded tailgate slam that we all fear.

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