Biggest fish on smallest tackle? And what got away
What's the biggest fish you have ever caught on the lightest tackle? I have 2 nominations.
1. 33 zebco. 10 lb test. 6 foot pole. Which would normally be fine for walleye. However- it was 4 year old line that was popping with about 1-2 pounds of pressure. I was perch fishing and hooked into something big. I dialed the drag way back and worked whatever it was for 30 minutes before boating an 8 lb walleye. On a minnow. Strange, but not the first one I had hooked on minnow, nor the last. I had simply grabbed the wrong pole/reel combo going out and didn't notice till on the water. Ever since- I carry fresh line in the boat.
2. Fishing for bluegills in the marina with 4 lb test and and ultra light spinning reel on an ice fishing pole. Out from under the dock a big shadow comes out and takes the little jig I was using. Landed a nice 9 lb channel cat.
What got away? To this day I don't know for sure what it was but was out on lake Erie with some 10 lb test walleye fishing with an open face bait caster. (proper good line this time). Something takes it. Bent the pole to the water. I've caught some big fish before and would estimate that whatever I had was in the 30-50 lb range. Fought whatever it was for an hour before finding the 50 lb nylon leader on the worm harness had been chewed in half. To this day I figure it had to have been a muskie, of which there are some in Lake Erie, though rare.
SO those aren't astounding, but I bet you all have some stories.
1. 33 zebco. 10 lb test. 6 foot pole. Which would normally be fine for walleye. However- it was 4 year old line that was popping with about 1-2 pounds of pressure. I was perch fishing and hooked into something big. I dialed the drag way back and worked whatever it was for 30 minutes before boating an 8 lb walleye. On a minnow. Strange, but not the first one I had hooked on minnow, nor the last. I had simply grabbed the wrong pole/reel combo going out and didn't notice till on the water. Ever since- I carry fresh line in the boat.
2. Fishing for bluegills in the marina with 4 lb test and and ultra light spinning reel on an ice fishing pole. Out from under the dock a big shadow comes out and takes the little jig I was using. Landed a nice 9 lb channel cat.
What got away? To this day I don't know for sure what it was but was out on lake Erie with some 10 lb test walleye fishing with an open face bait caster. (proper good line this time). Something takes it. Bent the pole to the water. I've caught some big fish before and would estimate that whatever I had was in the 30-50 lb range. Fought whatever it was for an hour before finding the 50 lb nylon leader on the worm harness had been chewed in half. To this day I figure it had to have been a muskie, of which there are some in Lake Erie, though rare.
SO those aren't astounding, but I bet you all have some stories.
0
-
35 pound Chinook salmon on 10lb test, 8'pole and a Mitchell 300 reel. We were trolling in the Alsea river tidewater pulling plugs when all of a sudden the pole bent double and the line was flyin' off the reel! The other 3 guys on the boat reeled in and we followed the fish and finally landed it after almost an hour. What a RUSH! That was in '84 and I still have the lure! 0 -
My brother and I were trolling for striped bass or blue fish off shore northeast with spoons. A 6' deadstick medium rod with a penn spinning reel started smoking...
Grabed that rod and tried my best to control what had to be some type of tuna. Managed to get it to the back of the transome edge when it broke off. My brother and I still argue to this day over whether it was a yellow fin or bluefin. What a moment and spirited fish.
Still searching for that rouge today!0 -
44" 44# Snook on 12#test mono.I was using 25# test florocarbon leader or, I would have never landed her.Broke off another one just a little smaller on 25# mono and 30# leader.Go figure..[:(!] 0 -
fishing for smallmouth bass with 8 pound line medium action pole and hooked up with a 40"+ musky. fought tha sucker for about 20 minutes to just get it up next to the boat. one of my fishing partners tried to get hold of it, one flip of the head and was gone. was going to release anway. didn't even have a camera. 0 -
I got a 5# German Brown on 4# test with a mitchell 308 reel and a 7 ft ultra-light pole. This was in the head waters of the Mammoth Pools Reservoir in Calif. I was in a boat parked right in the middle of a large round boulder that had fallen off the mountain and broke in two like a gaint "pac-man" ...I was floating a single egg on a #12 hook, when it hit ...just started running down river, I played it for about 10 minutes when I finally noticed my line was rubbing on the sharp edge of that "pac-man" boulder! I tried to hold my pole out so it wasn't rubbing but when the fish was near the edge all I could do was cross my fingers! Finally got it in, but about 30 yd.s of my line was badly fraded! Never "sweated" over a fish as much! [:D] 0 -
Caught a 57" sturgeon on 8lb mono. 6'6" jig rod, and a 1/4oz jig. 
0 -
38 pound catfish on walleye rig using 8# mono. Took half the night to beach him (fishing from shore) and the line was frayed to a frazzle. 0 -
Was jigging for perch through the ice and could see a big shadow chasing the perch. A 15 pound northern pike took my bait and ran with it. Took me 25 minutes to get him landed through a 6" hole in the ice. 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
8 comments