If you had one fish story to tell

[John Barron]

The thread about the 13# fish at Comanche got me to thinking (yes it hurts when I do that) but if you had only one fish story that you could tell and only one what would it be?
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Here's mine.
I was out at Nacimiento one morning chasing Smallies. Naci was one of the really good smallmouth fisheries in its day. I was fishing some of my favorite broken rock walls not very far up the lake when I heard a fish break behind me. The weather had been warming up as was the water temp so I just happened to have a Bone colored Spook tied on for when I went into Heritage cove.

I picked up the Spook and threw it at the boil. I walked it about 3 or 4 feet when the fish came out from underneath and slapped it to one side. I let it set for a few seconds and started walking the bait again. The fish exploded out of the water again slapping it to one side....missed again!

I reeled it fast threw it back out just to past the last point the fish had attacked the Spook. I took two quick jerks and this fish came out of the water about a foot behind the Spook and attacked from the top! This fish was bound and determined to eat that Spook.

The fish was a good one, one of the better ones I had on for a while at Naci. When the fight was over it turned out to be a Smallie just under 5 pounds. This Bronze beauty worked me over pretty good. While it was not the biggest fish I have caught I think it's one that stands out more than any.
jb

[swimb8]

My brother and I were fishing one morning at lake Casitas. It was sometime in December of 2003. We had been getting a few good fish to blow up on our home made trout baits the few days before that. I casted my little lure on out there and let it sit for while. I lit my cigarette then procede to work it back. Stop it for a second and BLAMMO!!!!!! fish destroyed it, the only problem was i couldnt turn the handle. This fish was way bigger than anything ive ever pulled in the Bass world, and weve caught some good ones! As i get it closer to the boat i can see that i have 2 10 to 12 pound fish on my wood. One on the front hook and one on the back. The only problem was my bro couldnt get them both in the net and one came off. They just wouldnt fit. thats fishing!!!!!

[Allantek]

Here is mine:
It was a hot day in August 1992, I had taken a friend of mine out fishing to Castaic. I was using my light darterhead worm technic throwing a salt and pepper/chartuse tail fluttercraft worm, when I felt the slightest little tabs.

My 5'6" Fenwick rod was bowed in half and is now taking line. I had told my friend that I got something large here but I had no idea how large it was. I follow this fish for 50 yards down the bank until it was so tried that it came up and said take me!

I was exhusted from the fight, and now I couldn't believe how big she was. My little scale wouldn't register over 10/lbs.

I took it to the mini-market (which is no loner there) and had it weigh on a certified scale 11.0-lbs.

She now hangs proudly on Morgancrafts Boats wall in Gardena.

[Greg E.]

50 years of fishing it is hard to just do one, but I would have to choose one of our Mother ship trips to Baja. We were yoyoing flat iron 150 feet deep on submerged mounts and I hooked the bottom. I pulled and pulled but could not get loose (Sabre/Penn rig with 50 lb test).

I got exhausted and handed the pole to the pangalero. He played with it a few seconds and handed it back to me saying "Fish, Fish"

I said, oh right, grabbed the pole, pulled and lifted for all I was worth but it would not budge. I handed it back to the guide and said "bottom" he took the pole, played with it again for a second and handed it right back and said again "fish, fish" and started laughing. This actaully went on 2 more times, it was 105 degrees and I am exhausted and the pangalero is laughing his head off.
(no tip for him).

Finally it got loose and sure enough it starts pulling and I can feel fish. About 10 minutes later I have it up and its a 46 pound yellowtail. Turns out everytime the guide got the fish loose it would wedge in the rocks as he was giving the pole back to me.

And that is why I now fish for bass those ocean fish are mean.

Greg E.

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[swimbait]

This one doesn't have a happy ending but it was a pretty good story...

Nico and I were fishing last year in my boat, chucking swimbaits. We'd had a pretty good day and had caught one almost 13 in the morning. Late in the day some wind picked up and it felt real fishy out.

We came up on this little shade pocket in a spot we had never fished before and I threw my bait about 10 feet past and starting winding it in. I see a flash down about 5 feet and swing. My rod loaded up completely to the butt and the fish didn't really move. After a split second of stalemate the fish pops off and lets my bait go. I just laid on the deck after I lost it because I knew it was a really good fish.

We left for a few minutes and came back. I had no expectation that fish would bite again but Nico threw his bait past the shade pocket again. As soon as the bait gets to the spot where I had gotten hit, he gets creamed and hooks the fish! He had it on for about 3-4 seconds before it dove and sawed him off on 25lb. He had no chance, the fish ran over some metal junk and sawed him off clean.

We were both just sitting there in disbelief when the fish came up and jumped half way out of the water. I don't think it could make it all the way out of the water because it was so stinkin fat. She was 15lbs no problem.

So we both lost the same 15lber, 5 minutes apart. Can it get any crappier than that? lol. I'm certain that when she hit my bait the first time she had it clamped so hard that the hook never penetrated. Instead of spooking her, I think it just made her even madder. We felt bad that she swam off with a swimbait stuck in her face

[Shawn R.]

Ok where do i start, the one that sticks out in my head is about 6 years ago. I started out in the morning fishing at MV lake, by 10am i had a 13 lb fish in the boat on a Basstrix. Storm moving in, perfect conditions and it was March 10th (still remember the date). I was all fired up about the day i would have untill i get booted off the lake by the patrol due to trout stocking and the lake being closed. I get in my car and immediately drive to Lake Perris, im launched by noon throwing the same swimbait, i end up with another fish just a hair smaller on the same swimbait. 2 Teen fish, 2 lakes, by 2 pm on the swimbait. Sightfishing is fun, but there is NOTHING like a swimbait fish!!

[BMC]

Dang, I have three that I always seem to tell, or that always stick in my mind. If I have to pick one, here is my favorite.
It was late May, early June of about 1998 I think. I was at work and remembered there was a freak summer rain front coming down. I decided to run home and get the boat and head to Perris for a few hours. I got on the water about 3 pm and headed straight for my favorite spot on the dam to throw my favorite 1/4 ounce Skinny Bear jigs. The first cast I hook up with a 5 pounder. The next cast, another 5 pounder. The next cast, a 4 pounder. I proceeded to catch a fish on every single cast for the next three hours!!! They were all 2-5 pounds. It got so ridiculus that I told myself I was going to leave after the cast that I don't get bit. I was there for another hour before I didn't get bit. It was insane fishing that afternoon and happened all in about a 100 yard stretch and all on the same 1/4 oz. jig. I have yet to ever have anything like that happen again. It is no joke that I probably caught well over 80 bass in that time span, all keepers.
BMC

[Gator]

Probably my most fun was a day on Folsom -

I head out early and run all the way up the south arm - near the bridge (that is out of the water at this time). Start throwing a spook. In 15 minutes, I have three 2 lb. clones. Only difference is one is a largie, one is a smallie and one is a spot. I hit the Folsom Grand Slam in 15 minutes. That has to be one of the most fun days I had.

[Kelly Ripa]

May of 97' I had just gotten a new powerhead on my 200 Black Max. I had to put time on the engine and went up to Cachuma to start the process. The lake was positively Blue green with an unusal algae bloom and the wind was howling. I drove around for an hour and had to fish as it was driveing me nuts going around and around and around. One of my friends from L.A. had sent me my first "Plastic" swimbaits. They were the optimum's in two different sizes. I pulled up to a mainlake point and cast it out. Half way back I'm bit. I set the hook on what didn't at the time seem like anything to get too excited about when up comes the head of a ten+ she starts swinging her head left, right, left , and out sails my bait. Nooo ..I floated away and cut off the offending bait and tied on the bigger bait. I drove back on the big motor and make a really terrible cast. I missed the spot by a mile and pretty much just reeled in and tried again. I slow grind it all the way back to the boat and looking down see that there are two HUGE fish right under the bait less than 5 feet from the boat. I free spooled it and the bigger of the two jumps on it. I reeled down and swung Snap! twenty pound maxima lets go.....Nooooo. I have now lost 25 pounds in three casts! I futzed around for nada and went to another main lake point. First Cast whack....Swing! up comes the head and she's the best fish I've ever hooked to this day, with my big ol Loomis pinned to the side of the boat I cannot move this fish....She shakes her head left,right,left....Nooooooo! she's gone and left bruises on my ribs for my effort. I went down the lake and lost my P.B. on every point until I got to the end of the lake and the last point. At this point it's Largemouth 6 me nothing. I cast out and drug the thing like a splitshot...I'm bit! I started in the front of the boat swing, back up, swing back up swing...I must have set the hook on that fish 10 times. I got her in and weighed her. She was the smallest fish I hooked that day and she was sitting right at 9 pounds. I was ready to bust that rod up and sell the boat just prior to landing her. I felt a bit better about my day but I figure they would have named a cove or something after me if I'd landed 50+ pounds for my best five. What do ya think? Kellys corner or Ripas point It's never happened again which is a shame because NOW I know you freak'n just grind them across the water when they get their heads up like that and grab'm by the lips. I use 25 pound test now and if you ever see Cachuma light blue green with white caps again

Rip

[SRV]

Mid August of last year, my brother-in-law and I (along with our wives), spend 6 days at Clear Lake. Our first trip to that great pond, we had no idea what or where. On the second day, we start catching flip and frog fish like I could not have imagined. All in a 100 yd stretch of mats and stick-ups, we catch 30-40 fish every morning for 5 straight days! By 9 or 9:30 am the bite slows, and we head back to camp for breakfast, laughing like school-girls all the way in. Got my PB of 8.2, all the fish were in the 3-6 lb class, and all future trips will be compared to this one!

Spoiled by Clear Lake, Steve

[BigJeff]

She was 15+ and she spit my lizard at the boat. I had caught an 11 and a half at Hodges about 6 weeks prior and she made that fish look small.....tis the one that got away.

[Gerryjig]

the "3-footer" that rolled on my troutbait a couple feet under the surface last year....I was convinced it was a huge catfish but now know it wasn't! shoulda seen it..... anyway, my life seems to be one long fish story and I can't pick just one....sorry!

[basspro@15]

I was fishing the Jr. Bassmasters state finals two years ago up at Cachuma. It was about 7:30 and I had a fish in the boat, so I felt allrite, but we motor over to this point. Now, I had never fished Cachuma and I haven't fished it since so I dunno what this point is called, but it was a really cool setup. It's a sloping bank on one side and then it just drops vertically into like 30 feet of water on the other side. I pick up my crankbait rod with the Lucky Craft Flat CB and fire it down the sloping bank part of the point. Crank, crank, crank, bump into something, WHAM fish on. Now this doesn't sound all that cool, and the fish was only 3 1/2, but I KNEW that I was going to bump into that stump and I KNEW that fish was going to bite. I just felt it inside of me. I never saw what I bumped into, but I know it was a stump. There was no question about anything, I just somehow had this intuition about what was going to happen exactly. Weirdest most psychological I have ever experienced because of a little green fish.

[pastorwillhesch]

my best story happened one summer at Millerton. My wife, son and I were up the San Joaquin river near Temperance Flat, where the water comes into from the turbines from the Kirkhoff powerplant. The water in the main lake and most of the river was in the mid 80's but within a 1/2 mile or so of Temperance it had fallen to the low 60's. Big American Shad (2-3lbs)were schooled up eating whatever was being pumped out of the pipe from Kirkhoff and some pretty good Spots were in there as well. We were catching fish on every cast on Kastmasters and it was a blast.

Then, the water starts blowing up as the famous Millerton stripers start making their appearance eating anything in their way. My son and I each catch several fish in the low 'teens when it looked like a bomb dropped on my Zara. The fish pulled drag for several seconds (seemed like a minute) and then all went "dead". It had pulled me into something on the bottom 35' down. I'd give a little line-it would take it, but noooo, it wouldn't budge an inch. This went on for about 10 minutes until our son noticed a fish on the surface about 20 yards away. Every time this fish would dive under, I would feel the line tighten on my rod. Duh! We finally realized this "surface" fish, an exhausted striper, was my fish.

My 12 year old son had a great idea (which worked, by the way), he had me cut my line off at the reel, we then threaded the line through the eye on our mushroom anchor and lowered the anchor to the bottom where we proceeded to bounce it up and down until I felt the line come free. I then hand-lined a 47", 27 lb striper into our extremely inadequate bass net.

This was (and remains) my biggest fish and biggest fish story ever!
Thanks sonny, that was a darn good idea!! Will Hesch

[Basn Dan]

The elusive double digit bass is a goal and dream of every bass fisherman. I had been bass fishing for 7 years, all from the back seat. My largest fish was a 6-12 and it was a toad as far as I was concerned. I fished the Federation series and qualified for the State Championships. Man, what a thrill... fishing with the best in California.

We were at the Delta, I'd never been there... Cameron Smith was my boater and he was not well... flu I think. Anyway, we were Texas rigging 7 to 8 inch worms... looking for a big-one. I had gotten 3 bites, two I had half a worm left, one the hook was clear. I figured there must be some smaller fish so I grabbed my drop-shot, put on a 4 inch Robo FX Sculpin in Aaron's Magic to see if I could get one or two of those fish. My second cast got bit and I reeled in a 14 incher... cool, no skunk. I went back out and a couple of casts later, another 14 incher. The excitement level built as I realized I was in the State Championships and was putting fish in the boat on day one.

As I kept up the pattern, Cameron sat down and started to sleep. Shortly after... another bite and I thought, cool... another 14 incher. Set the hook and all of a sudden, it ran... at least 30 yards and then jumpped. "Wow", I yelled, "Cameron, I got a 5 or 6 pounder on." He woke up, grabbed the net and stood by as I fought the fish. When I brought it along side to the net, Cameron exclaimed, "That's at least a 10 pounder!" My heart started to race and the fish took-off. It ran another 30 yards before I was able to turn it. It swam straight to the boat, came along side and Cameron netted it. We put it straight in the well and I didn't catch another fish all day.

At the weigh-in for day one, I'm excited. The possibility of me having a double digit bass. When I pulled her from the sack, the croud moaned... the weighmaster set her in the basket and I waited. "13.44 pounds", he announced and I went numb.

I will fish till I die but will never have a better fishing experience than that.