Local Trophy??

[MuskyRookie]

I was speed trolling a black and green Marabou Topwalker on Independence this past Saturday. I started at 5 a.m. while waiting for my buddy who wanted to sleep in. All of a sudden I got slammed and my Shimano Compre rod was put to the test. I felt two violent headshakes but then she started swimming towards the boat so I cranked as fast as I possibly could. When I got her boat side I was absolutely stunned, she was definitely a trophy of at least 50 inches. Before I could grab the net she dove under the boat. The rod absorbed the initial dive but one more turn and she was gone. When I pulled in my lure to my amazement I discovered she had straightened the treble hook.

I was disappointed but learned a valuable lesson. First do not have the drag set too tight and second replace the trebles especially if they are small. I will never forget the experience and had flashbacks all weekend.

Just wondering if there was anything else I could have done to land this beauty? I am still learning and if I am lucky enough to have another opportunity like this I don't want to repeat this nightmare.

[RuKiddingMe]

I can't really see anything you could have done different except for the things you've already mentioned. It's kind of the nature of the beast, you got to do battle with the fish if only for a moment, and it ultimatly won, it will happen more often then you would think.

RU

[outdoor ran]

I bet that got your heart pumping. Just give your buddy a hard time for sleeping in. Tell him you could of landed it with someones help.

[Random guy]

Thats the game we play! No rules just pure odds. The sad thing is that fish will stay in your mind for many years, just remember hind-sight is 20/20. I lost a nice fish when a jointed topwater seperated at the joint, so I backed off my drags and lost the next fish when my thumb slipped and with the loose drag I never got a good hookset. Somedays you just can't win.

[nofishfisherman]

The good news is that you can blame this entire thing on your buddy. 5am or not he should have been there netting that fish for you.