The one that got away!

[Fullspectrum]

I went out fishing on the Wisconsin River one cold fall afternoon for walleyes. I was fishing from the bank and the action was coming fast and furious. I caught a little dinky walleye and threw it back into the river. Right when the fish hit the water, a huge splash erupted. I figure it must be a musky. So I caught the next walleye and decided to tie it up to some extra fishing line that I had and tie the other end to a big rock. So I did and sat back to see if the musky would return. In a matter of a few minutes, I noticed a long shadow slowly creeping in from the corner of my eye. My heart started to pound and I just watched as it came up to the walleye and just look at it. It came right up to the walleye…just inches…stare…and swim off. It repeated this cycle about five times or so. It finally did strike the walleye…run off with it…and then drop it. Smart little booger. It was testing my setup. Finally after the fourth attempt…it finally had a good run with the walleye. I picked up the other end of the line and started to pull it back to shore. Of course the fish felt the pressure on the other end and dropped the bait. I then remembered that I had one of those big-o-wooden musky lure in my tackle bag. So I grabbed it and tied a cheap quick knot. Threw it out and reeled it back in and BANG! It felt like I got snagged up on a rock. Then it took off. I dragged the huge sucker in…it was a HUGE northern pike. Right when I finally dragged it onto the shore…my cheap knot broke. I stood there in shock of the size of the fish and I forgot to grab it. It took two good flops back into the water, so I jumped into the cold river…up to my knees. I grabbed that beast around the tip of its tail with both my hand. To my surprise, both hands didn’t even reach around the tail. That’s how big it was. One good slap with its tail and it was gone…talk about the fish that got away. To this day…I’m still reminiscing about that incident. How I would have done things differently. That fish was pushing easily over 50” and the girth on it was thick. Biggest pike I’ve ever seen and I had the chance and blew it!

[joejv4]

Those big pike are something else... We were fishing a backwater off a river in the Adirondacks some years back. The kids kept gut-hooking bream, so I'd cut the line off down by the hook and we'd turn 'em loose. Then I would re-rig their rods with a new hook. Well, I was re-rigging one of the boy's rods when the older one got another gut-hooked gill, a good one, maybe 7". I told him it was going to be a couple minutes, just let a little line out and keep it in the water until I could get to it. Well just as I got done with my younger boy's pole and walked over, I told my older boy to reel it in. He got it about 3 feet from the bank and a big green shadow - looked like a telephone pole came up from behind the little gill, there was a quick squawk of his drag, then he reeled in the line that was now flapping in the breeze. I didn't get more than a glimpse of something big and long and green zipping up on that gill, but what I saw was freaking huge! I gotta guess it was either a muskie or a really big Northern. I'd guess it might have been a twin of the one you lost - or maybe a first cousin.

[Foxy]

I feel your pain. Have lost several big fish as well. The worst is when they break off right when you get em to shore

[catman]

i lost two muskies last year also, i actually hooke them on tube jigs, didn`t hold them long though.