The Haunting...

[CrappiePro]

The Haunting;
It was May 1996 as the trolling motor cut through a glass still water, on my home lake at Lake Conway AR. I can remember it was an unusually warm day for May even for Arkansas standards. I had been having a fair day of fishing when I pulled up to one of my favorite clusters of Cypress trees, before calling it a day. I can remember dipping my jig down in about six feet of water in the shade of those cypress trees when I felt a very hard thump and the sudden pull of a heavy fish on the end of my jig pole.

I initially thought Bass, Catfish, or Drum… as I was able to turn the fish away from the cypress roots and got him to come to the surface. It was though the fish knew it had to take another approach and suddenly made a mad dash to the surface and began to make a head shake. It was in those few brief seconds that I realized I was looking at a 3-4 lb. class black crappie. It was truly the biggest black I have ever seen on the end of my Line. No sooner than I got to see the fish, it made a mad power dive in between two cypress trees rubbing my 8lb test on the tree and breaking me off and gone forever.

Gone!!! Was the feeling and the reality set-in, I may never in my life-time ever get a chance at a black crappie as large as that one was? Still to this day… does the memory of that fish stick with me. I know that I will always remember that fish until the day that I die. I often wonder as I talk to my fishing buddy's what fish did they lose? What fish has haunted them?

Sometime the story s of the ones that got away, are just as good as the trophy’s and stories that we caught. But you can bet, for those of us who have fished for any amount of time, have these kinds of stories. We all have those fish that we remember, that got off on us, and now gone forever, But in the memories of our mind.

I think that anybody who is just starting out as fisherman should be warned of this. This incredible sport we call fishing has a dark side, and those who make it their passion will be haunted. They must be warned they are setting themselves up to be haunted in the memories of…The Ones Who Got Away. Tight Lines.

[Billbob]

he is still still out there looking fer you he cant come to your house

[DockShootinJack]

That is a great story. One sadly that far to many of us share. Yet that is the drive that returns us to the water no matter the conditions. Just one more chance at the one that got away.

[jprewitt]

If one didn't occasionally get away we wouldn't appreciate all the ones we do get in the boat. Like everything in life there has to be lows to have highs.

[wicklundrh]

Didn't the movie "grumpy old men 2" have a similar theme? I believe it was called "Catfish Hunter". He even smiled at his victims before he broke them off.

[CrappiePro]

If one didn't occasionally get away we wouldn't appreciate all the ones we do get in the boat. Like everything in life there has to be lows to have highs.

Your Right...The ones who got away are part of the reason we keep coming back. I know I said fishing has a dark side but the truth is they are all great memories in the long run...

[hog daddy]

How many times u fished that spot since u got haunted there be hard to pass that spot up

[skeetbum]

Thankfully, I had a witness to mine, we saw her twice in a mid air jump. A Largemouth that would have been mounted (replica) had I gotten my hand in her mouth. I compared what I saw that day with pictures at a local tackle shop(Bitters B&T, Lake Mary, fl) the next day, and none had quite the gut or the head size this one had. Those pics showed fish up to 13lb7oz. I remember mine as being comfortably between 12 and 15 pounds after this, and have to smile at my own impatience. I broke her off, not the other way around. I hope she made someone else's day as she did for my Daughter and I. Yes, that is one of the things that keep me coming back. And the memory is a warm spot every time I think of it. I'll fish Lake Monroe again in the future, always wondering if I might see her again. Thanks for the story, and the memories you brought back.

[CrappiePro]

How many times u fished that spot since u got haunted there be hard to pass that spot up

I have caught hundreds out of that spot over the years and the same cluster of trees still stands today. I live close to that spot and think of that fish every time I go to it. Besides being a good spot,,,It is also that fish that keeps me coming back to it.

[Bronson]

Mine was a day in late spring many years ago. I was running a little late but I didn't mind since crappie fishing had been great the last several weeks. I eased my boat in the lake and tied off at the dock. Taking my time, I visited the restroom for a few minutes before heading back. A couple of bass fishermen were pounding the bank about 75 yards from where I put in.

It wasn't until I finally looked up, I noticed the back end of my boat about ready to go under water. I had forgotten to put the plug in. I jumped in and tried to start it so I could see if I could run it out but it was no use. One of gentlemen at the dock let me back my trailer down in front of him and I was able to use my trolling motor to load.

I was lucky I didn't blow a tire as I pulled away. With the plug out and the bilge pump working, it still took another ten plus minutes to completely drain it. This time I had the plug in when I backed in and headed to one of my favorite spots. The lake was glass smooth that morning and I had the little bay all to myself.

I cast a small jig across a big brushpile that had been good to me for the last couple of years. It only moved about a foot or two before I got a good thump. I set the hook and it felt like a pretty good crappie. But as soon as I felt it, the hook came out. I figured it was in the same brushpile so I just let it drop before I started reeling.

Again it didn't travel more than a foot before I had another solid hit. I was thinking this was a "good" crappie when a bass looking to go between 9-10 lbs. came flying out of the water. I would love to tell you how I skillfully I wore it down before netting it and how good it looks today on the wall but that would be a lie. As soon as it came back down, it came off as well.

Despite knowing it was a waste of time, for the next half hour I threw everything I had in my tacklebox for bass for just one more chance. It's still a good memory.

I know it sounds like a lie (when you hear this, it usually is) but there has been many times when bowhunting and a big buck comes in range or hanging a big fish, I find myself rooting for them to get away. I think it's because when they walk off or get off, I know they are still out there, living the wild life.