Lost my best ever Crappie.....

[Brag]

Any chance it could have been a huge Redear? I hooked one a couple years ago I first thought was a big crappie (Livescope) since I had already made several casts at it and it had followed everything. I finally hooked it on a tiny underspin and plastic.
Once hooked it acted like a big smallmouth, big drum, big something I couldn’t get to the top. I had hooked it in 18’ and it ran off a ledge into 25’.
When I finally got it to the top, it was a HUGE Redear. She had to be 14 inches long and looked almost that wide. It was the biggest Redear I had ever seen with my own eyes. She was spent, laying on her side, but my net was in the floor in the back of the boat. By the time I got the net, she had found 2nd chance and with one lunge, she broke my 5 pound braid at the loop knot. Gone with a boil!
I went to the house!!
I wouldn’t have kept her since I try to release all female Redears that aren’t bleeding. I sure would have loved to touch her, weigh, take a bunch of pics, then release her.


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I suppose anything is possible. I think there are redears in this lake, but I've never caught one. Because of that, I don't really know their habits or know if one would likely be where I hooked this fish. As I said before, the fish was in a Crappie location, with other Crappie (we took 4 others, all between 11 and 15" before I hooked and lost this one). This fish was deeper than the others, but suspended over 60 feet of water and maybe 30 feet down. Bit like a Crappie, fought like a Crappie (albeit a bigger Crappie than I've ever caught before) and took a Crappie bait. I really, truly do think it was one of those once in a lifetime fish that you see in the newspaper or a sporting magazine once every few years. Given that I've caught a fair number of 2-2.5 pound Crappie and a few 2.5-3 pounders, I feel like I've got a pretty good perspective on how large it may have been.

[DockShootinJack]

I catch quite a few bonus fish shooting docks. I was trolling on Lake Guntersville. Went past a laydown in the water. I hooked into something. I fought it for a good 15 minutes before I straightened and pulled the hook. I am thinking very good flathead. Whatever it was I couldn't turn it around. You could feel it swim. We went back and forth up and down the channel until it freed itself

[Brag]

I catch quite a few bonus fish shooting docks. I was trolling on Lake Guntersville. Went past a laydown in the water. I hooked into something. I fought it for a good 15 minutes before I straightened and pulled the hook. I am thinking very good flathead. Whatever it was I couldn't turn it around. You could feel it swim. We went back and forth up and down the channel until it freed itself

Yeah, I actually catch Catfish frequently on laydowns, of course some bass as well.

[NIMROD]

Why do you use so small of jigs . I only use bigger jigs with bigger hooks . Sure helps

[Ketchn]

Why do you use so small of jigs . I only use bigger jigs with bigger hooks . Sure helps

he is likely trying to imitate the food source and for sure some big ole black crappie like a small jig quite often ,them there white ones will hammer a sea trout , them black ones often want a lil bitty bait .....or at least in these parts that is the method to the madness in many cases .