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The one that got away ...

Freshwater saltwater Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams talk about the ones that got away. Show us the ones that didn't.
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Frontiersman
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The one that got away ...

Post by Frontiersman » Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:23 am

The one that got away ... ok, I'll bite.

I was about 17, the year before I went in the service. A buddy of mine and I were fishing in a branch off the upper Wabash in Indiana at a place the old timers called Heiney's Bend. The name was left over from before they dammed and flooded it, so the spot is only true river when the reservoir is low. Today, it's not even accessible. They blocked off the road, and no one knows what you are talking about when you mention it.

We chose a nice little sand bar that had some ripples pouring into a quiet deep pocket just down stream from us. The water was maybe a foot deep, and bubbly, as it splashed over the rocks, but not enough that I would call it a rapid. As boy's do, we had a fire going, it was a nice comfortable spot to sit all night. We had ourselves convinced the big ones would come up river and feed in those ripples and the plan was to cast into the swift water, and allow the bait to drift naturally into the deep water.

I had scrounged an old Zebco 202 (a poor choice) and put 40lb test line on it. It was the best the local yard sales could produce, and I dedicated it as my "big fish" rig. I placed a large "catfish hook" and a big dead chub minnow on it. I cast into the ripples, and it worked it's way down stream and over rocks just as I had envisioned, and so I let it sit.

Then old lantern only provided enough light to see the rods and a a bit of the line. The deep hole was only dimly visible with the mercy of those old crappy flashlights we had in those days. You had to bang it on your hand a couple times to get it to come on. Remember those?

Sometime in the middle of the night, the end of my pole started to move and I picked up my pole and gave it a good yank to set the hook. My effort was met with a very large splash out in the dark and I began to fight the monster on the other end. As the minutes went by (seemed a lot longer),thought to be loosing the battle. I had my big fish on the hook, but getting it to come up through the swift shallow water was a whole nother problem.

I tightened the drag, as boys do, and began to try and haul it into the bank. The old hollow fiberglass rod began to crack ... remember those? Instead of letting off the drag, I just trusted to that 40lb test and lowered the pole to reduce the strain on the rod. My buddy decided to grab the flashlight and net to see if he could land it at the bottom of the ripples. He got about half way down to the splashing and shined his light on the spot. As the fishes head broke the water, we saw a set of eyes, to this day, I would estimate as 18" apart, maybe more. There was a huge splash. My drag was on full by then. The line peeled off my reel until it reached its end. The reel snapped off at its base, stripped the eyes off my rod down to the end of the pole and the line snapped.

My assumption is that is was a very large flat-head catfish. I can only dream of the weight, but they get a really wide head for their size. I was left with nothing but the destroyed fishing rod and reel to tell the story. I would be off to the service before I could save enough money to buy a proper rig.

Some 30 years later, I finally made it back "home". With the proper rig and I believe now the skill to land it. I walked down there and the spot is long gone. It's just not the same world it used to be.
Last edited by Frontiersman on Sat Mar 03, 2018 3:50 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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CT_Shooter
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Re: The one that got away ...

Post by CT_Shooter » Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:49 am

Frontiersman wrote:I was about 17...
Great story telling. Thanks.
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Sir Henry
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Re: The one that got away ...

Post by Sir Henry » Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:28 am

Great story.
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Henry88
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Re: The one that got away ...

Post by Henry88 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:40 am

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BrokenolMarine
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Re: The one that got away ...

Post by BrokenolMarine » Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:38 pm

I love those stories... and the memories of childhood.
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