Well, I'm pretty upset with myself after yesterday evening. Cloud cover and wind I thought what a great time to try a topwater bait for my Florida lmb. I have tried Pop-R many times and never a strike. Only had a ultralite setup down at the dock. Made the unwise decision to tie on a Tiny Torpedo topwater lure on the ultralite. Honestly thought a big cnbg might hit it but nooooo!! On only second cast a huge explosion and I saw a maybe 3 pound lmb come out of the water to hit that plug. CRAP!! Fought her for about a minute but she got under my pontoon boat and broke the old wore out 8 pound test line. I was sick. As hard as I work to get big fish I was foolish enough to cast that lure on that rig. It was a old lure with rusty hooks but the fact remains I have a good fish with that lure and probably 6-8 foot of line hanging out of her mouth somewhere in the pond!! I am so mad at myself. That is the first fish of any kind that has broken off in the pond. How long do you think I will have to wait to see if the hook rusts away?? I waited about a hour to see if she would come back up and try to "throw" the lure but saw no signs of her. She is probably back under that pontoon boat where a lot of my lmb live or hang out. I suck!!

Don't be too hard on yourself...just remember the days before we paid for our own stockings, took water temps, paid for the best foods, adjusted aeration systems to better suit the climate, pulled weeds for the water's edge, picked up rocks from the creek for crawdad habitat, added truck loads of lime/whatever to adjust PH and such, and so no and so on. I did not think twice about the fish that had my lure stuck in it, I was bummed to lose the lure, now I feel something deep inside when I have to tug the guts somewhat loose to remove a hook! With the efforts come the concern I suppose. I'd like to think that the fish will be fine.

I would walk the bank, your lure will likely be floating along a wind blown bank in the next day or two. Been there, done that.

Man, I'm sorry to hear that. It happens to all of us sometimes, no matter how careful we are. I'll bet that eventually the lure comes off with little harm done.

Shorty...You are the man!! And you are psychic!! After reading your post not 30 minutes ago I took a chance and started walking the pond shore. Probably had not walked 75 feet and low and behold about a foot away from the bank hung in a little FA was my tiny torpedo with 40 inches of line tied to it!!! One of the front rusty "bends" of the treble hook was broken off.Wow, I did not ever expect that less than 24 hours since I broke her off!! All of my reels are getting a minimum of 12 pound test line now!! Thank you for the suggestion and thank you to the others for support. Maybe that big gal will live on to spawn again!!

Nice, very nice!

I promise you, she'll be fine.

A buddy and I were practicing for a tournament many years ago. I made a cast up by a dock with a plastic worm and almost immediately got bit. I must have had a nick in my line because I broke off 14# test on the hook set.

My buddy immediately casts right back into the same spot and gets bit again. When he boats the fish and goes to remove his worm he asks what color worm I'm using and I tell him. He looks at me and says " this is your fish bro!" Sure enough, my worm was wadded up at the base of the fish's throat. We removed the worm and left the hook in its gullet.

3 days later, we're competing in the tournament and pull up to that dock. I pitch my worm into the same spot and BAM, fish on! When we landed the fish and I took my hook out, right there in the back of this 3# bass' mouth was my 2/0 hook. It was almost completely rusted thru and didn't hinder her need to eat at all.

Wow, Mike!! Just curious do you think that fish was on a bed? Don't know what time of year you were fishing. She sure seemed protective of that area!! Or she was just that hungry. Or you guys are just that good of fisherman. Maybe all of the above!! Thanks for sharing.

Glad you found it. I had the same thing happen with a floating top water lure 20 years ago. I watched that fish jump every 5 minutes and shake its head for 30 minutes and I never saw it shook the lure free. I was worried sick about it, I came back the next day and there it was not far from where I lost it.

Lol....if either of us were that good we'd both gone pro!! It wasn't for a lack of love for the sport. I once fostered a dream of making it to the Bassmaster Classic. But to make it in that arena, you gotta have serious sponsorship to go with the desire. So, I went to work for B.A.S.S. instead, as a tournament director for the SE US. The very first tournament I worked was the 2006 Classic in Orlando...so in a way, I guess I made it there...lol. But I'd much rather had been fishing instead of working the event.

It was post spawn (in east Tenn), and we thought she had just moved back shallow to resume feeding after recovering from her egg laying. She wasn't carrying row. If she had been, she'd have weighed over 4#. There were a lot of brushpiles around the area and she apparently had taken up residence there. That fish is the only one I know for sure I caught more than once in a lifetime of bass fishing.

I'm sure you know, females only guard as long as they're laying eggs, then they're gone to let daddy do the real work. Living in FL for 4 years, the most amazing thing I ever saw was 3 fish on the same bed at the same time. Two sows over 8 and their buck, which probably didn't weight 2. I sat and watched those fish for 30 minutes and never tried to hook one. I've never been keen on sight fishing bedding fish....not that I haven't done it....just makes me feel wrong doing it, but when there's serious money on the line.....

Happy for you Flame. I have a fishing story at the pond last year. I had my 8 wt fly rod rigged up with streamer fly and was throwing it in an area where the TFS hang out and the HSB come in to feed on them in the area. I was working the fly back and was just a few feet from the bank when this nice sized hsb hit and short lined me. The fight was on! I was trying to turn the fish and then snap. The fight was over. The HSB broke 14# test Trilene. I thought of the HSB swimming around and dragging the lure along with about 6' of line, but there was nothing I could do about it. I never saw a dead hsb floating so I am guessing it all turned out ok. I would guess the HSB was in the 5lb range.