Yall tell me what you think. I was out there this past weekend in some brutal conditions with the 7500+ other people looking for grandma lunker.
Numbers were there for us, probably 50 or so in the four days there (pre-fished thursday) and we only caught 5 on Sunday, so the other three days were pretty good considering many people we talked to didnt catch but a few per day, if anything. We threw everything there is to throw at them, and my aunt and dad caught most of the fish. I was fishing mainly frogs and big baits. It was an individual tourney but we decided we would split up the winnings some how if it worked out. we mainly fished lilly pads, coves and some flats when we could stand the wind and rain. Most fish were caught on craw-type baits in 1-8ft water.
My aunt had what was no doubt a 6+ money fish yesterday that we all saw and it got into a tree and snapped off. Fished the same craw bait as the story below.
Now for the main story and your opinions on it:
We were fishing structure on saturday we had marked on the gps from a few fish we found the day before and my dad was throwing the craw bait again. Got a bite, set the hook, and it was on. Immediately he said it was a big one and it buried itself in the grass. He kept a tight line and my aunt trolled a bit toward it. He finally got it out of the grass and this thing turned the other way and his drag spun a bit. He then tightened the drag down, fought it, started horsing it toward us, I got the net ready, and when it got to the point I would have been able to dip it I held back bc of the super stained water I didnt want to get in the way since I couldnt see it. Fish made a b-line under the boat, dad didnt hit the button to release the line, his rod doubled over, 17lb flouro snapped, and my dad looked like he could puke. I am not experienced enough to knwo what it might have been, but my aunt has fished the pro tour, and my dad has been fishing since the 50's and they have their ideas of what it was, but we all agree it was well over 10lbs. Was this thing a bass? If so, wouldn't it have jumped? What if it was a big spawned out hog? To those of you who have caught 10+ lb bass -- when you got it on did it surface like probably 98% of the bass I have caught?
I try to convince my dad it was a big catfish or drum, but he still swears it was a bass. Either way, no one ever saw it and we will never know.
Numbers were there for us, probably 50 or so in the four days there (pre-fished thursday) and we only caught 5 on Sunday, so the other three days were pretty good considering many people we talked to didnt catch but a few per day, if anything. We threw everything there is to throw at them, and my aunt and dad caught most of the fish. I was fishing mainly frogs and big baits. It was an individual tourney but we decided we would split up the winnings some how if it worked out. we mainly fished lilly pads, coves and some flats when we could stand the wind and rain. Most fish were caught on craw-type baits in 1-8ft water.
My aunt had what was no doubt a 6+ money fish yesterday that we all saw and it got into a tree and snapped off. Fished the same craw bait as the story below.
Now for the main story and your opinions on it:
We were fishing structure on saturday we had marked on the gps from a few fish we found the day before and my dad was throwing the craw bait again. Got a bite, set the hook, and it was on. Immediately he said it was a big one and it buried itself in the grass. He kept a tight line and my aunt trolled a bit toward it. He finally got it out of the grass and this thing turned the other way and his drag spun a bit. He then tightened the drag down, fought it, started horsing it toward us, I got the net ready, and when it got to the point I would have been able to dip it I held back bc of the super stained water I didnt want to get in the way since I couldnt see it. Fish made a b-line under the boat, dad didnt hit the button to release the line, his rod doubled over, 17lb flouro snapped, and my dad looked like he could puke. I am not experienced enough to knwo what it might have been, but my aunt has fished the pro tour, and my dad has been fishing since the 50's and they have their ideas of what it was, but we all agree it was well over 10lbs. Was this thing a bass? If so, wouldn't it have jumped? What if it was a big spawned out hog? To those of you who have caught 10+ lb bass -- when you got it on did it surface like probably 98% of the bass I have caught?
I try to convince my dad it was a big catfish or drum, but he still swears it was a bass. Either way, no one ever saw it and we will never know.
With big fish, you want to play them as much as you can and take your time. I've caught plenty of big fish and a lot of them that are over 10 pounds will run like a red fish and power their way deeper without coming up. Once you play them a while though and realize they aren't going anywhere, a lot of those will finally head for the surface. With that said, your dad probably hooked a gaspergoo. 
