A Once in a lifetime happening yesterday....

[HatfieldHog]

I was bass fishing on a 5 acre private lake with a retired gentleman yesterday. We were in his trolling motor powered death trap called a boat, when something very unusual happened to me. We were coming past a place at the corner of his dam that had been built to launch boats, i.e. a dirt ramp. I thought to myself, wow, with a 4 wheel drive I could launch my Champion 181 and fish in comfort and safety. As we crossed the "dirt ramp" I decided to check it's depth. All I had to check with was the 6'6" spinning rod in my hand. I reeled up the shakey head jig with watermelon/red worm on it to the end of my spinning rod and stuck it down in the water to see how far the bottom was down there. The rod tip hit the bottom and I quickly drew it back out. When the rod tip cleared the water, there was an 8 inch bass hooked on that shakey head jig. We both saw it happen!

I don't even know what to say.....But, It happened!

See ya, HatfieldHog

[tllewis]

Lure in water, little fish ate it.

[haveme1]

I bet that was a surprise !

[SoonerFan]

I guess we can all jump on the Arkansas Rig bandwagon now.

[Broad River Runner]

My old girfreinds parents have a house right on lake murray and I used to throw a line or two of the backyard to tune stuff in for the next days fishing. I had a diawa that I was working on with a big swimbait on it, the GF said she saw a snake in the rocks so I climbed down to take a look and the rod tip went in the water. The line was literally a foot of the tip and a 4 pounder came up and slammed the swimbait! It totally took me by surprise, almost lost the rod! what shocks me the most is the fact that Murray was one of the hardest places to fish that I have ever been...

[cougarcat22]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by SoonerFan &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I guess we can all jump on the Arkansas Rig bandwagon now. </td></tr></table>

[bassboy1]

I was trout fishing a mountain lake from a canoe once. Was using live bait, so I had a cricket on the hook, and I believe I was bottom fishing with it. At one point, the wind started to blow me into a large fallen tree, so I reeled up, and laid the rod over the gunwale, with the bait still barely in the water. I'm trying to paddle out of this tree, fighting the gust of wind, and my rod about goes overboard, drag screaming (luckily, the butt hung up on on something in the bottom of the boat).
Great, I must have snagged a tree branch, and I'm gonna break this rod before it is all said and done. Grab the rod, and gal durnit, there is a fish on there. Not 2' from the end of the rod, all while I'm making a goshawful racket scraping small tree branches down an aluminum hulled canoe.

Ended up being the biggest fish of about 12 that day.

[RoadrashPaul]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by bassboy1 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I was trout fishing a mountain lake from a canoe once. Was using live bait, so I had a cricket on the hook, and I believe I was bottom fishing with it. At one point, the wind started to blow me into a large fallen tree, so I reeled up, and laid the rod over the gunwale, with the bait still barely in the water. I'm trying to paddle out of this tree, fighting the gust of wind, and my rod about goes overboard, drag screaming (luckily, the butt hung up on on something in the bottom of the boat).
Great, I must have snagged a tree branch, and I'm gonna break this rod before it is all said and done. Grab the rod, and gal durnit, there is a fish on there. Not 2' from the end of the rod, all while I'm making a goshawful racket scraping small tree branches down an aluminum hulled canoe.

Ended up being the biggest fish of about 12 that day. </td></tr></table>

Had something similar happen over the winter. My wife was fishing with a small grub. She reeled it in and layed her rod down on the deck to get something. The grubs tail was just barely in the water and a big skipjack came up and about pulled the rod in the lake. Luckily he missed the hook or it would have went in. Pretty funny

[ChrisH]

I was frog fishing at Guntersville one fall and had reeled in my frog. I put the rod between my legs and was lighting a cigarette. The frog was dangling right beside the boat when a 2#er nailed it. Scared the poop out me. Swung him in the boat and lit my Marlboro.

[250bassFL]

Did you try it again to see if it would get you another fish?

[NY Trooper]

Happens when you keep your bait wet!

[aussiebasser]

A few years ago a good friend of mine was in the boat with me, he had his lure dangling from the rod tip in front of him, trying to choose which tree to cast to next. A Barramundi of around 40lb jumped out of the water beside the boat, ate his lure, broke the line and hit the water splashing water everywhere. It happened in a split second. Scared chit out of him. I just appologised for being too slow with the net.

[luke1wcu]

One of the things I love about being on the water.....you never know what unique and crazy thing may happen.