Lost my best ever Crappie.....

I've caught more than my share of trophy fish in my life, Smallmouth up to 6.75 pounds (have lost bigger), Largemouth to 7 pounds (have lost much bigger), Yellow perch to 2.6 pounds (have caught lots of them in the 2.4-2.6 range), Walleye over 10 pounds and my biggest Black crappie ever was taken last year. It was 17" even and 2.95 pounds. I caught nearly 50 Crappie last year that were over 14" and lots of those were over 2 pounds, so I've caught fair numbers of pretty big Crappie, depending on what your definition of big is. BUT, I lost one that I know was my best ever and think was really a truly gargantuan fish the other day. Admittedly, I never physically saw the Crappie, but it was with other Crappie, doing Crappie things, bit like a Crappie, took a 1/24 ounce, 2" Crappie plastic, and fought like a Black crappie. It fought harder, much harder than any of the other big Crappies I've taken, but fought and bit very much like a Crappie, so I'm basically 100% certain that's what it was. I hate to even guess how large, but I think well over 3 pounds and maybe WAY over 3 pounds. Darn, I felt sick when it happened and I still haven't gotten over the sick feeling. The fish didn't break off and I didn't do anything stupid with it, the hook just pulled out after a minute and after two very hard runs.

For what it's worth, I would have measured, weighed, photographed and released the fish anyway. I wouldn't have eaten it or gotten a skin mount. I release 90% of the Crappie that I catch and all of the really big ones, but darn, I really would have liked to have seen it, photographed it and known how big it was. I may some day catch another one like that, but I can't imagine ever getting over this sick feeling or wondering how big that fish really was.

Oh yeah that hurts. I’ve hooked some good ones and they get off and it stings when they do but that’s also fuel to go again.

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Only thing worse maybe is being in a tournament that means a lot to you, and watching that kicker fish come unbuttoned just out of net reach


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It’s the kind of hurt that stays with you for a long time.
Get back in the saddle and go catch a bigger one.

Bon Temps!!

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Originally Posted by BON TEMPS

It’s the kind of hurt that stays with you for a long time.
Get back in the saddle and go catch a bigger one.

Bon Temps!!

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I ate Bon Temps biggest fish. does that count for anything?

Thank goodness ya dint see it , it was likely just a drum anyway :Rofl
It's them see ya up close and personal ones that hurt the most .
Seen a few really large specimens escape in my day .
Some really stayed with me in my mind a long time .
Still remember 2 in particular that were in the above 3 range ....
One was a black about 3 foot from the net
The other was a white I thought was a bass until it surfaced.
Both still haunt me from time to time....just saying

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![emoji30]
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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Originally Posted by Ketchn

Thank goodness ya dint see it , it was likely just a drum anyway :Rofl
It's them see ya up close and personal ones that hurt the most .
Seen a few really large specimens escape in my day .
Some really stayed with me in my mind a long time .
Still remember 2 in particular that were in the above 3 range ....
One was a black about 3 foot from the net
The other was a white I thought was a bass until it surfaced.
Both still haunt me from time to time....just saying

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Haha the only times Ive ever hooked a monster and thought, “Boy howdy this is the big one!!” Of course, it was a drum, flathead or a dang tree lol.


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Lost a double digit catfish when I was 10 years old. Dad was cleaning crappie when I took some guts and threaded them on a bream hook. Threw it out with my Zebco 33 and hooked a good size catfish. Fought him for 2 minutes before he pulled loose. The largest fish I had caught up to that point was a 2lb largemouth which I thought was a monster back then. That was 1971 and we still talk about the big one I lost.

If it wasn't for "THE BIG ONE THAT GOT AWAY" there would be a lot less fish stories to read or hear about :Rofl :dono

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Originally Posted by M R Dux

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![emoji30]
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.

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

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Originally Posted by 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

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

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

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

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

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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 .:dono