Hey guys, hooked into a monster bass. We saw him come out the water & it was at least 8+ lbs & honestly I can only assume it was a lot bigger. I know he broke off which was clearly my fault I was using old braid. My question is why did my SURF rod snap? Should I have stood up? Just wondering what could I have done better to help land such a heavy bass?
Posted by DrippHypnos
11 Comments
You high sticked it, sitting down and lifting the tip to the sky.
Make sure the rod is pushed in tightly.
He got under your boat, you need to turn and keep him in front of you
I would say there are a few learning points and you know about the old braid. I’ve seen people reel in monsters on kid snoopy rods so the snap is a heart breaker. Do you store your rods in a warm place like a hot garage? That will wear them out over time.
Standing up could have gave you a better chance and facing the fish, and setting your drag. But it didn’t seem your rod was overly bent.
Stand up (to give yourself more maneuverability) and keep the angle that the line and the rod are making greater than 90 degrees (where 0 degrees is the line running back along the blank).
I have a Shimano rod over ten years old that’s been horse shoed like that more times than I can count and it’s still going strong. Could’ve been a weak point somewhere in it,I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily your fault. Main thing is don’t high stick it and don’t horse the fish,let the drag do its job. Oh and if you’re in a boat no reason not to use a net.
Hard to tell but maybe your drag was set too tight as well.
I’ve seen people putting the rod tip in the water, but also seen much more gnarly rod positions. Maybe a gear thing?
Also had a buddy have his real break off, but he had JUST switched to braid, and ended up hand reeling the the bass in. (runs really light braid on a spinning reel.)
Loosen the drag and don’t horse the fish in, it will come when it’s good and ready.
“We’re going viral” cringe
I would have stood up. Even drop the tip into the water when it starts to run under the boat. With the big fish, you have to follow it a bit and just try to turn the fish towards. Otherwise, hold on and follow until it turns towards you.