Lost a Giant Peacock today!!

Questions about Freshwater Fishing

Lost a Giant Peacock today!!

Postby mig rod » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:59 pm

I feel so disappointed, and confused as to why the line broke. I was out fishing for Largemouths and doing pretty good. Then all of a sudden, two giant Peacocks enter my view, so I cast my 3 inch Rapala top water plug about 10 feet in front of them. They disappear, as I start reeling in fast one of them slammed the lure real hard. It starts to take line, I left the drag perfect since I use my usual 8# test, all of sudden my line breaks. I have caught big fish with this line.It's strange since I didn't have much pressure at all to make the line pop. Maybe the line was weakened some where, anyhow I lost my favorite Rapala and a Trophy fish. I am not a happy angler today.


If you guys have a similar story please by all means, post it. It will make me feel better.
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Postby jbird » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:15 pm

Mig Rod

Do you use spectra or mono? Mono can get old and brittle. Did you test the line after the break off to see if it was weak in other places? Most likely just a nick in the line. Thats fishin unfortunately :cry: sometimes, stuff just breaks.

Where do you live that you get shots at big peacocks while fishin LMB?

Jay
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Postby dahlberg » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:40 am

hi mig
There is no emptyness like the millisecond everything goes from very tight to absolutely slack.
I'd say it's likely a combination of 3 things.
As you thumb will attest at the end of a day's pcock fishing, they have longer and more abrasive teeth than a large or smallmouth bass. Capable of abraiding "normal, non-"hard" mono; especially if
you were fishing in water that was 85 degrees, plus.
You had not re-tied recently. I've had my mono wear through the eye of the lure under such conditions, getting back a perfectly intact knot!
A short bimini will give you a double line to the lure, which is some insurance. If I don't want to mess with the bimini, or it negatively affects presentation, I double my line and tie a Uni Knot (three turns). The doubled line at the eye seems to give you a little extra strength over time.
I lost a real monster once using 30# shock tippet. I mean a monster. Located it a couple days before on a lure. Came back, snuck up on a sand bar above it for a better angle to fight it because there were tons of logs. From the little boat, a big one just pulls you in with it. It came charging out of the logs, over the sand in 3' of water and ate a mega diver 15' from my rod tip. I fought it for at least 5 minutes and everything was looking good, then gone....
Wore through the 30# with little sandpaper teeth. just like a Tarpon or snook would've.
True existential emptyness is something philosophy has tried to describe for decades. Now you know exactly what it is! You've gone one step beyond catch and release!
Hope you get your lure back on the next one!
best,
L
Larry Dahlberg
The Hunt For Big Fish
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Postby mig rod » Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:11 am

Hello Jbird
I have Trilene mono XL on my setup. The line was actually new, when the break off happened I tested it and it was in perfect condition. You are right though, in fishing nothing is a sure thing. BYW I reside in South Florida, the only place to fish for Largemouths and Peacocks in the same time. The ones here are the smaller butterfly species, half the size of the monsters of the Amozon. But still, an 8 or 10 pounder is a giant here and can give you a heart attack on light tackle!! Thanks for the advice, take care.



Hello Larry
I think you hit it in the nail!! On a day where I've caught over 6 good sized Butterflies my thumb looks like it was dragged on a pavement from a moving car. The top water rapala was 3 inches long. Good chance the trophy peacock swallowed the whole thing exposing the line to it's raspy teeth. I do believe thats what happened. Your idea of a bimini double line knot is a good one, but like you said it will hinder the movement of the lure. I like the double line Uni Knot idea. That should definitely strengthen the hold in the eye of the lure to the line. I will give that a try, plus, I feel using a longer lure (at least 4 or 5 inches) will prevent a big fish to inhale the entire thing. Thanks for the reply and advice, take care.
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Re: Lost a Giant Peacock today!!

Postby outtaline » Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:55 pm

Hey mig try forty flouro btw we we got them on the west coast now down around naples try uni-uni and a uni loop havnt had a problem yet same way I flip for large mouths
Go big or go home!
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