by 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