Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2017 - 20
Landing the Lunker
Five Lessons Learned
by Christian A. Shane
photos by the author
It was the fifth consecutive night of attempts to hook
and catch a trophy bass on a large pond in western
Pennsylvania. On previous evenings, this particular fish
had snapped my fishing line, stolen my lure and wrapped
my lure around a log. My determination grew each night
to learn some new tricks and refine some old techniques to
catch this monster of a bass.
Lesson 1-Match your tackle and
line to the largest potential fish in
your watershed.
On our first encounter, I was simply fishing my 41/2-foot
rod with 4-pound-test line on a matching reel. This fishing
combo seemed appropriate for a relaxing evening of catching a few small bass. Little did I know that I would meet an
opponent that night.
The first cast from shore produced a pounding hit as
I watched a Largemouth Bass engulf a new frog lure and
suddenly snap it off my line. As it dove into deeper waters,
my jaw dropped at this creature's power. If I decided to tangle with this beast again, I needed to upgrade to stronger
gear. Locating my 6-foot rod and reel outfit with 8-poundtest line, I resolved to get a better look at this fish and try to
retrieve my lost lure.
20
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * July/August 2017
Frog Lure
Lesson 2-Tie and retie knots and
test their strength.
The second night brought sight of the fish again, so I
hurriedly tied on a hook and tried a live minnow. The first
tug on my line proved that a bass of large size can easily
pull a weak knot free. When I hooked into it again, my
improved clinch knot (not as improved as it should have
been) was no match as it snapped the line at the hook eye,
leaving a curlicue of fishing line behind. Luckily, this time
it was only able to get the hook and a sacrificial minnow.
Priding myself in usually tying quality knots, I was
slightly intimidated by this bandit. I slowly and thoughtfully
reworked the next improved clinch knot to wrap it around
the hook eye and wet it before cinching it tight.
www.gonefishingpa.com
http://www.gonefishingpa.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20240102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20231112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20230910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20230708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20230506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20230304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20230102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20221112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20220910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20220708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20220506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20220304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20220102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20211112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20210910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20210708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20210506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20210304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20210102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20180506
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/201780102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20170102
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20151112
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20140910
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20130708
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20130102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pafishboat/20121112
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