Ever loose a trophy fish ?

We have all lost big fish or trophy size fish in our outdoor fishing adventures . Some we got to see escape , some we never had a chance, but always wonder what and how big was it . Some you forget in time, but some really stay in your memory mostly the ones you actually got to see or glimpse for a few seconds or more. I'd like to hear and share a few stories on "the one that got away" !
 
Years back I was fishing a local strip-mined lake that held nice size Bass and Bluegill. I noticed a large tree had fallen into a section of water near shore. As I approached the tree I could see very clearly a huge Largemouth Bass just under the surface of the water. I mean I'm talking huge like 25" or better and wide !
 
I tossed a big live minnow about 20 ft. past him and reeled in toward him so as not to spook this monster. He sucked it up like candy and disappeared into the depths.  I let him run awhile then set the hook, up he come and did a huge summersault on top the water causing a giant explosion ! I seen my hook and minnow slip away just as he slammed the surface ! If I say this Bass was 10lbs. I don't think I'd be exaggerating much....... I'll never know. 

Walleye opener 2011 .. fishing outflow In Jamestown .. catching eyes lots of shorts .. feel a thud on a jig and minnow .. start bringing it in .. now mind you my biggest eye anywhere is 8lb+ 28.5 inches .. well what came to the surface dwarfed that .. easy 32-35 inch fish .. big an round like a lg coffee can .. hooked right in the dorsal fin ... Could bring myself to land that fish .. quick wrist snap and see ya later

I've been lucky in that I've been able to land the biggest fish I've hooked and played.
Except for one big channel cat and that ended up being my friends fault when he tried to help?? out.  
This Summer I landed my personal best inland brown trout at 30.5", not weighed and released on my home river.
 

Landed some big ones, had two that I lost I would have loved to land.
One was a large mouth in a strip pond when I was about 16....still think it would have been a state record.
The other was a huge cat down on the Susquehanna last year, I've landed them up to 35 lbs...this one took one look and just destroyed my tackle.
It keeps us going back and excited about what the next one might be :)

If you regularly fish and never have missed a trophy, you need to fish more.

Told the story of the mega steelie lost years ago several times here over the years ...won't bore anyone with another rerun
 
Lost  plenty of "unknown" heavy fish
 
the only other "known" trophy* lost (meaning  I actually saw it to know what it was and how big)
was in northern Ontario at a walleye lake ...hooked a BIG Northern ...got it to the boat and lost it
 
*really don't know what a "trophy" size Northern is...but it was bigger than the 38" Muskie I  landed at a lake near me
 
 
..L.T.A.

I have had a couple. A smallmouth in Allegheny wading was enormous, and after a couple jumps he threw the hook. Then a Northern in Canada on 4 lb test and a #2 mepps with a bit of worm. I had it on for 10 minutes having hooked it while fishing small mouths. I would put all the pressure the 4 lb would take and it would slowly come in just finning not swimming. It would get right below me make one kick with its tale and be gone again. Then I would slowly pull it back up. I did this a few times back and forth. The last time it was coming up head first at me and he or she flared its gills and blew that mepps out. I think it was just holding it in its mouth the whole time. I have caught them up to 46" and that one was a monster. I am not really sure how big because at that time I hadn't caught that many big ones musky or pike. It was in that monster class though.
  I have had musky fishermen tell me when you hook a big one and the head looks like a spade shovel they are big. I knew a fella that caught two 50 lb Musky the same day. That was what he fished for, big Musky with big live suckers. That was in the 70's and he was a taxidermist.
  Saw a carp swim by at 10 ft in crystal clear water that I do not ever tell people its size because no one would believe me. I do not know what kind of tackle it would take to land. My musky net he would trash. I have not caught that big of carp, perhaps 20 lb. Not even in the same class.
  Had an ocean fish on a pier just swim away like it was nothing I wasn't  even phasing it. Took all kinds of line then luckily the hook pulled  and I didn't loose all my line.