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Location: Northern Wisconsin | So this weekend was one I would like to quickly forget. Two freak occurrences of fish cutting the line.
Saturday- dragging suckers- I notice a big swirl behind the boat and the bobber is down. The fish isn't running as the clicker is not going off. I reel in the slack and quickly set the hook. Rod barely loads and then I feel nothing. Line is cut and water balloon bobber is popped. I am guessing the line was somehow through the mouth or gill plate, especially since the balloon was popped. It definitely didn't break as it was 100lb powerpro and the rod didn't even load. I am also meticulous about tying new knots and checking for line damage so that isn't the issue.
I was pretty disappointed after that but chalk it up to a once in a 15 year/250 fish occurrence.
Back out Sunday. Just near dark and I have an 18" sucker out. Bobber goes down and heart is pumping. Fish is running a bit so I just reel down and give a big hook set. This time I hardly feel any weight and line is cut again! I know your thinking old or bad line but this is on a different sucker rod/reel from yesterday with 100lb cortland. At this point I just drop the rod and can't believe what just happened. Felt sick to the stomach to leave two fish with quick strike rigs swimming around. My guess is they were big ones too based on prior catches on these spots. I have caught 200+ muskies in the past 5 years and many on suckers. Never had the line break or get cut or even come close. I am using sucker rigs with about a 3' leader so that isn't the issue.
My hope is that I will catch one or both of these fish again this fall and maybe be able to get the rigs out. I doubt the second fish even got hooks buried on the hook set though, the line was barely tight during the hook set. Probably will just swallow sucker and quick-strike rig.
Chances of these fish surviving with two 3/0 hooks and 3' leader?
The only thing I can think of is that the fish were both somehow wrapped in the line or at a bad angle when I set the hook. The line must have either went back through their mouth or across their gill plate. Can't see how it happened with a 3' leader though. Both felt like very clean cuts that occurred with very little pressure. Still in disbelief that it happened two fish in a row. |
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Posts: 319
Location: Tomahawk,Wis | Not to make you feel worse.. I have a pic of a 32" musky choking on a 18" sucker... and yes he did peel the clicker... |
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Posts: 410
Location: Wakefield, MI | Same rod or different rods? Any chance of a chipped eyelet? |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | Rods are fine- both times the line was cut near the fish. These are strictly sucker rods so the line hasn't been through the rigors of casting. Very unlikely the line was frayed or damaged as I check and replace often.
"Not to make you feel worse.. I have a pic of a 32" musky choking on a 18" sucker... and yes he did peel the clicker..."
^ are you trying to tell me they could have been small fish? If I knew they were small fish I would feel slightly better but I just have a feeling both were large fish. |
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Posts: 625
Location: S.W. WI | Are you by chance putting a sinker on the line above leader?
I had one snap line once right at the spot I had a rubber core sinker attached. I wont put sinkers on the line anymore. I knew because it was 6 ft. from the bobberstop I had on.
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Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I would be wondering about line guides on the rods... if the ceramic is cracked or has any sort of nick in it, that can potentially cut the line. As a precaution, you can take a razor blade and run it around the edge of the line guide. If it catches, you may have found your issue.
This does not have to be happening right where you set the hook. When you reel in and pack your stuff away for the day, the line might be riding right on that nick/crack, and that would be enough to damage the line.
Something to maybe check...can't hurt...
Steve |
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Posts: 526
| On a similar note to using a razor blade, a q tip works well also to detect any cracks or chips in line guides. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | I'd use a razor blade. More likely to catch and remove excess flex coat than a q-tip.
I also wonder if there was a sinker and how your float is attached. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I run 130 lb or 150 lb on all my sucker rods... no reason not to go heavy if it is a dedicated rod for suckers... just one other thing you might consider, but it does sound like you had a knick in your line or it was frayed, or your knot wasn't properly tied....
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | If there was any slack in your line (sucker swimming up away from the muskie) can cause the leader and associated main line to hang below the bait. The muskie probably scooped up some line with the sucker and the line was cut on the hook set. Nothing can prevent such issues.
There is no way to know for sure what happened though, so check your line and rod guides like people have already mentioned. |
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Posts: 221
| Don't feel too bad. More than likely those fish will be caught soon and rigs will be removed. I've caught several that had a rig or part of a rig stuck in their mouth and they still ate. |
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Posts: 46
| Fish hit the balloon? Had one hit a marker buoy once. Heard of them hitting planner boards too. |
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Posts: 20227
Location: oswego, il | #1netman - 10/10/2017 1:44 PM
Fish hit the balloon? Had one hit a marker buoy once. Heard of them hitting planner boards too.
Have had planer boards hit three times. One went back and got the bait, 42"er |
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Posts: 68
| Rubber core sinkers knick the line. I've not had it break, but have noticed it before it was too late. I use line through sinkers now with a rubber bead to protect my knot and have not seen any issues. It gets expensive if you loose a $15 rig and a $10 dollar sucker, especially when you don't have a fish to show for it. |
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