The one that got away

First off let me say that in Winter in Thailand the fishing is a lot harder and most Thai don't fish at all this time of the year.

Well after 16 years of fishing I finally saw it happen. I finally witnessed the famous fishing mistake first hand.

Today I went fishing with my friends. We set up 6 rods on a small bridge with worms and bread bait. I had something hit my Curado really hard and double it twice before I could get to it. The drag was loose, but I pulled fast enough to double it still. Luckily it was in a secure position held down by a water pipe. I missed the fish and was a little upset, but no problem we just got there. As the day went on we never had anymore bites on the bread (most big fish here only eat the bread baits or if you are really luck they will eat a dead fish, worms are for small fish). We caught and release probably a dozen small 4-8" catfish. Then four of my six friends went down the road a ways to a pond to fish. After they were gone my friend shouts, "Daniel!!!!" And points over my shoulder. As I turn I see a big splash and think it was a big fish. Then I see the fishing rod getting pulled through the water a couple feet before it sinks out of sight.

I had told my friend at the beginning not to have his rods right against the railing because a big fish could pull then over. And I remember checking his drag which was locked down, I tried to loosen it but it had gone back and was stuck locked down so I just figured it was his gear and he was used to it.

After me and my friend (not the owner of the rod but a different friend) finished rolling on the ground laughing for five minutes we waited for them to get back to tell them.

He was of course upset and tried to catch his rod on the bottom but it was useless, because the rod was long gone.

So I finally saw the famous rod getting pulled over the railing and was even more glad I always secure my rods.