Fishermen, have you ever been spooled before?

Question

Even though I know full well that most fishing reels are able to store a large amount of line for the very line diameters that they are constructed for, I do know for a fact that some anglers spool up improperly with line that is too thick or with not enough line. This increases the chance of an angler being spooled by a large fish to a considerable degree. Even so, it is possible for a fish to spool a properly wound reel and surprise an angler, especially if it is of considerable size. My questions are - Have you ever been spooled by a fish before? If so, how big was the fish if you happened to see it? How many runs? What test line/equipment? How long was the fight? And why were you spooled? Was being spooled the result of being underprepared, or was it due to some major goof up? I want to hear some good stories. Also, for those that are confused, spooling is when a fish pulls out all of a reel's line before the line-to-spool connection is snapped, leaving no line left.

Answer 1

Many times.
what a helpless feeling that is. the last time it happened i was jigging for herring off a dock in the Queen Charlotte Islands for bait for ocean fishing the next day. i was using a 7 foot ugly stick 15 pound test line and a deadly dick with a shimano spinning reel. i had heard about halibut and small springs hanging around but never expected what happened. a spring in the 30-35 pound range charged out from under the dock and took off with my jig. my first thought was yahoo but the 180 yards of line went in a hurry and when it hit the knot on the reel at the end of the line it pulled the spool off the threads and through the guides. that was the last time i used an open faced reel for anything where the fish tend to get big.
i also have a fly-line floating around the north Pacific but that's another story.

Answer 2

A couple of times. Once we were out albacore fishing out of San Diego (for 20-30 pounders) and I had a Daiwa SL50 with about 250 yards of 30 pound test, and a school of bluefin showed up. The fish which were landed went 40-65 pounds. I hooked up and followed the fish up the port rail, then around the bow, then it just took off, and emptied the reel. Either this one was larger than the ones landed or it had an attitude. (I've managed that size bluefin on that tackle before.)

The other time was on a long range trip to Alijos Rocks. The fish were basically 30-50 pound yellowfin tuna, but the bait was 4 inch anchovies so we couldn't get bit on anything heavier than 30 pound line (they didn't want the mackerel). You can land these fish on that tackle, but occasionally a 100 pounder would come through, and that's a different story. When I hooked one, it was pretty much the same story as with the bluefin, only a little faster. When they started eating the bigger baits and heavier line later that day, the best I could manage was a 75 pounder, though 3 or 4 over 100 were landed by other guys.

Answer 3

I have been spooled a couple of times. Once was because I was fishing ultra-lite in a creek in Alaska for Rainbow Trout. I was using a five ft telescoping rod with 4lb test and landed a 28 in trout. This trout made 6 or 7 good hard runs before I was able to even get a look at it. The hardest thing to do was to bring that fish back through the culvert I was fishing through to keep from silhouetting my self against the sky and sending all the fish into cover. The creek was no more than 6 ft wide and about 4 ft deep at the deepest point where I was fishing.
Another time I was fishing the ship channel in Port Aransas, TX with a 12 ft. rod using 40lb braided line and never saw what it was because it never turned but I felt it when the line snapped after it ran for a good 300 yards.

Answer 4

I was spooled by a Wahoo using a 20# set up that we kept ready for Dolphin.I had a jig tied on and we had a dolphin on the right rigger,I saw a flash that I thought was a dolphin so I cast just past it then BAM I was against the gunwale holding on.I actually got it close to the boat, estimated about 55 pounds then he took another run and that was it.I had a Penn 750 reel with about 275 yards of 20lb Momoi High Catch line. We did get 2 more Wahoo later that day but nothing like the feel on a spinning rod

Answer 5

yes i have been spooled befor. i was in san degio fishing off the bank when i got a tag on my pole, i set the hook and then the drag started to go off, it was under five second that my spool ran out of line, i dont know what kind of fish it was but it had to be a big one.

Answer 6

I lost a very big Mahi offshore because I ran out of line. I am still crying about it 8 months later. We were about thirty miles out bottom fishing for grouper and I saw that rainbow streak and cast a spoon at it and hooked it instantly but the fish was not playing. I made about four complete circles around the boat, pushing people out of my way and about ten minutes later I thought I had him and he took off. It was so fast I dropped my damn rod and screamed for the nearest guy to grab it and when he handed it back to me the last bit of line slipped off. I was so mad. That fish was four feet long!