I did it! Question at the bottom of post.

[FlyGuyFromPa]

I've never caught a bass bigger than 5lbs, neither on spin equipment, nor fly rod. Today I not only caught the biggest fish ever on the fly, but the biggest bass. 8lbs, and on the way out, with one more cast to go, hooked into a huge carp (maybe 30 inches), fought him for 15 minutes or so until he broke me. *I was not actively fishing for bass and he was immediately released upon landing. While on the subject, did I play the carp for too long? I was using 5x, and he had a tremendous amount of energy even after breaking me off.

 

[IdratherbePhishing]

are you sure it was 15 minutes? Sometimes fighting something big feels like forever.

 

[osprey]

FlyGuy.........IMO i don't think you could play a carp long enough on a fly rod to do any damage , they are a verytough fish. A question comes up from what you said that "he had as much or more energy left after he broke off" How could you know that???

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

I only know it was 15 minutes because a friend got it on video. I'm waiting on him to upload the video. Osprey, he was splashing around before and after he was hooked. The few times we saw him after he was hooked he was chasing a small school of minnows.

 

[wildtrout2]

An 8lb bass and no pics? Oh well, congrats anyway.

 

[osprey]

Dang........they are tough aren't they? My friend took me toa place on the Raystown where we caught em on top all day long , they all head right for the bottom. I was into the backing a couple times.......fun as heck. and before i forget CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!! an 8lb bass is a lifetimer for many. WAY TO GO!!!

 

[greenlander]

I picked up a bass that size a few years ago, but nothing close since. Shame not to have a photo of that one.

 

[djs12354]

Nice fish on any tackle, but it must have been super-exciting on the fly!

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

Yeah it was definitely a good time. Sorry about not responding. That work thing keeps getting in my way. Here is a pic of the bass. The picture doesn't seem to support my 8lb theory, but it was weighed with a friends (who was spin fishing) boga grip.

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

Here's a picture of me fighting the carp. I'd upload the video, but my friend dropped quite a few "F" bombs, and I don't know how to edit the video. "Omg he's "F" ing huge"....Lol

 

[boychick]

Nice fish. You were bass fishing with 5x? Try using 2x floro or go with 3x floro if the water is low and clear and no smaller than 3x for carp fishing. Breaking off won't be a problem anymore unless you get wrapped up or tie a poor knot.

 

[dubthethorax]

I fought a carp last week about 10 lbs or so for at least 20-30 minutes on a 5 weight with 4x. He was strong as hell. I finally got him in, removed the hook, took a pic, and released him. He shot off very fast and didnt seem bothered at all. I saw him mudding again 5 minutes later.

They are strong and hardy. I think it would be tough to play one to death.

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

Hooking both of these fish was completely accidental. The gills were active, so I was using a very tiny popper and catching them all day long. I went with 3 people I've known since high school, and though I couldn't get any of them hooked on the fly (they didn't want to fix a "broken" system) they seemed to be interested in how I was catching so many. Hopefully I can soon convince them.

 

[bigjohn58]

Nice bass for the fly rod...but honestly that bass isn't even 5 pounds. Looks like a 3.5 to 4 pounder at best. I know a 7 pound bass in PA is around 23 inches this time of year and when it spawns then its probably a 5 pounder at best. Your friend better get that Boga Grip fixed or returned (a lot of money for it to obviouslly be broken) or that bass is stuffed with some lead.

 

[midgeman]

An 8lb bass would have much bigger eyes. The one pictured above appears to have an eye size of a nickel. I've caught numerous green fish in the 5 lb range and there eyes are slightly smaller than a quarter. I agree with bigjohn.

However the OP made a good effort to hold the bass close to his body for reference. Which leads me to believe that the fish is about 19-21 inches, 3.5-4 lb range with eggs.

 

[midgeman]

This is an old post, but I posted a pic of a monster bass I caught in MD spin fishing. The bait was a 5 inch wooly bug. The eyes are very large, bigger than a quarter. This is a 6-7 lb bass that measured 25.5 inches on my rod.

bass pic