The Loch Kent monster...

[kumma]

I made it back out to Kent Lake today to make sure my motor still ran after I fubar'd it on Thursday night can't catch a fish drenching. It ran fine so I went out fishing.

Anyways I hooked into a huge fish. I was using a 5'6" ultralight with 6lb test. Earlier I had caught a 2.5 # smallie and this fish was nothing like it. I made a soft cast towards shore and It hit the worm real soft I didnt know there was a fish on until the drag started screaming. I could not make any headway with this fish, I would reel in some line and get it to move but never get it to surface. It would lumber around and then shoot out 100 feet and stop again. I was just waiting for the contorted upsidedown "u" shaped St. Croix Rod to explode in my hands. After 5 minutes it made a run for some thick weeds. It got real thick & nasty for a minute and then I felt that god awful pop and I knew the bugger was free. As I was reeling in I was suprised to see my hook as I was certain it broke the line.

I could not raise it out of 9 feet of water and visibile depth was 1 foot so I didnt even get a glimpse of the beast. Now my question to you is what was it. At first I though it was a 5# plus smallie but it never made any attempt to surface. Any Northerns in Kent? It felt like a pike but just a hook and worm and no cut line seems doubtful. Catfish?, I never caught one in Kent so who knows? Im gunning for it tomorrow so we will see if I get a rematch. :tdo12:

[chamookman]

Carpus Maximus maybe? Too bad You didn't get a look. I've seen some HUGE Gar Pike in Kent also. Bob

[TrailFndr]

Yes, There are Northerns in Kent lake. some big ones too. Dad got a 43 incher out of there thru the ice years ago you don't get many, and normally you have to work for them, but they are there.

[icefishermanmark]

If you hooked the pike in the lip, he wouldn't have broke your line. Not all smallies jump when hooked, but it was probably not a smally.

[FIJI]

another POCKET PERCH!!!!!! :lol: :yikes:

[kumma]

another POCKET PERCH!!!!!! :lol: :yikes:

Even after 12 beers there would be no way!!!

Would of been a great photo though. :)

[Can't Touch This]

YEah, Kent has a lot of BIG pike. But, my guess is it was was bigo Carp, i remember in Pontiac lake something like that happening to me, or course hoping for a state record bass, but instead comes up a big ugly carp. Took me 1 hr 15 minutes to bring in, of course on my kayak, had to beach it on shore to land it.

[RyGuy525]

Odds are is it was a big ol carp! But there are some monster Northerns and some MONSTER Gar pike in there!

[shametamer]

Hey Craig...Did Sean mention he was out to kent that day with his scuba gear? :yikes:

[just ducky]

I think it was an amphibious Yeti.... :yikes: Either that or Jimmy Hoffa.... :evilsmile

[Krull]

It could have been a huge Cat, About 15 years ago I hooked one that had to go 30-40 LBs there, got a good look at it, broke the 6lb test in about 30 seconds. Thanks Dad for buying me a cheap reel at the time :lol:

[shametamer]

hey Craig! ya headed back after that creature this evening?

[fishonbb]

HAD A SIMILAIR THING HAPPEN TO ME LAST WEEKEND. I WAS FISHING FOR SPECS WITH A ROADRUNNER AND I HOOKED UP WITH SOMETING THAT TESTED MY SKILLS WITH 4 LB LINE, TOOK MANY RUNS AND PULLED ME ALL OVER IN MY KAYAK AND AFTER 8 MINS. I SAW THAT IT WAS A HUGE CARP:rant:

[kumma]

hey Craig! ya headed back after that creature this evening?

Well I was but its looking pretty iffy weather wise, ill wait until 5 if it blows over im headed back out. I never caught a carp so I sure gonna try to hook another one. "If thats what it was." Im pretty sure it wasnt Mr. Hoffa & I would be that fish sean isnt a scuba diver Bill... :evil:

Oh and I spooled up some Fireline on a medium heavy rod so ill be a little more prepared. It might make the gils harder to catch but what the hay. :D

[Creek-Chub]

I'll throw in my vote for a carp. I've had the same thing happen two or three times in various rivers, while fishing for trout. More than once I have tied into what I just knew was a lunker brown on an ultralight, trudged down stream trying to follow along until I could land it, and ended up pulling in a carp. The tell tale sign seems to be the long straight run, and the absence of head shakes. With most cold water fish anyway, including smallies, you seem to get a decent head shake even out of the smaller fish. Just my two cents...

[shametamer]

Weather looks nasty..woulda met ya out there..wife walked in and drew a 13 hour shift..so i was free this evening...but that thunder and ligthning out i-96 way is giving me 'pause'

[kumma]

The tell tale sign seems to be the long straight run, and the absence of head shakes. With most cold water fish anyway, including smallies, you seem to get a decent head shake even out of the smaller fish. Just my two cents...

That describes it exactly, no headshake and straight drag burning runs. So chamookman was right on with carpus maximus.

Bill im having second thoughts as well, I still dont have a bilge pump and I took on a lot of rain water last thursday. I be out tomorrow am anyways.

[Fishfoote]

If there are sheephead in that lake...maybe..

[shametamer]

no sheep...unless Jimbobway, brdhntr, or one of their friends brought one in from erie!.. :evilsmile

[RyGuy525]

If it were straight runs and no head shakes it deffinitly wasen't a sheep head! Sheep head do almost nothing but head shakes.

[ulrichdebrus]

I don't know about Kent Lake but in southern Michigan there ARE some giant flathead catfish. I caught one that sounds a lot like your experience a few years ago and it tipped the scales at twenty-seven pounds. That area is also home to some huge carp and, as someone has already noted, some giant gar. As well, big pike DO occasionally hit on worms.

Up here, near Grayling, bowfin, while considered a junk fish, put up a huge fight and get really big as well.

America's Toughest Sportfish for 100,000,000 Years
http://www.bowfinanglers.com/

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