Let's talk about knots. I have a reminder based on an experience I had on Saturday.
At one point while fishing on Saturday I had to tie on a new in-line lead. The scissors I've been using have become progressively dull and while trimming the excess braid it took a few attempts. That caused a fraying on the braid and it was cut shorter than usual. (I typically leave an 1/8" or so.)
I should have cut and re-tied but I wanted to re-cast quickly since the fish were biting.
To shorten this story, I hooked the 6th fish, fought it awhile and reeled in the line with no fish, no hook and no lead.
Three possibilities I can think of:
1) I hooked a pike or small muskie
2) My lazy knot tieing caused the knot to slip a little and ultimately fail
3) Something like a razor blade or lawn shears magically appeared in the water between casts and snagged me causing a cut-off
I lean more towards #2.
Learn from my mistake, double check your knot and leave a little extra in case it slips.
Here are some photos of fish that did manage to land in the net.
