No worries; every fisherman has had his fair share of losses; they're what makes it so special when we finally land them! And don't feel too bad about the broken rod; in a one week period, I had the bad luck to break two of my favorite rods beyond any chance of repair, just through pure clumsiness!

BTW, an 8 pound large mouth around here in Ontario would have everyone going <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />, so feel good about that catch. Largest one I've ever caught around here for largemouth was about a 4 pounder. You don't get the chance to see real big ones of that species around here.

I've yet to have a chance to land a Carp or a Muskie; two very large fish that would be well worth the fight to land. A buddy of mine and I go fishing two years ago, and the lucky bugger hauls in a 53 pound Musky! To this day, he won't shut up about it! Beautiful fish, but I wish I'd landed it! LOL!