The 7 Extremely Sad Stages Of Losing A Fish

Oh, no. You lost a fish. Losing a fish sucks. It took you all day to get a bite, and the fish just didn’t make it all the way back to the boat. What now? How do you recover from something like that? Do your friends even believe you had a bite in the first place? How do I go on with the rest of my life? Don’t worry, we can all relate. These are the 7 stages of losing a fish.

1. Denial

For about .0001 seconds, you think maybe he just gave up or started swimming towards you. What just happened?

Source: Giphy

2. Realization

Finally, you realize what just happened. He broke off, and you'll never see that fish again.

Source: Giphy

3. Assigning Blame

Must have been the line’s fault. Or the lure. Or my friend that stood too close to me. Or the rod & reel combo. Maybe it was the boat. And that current was really strong, plus this is weird weather and my horoscope said not to expect any good luck. Just definitely wasn’t my own fault.

Source:HeroWiki

4. Rage

Once you realize you didn't tie a strong enough knot and losing a fish was, in fact, your own fault, you turn to immediate anger.

Source: Giphy

5. Despair

Once the anger calms down, you get slapped in the face with a bout of pure sadness. No other way to feel about that hog swimming away.

Source: Giphy

6. Recovery

"There are plenty of fish in the sea (or lake/river/private pond)", as they always say.

Source: Giphy

7. On To The Next One

You get just a few seconds to run through all of these emotions, before it's time to cast back out there and try to get your next fish!