How did THIS happen?

[LONGCAST JOE]

OK, it's almost been 24 hours since, so I'm settled down enough to be able to write a post up now...
Hit it last night around sunset just after the tide had turned to an incoming. Knew the swell was going to be up some and wanted to change it up a bit so decided to try an AO that had a gentle slope to it and was all sand, nothing but sand bottom for a mile in every direction, except for a finger jetty in the shallow I set up about 100 yards away from.
This was not 7 gill territory, soupies and leos is what I have seen come from here before. So I soak fresh mack heads w for a couple of hours on a 12/0 circle with not a bump, not even from a -1 , SNGF or any crab picking. Just an occasional kelp stringer that would drift across my line on the surface and get sucked outward by an incoming swell and pushed back inward as the wave broke, was the only thing that gave my rod tip any sort of movement. It was already a bit after the no parking time so I got my bag packed up, and was reaching for my rod to give it the last reel in when something hit it like a freight train at full speed. In my experience bats won't take a bait on the fly, they stop, mouth the bait, and take at least a few feet to get their momentum back up. This hit had me guessing for a second if a pelican flying by in the dark had hit my line with its wing it was so sudden. But in the next few seconds I felt the power, and knew this wasn't no bird, as I turned down the drag , not slowing my screaming spool at all. Then I hear and see out on the surface a splash,splash, splash, splash of water being thrown from side to side and feel big thumping shakes on my taught line. It's was that hold your breath moment of the fight. Every thing held, whew, but now realized I realized it was on course to end me around the finger jetty rocks and I had to decide do I go out chest deep in the surf to try to get an angle on it or do I button down the drag some more to try and angle it away. I felt like I had some room to tighten it down more so I went that route. Mind you this is all in only about a 15-20 second span since the initial hit. So as I'm buttoning down gradually, with room to go even tighter, I feel the dreaded dull....pop..the kind you just instantly can feel you lost everything and that the hook didn't just pull out. So with a pit in my stomach I quickly reel up my slack line and I feel it come through my rods eyes way earlier than expected, about 100 feet early, half my 30lb mono top shot missing. I look at the break off point and find this.(See pics) Last night I really couldn't think of anything but a freak windknot in my mono? That idea just does'nt sit right in my mind as I thought about it into today. I more plausible idea came to my mind a while ago, but I'd be interested to hear what comes into your guys thoughts on how the hell a big slipless loop knot with a 6 inch tag end on it 100 feet up from my sinker got in my line to cause a break off point. The 6 inch tag is bizzare as it didnt break at the knot...     ...I'm OK now 
CLOSE UP OF THE MYSTERY KNOT AND TAG END. THE LINE GOING DOWNWARD WAS THE ONE LEADING TO MY ROD. THAT TAG IS WHERE IT BROKE, NOT AT THE KNOT

THE SINGLE LINE GOING TO THE RIGHT WAS MY MAIN LINE LEADING TO MY REEL, THE 2 GOING LEFT FORM A BIG LOOP OUT OF PIC

THE BIG LOOP

THE SANDY WASH I FISHED IN

[LONGCAST JOE]

Oooops....Move this to the correct category please

[Latimeria]

Wow...  I have to come back to this since I'm busy at work this morning, but it sounds like a big soupfin because of the hit and major splashes at the surface.  They have a nack for doing that, but easily could have been some other sort of fusiform body shark and not that of a sevengill or more snake-like body.

It sure looks like a wind knot but it sounds so weird of the placement....

Once again, I'll come back to post on this once I think about it and I FEEL your pain.  I'm actually glad someone else is also getting some heart break besides me!  lol

[vdisney]

Damn Joe, you're putting in the hours.................you're way overdue 

[Pinoyfisher]

Weird! I can't ever remember getting a wind knot in mono before. Definitely with braid, but mono?! I guess I've been lucky.

I lost what I believe were 2 soupfins last year, both fought the exact way you've described. I think mine were lost by not keeping up with them. I wasn't ready for them and when they went parallel with beach in a heartbeat it left slack in my line. A couple of quick jumps and and the hooks popped out. They're pretty damn fast and seem to love going parallel with the beach. I can see them creating a knot like you pictured by doing the same thing. Thresher shark style. Jump in the air. Slack line gets thrown into a loop while it flails its body.

Bummer about the loss. The "what was it" always drives me nuts! Not sure what's worse for me, that or losing it in the skinny.

[sasquatch]

My thought is that when the line snapped under pressure it bunched up on itself and as you reeled in you turned the bunch into a knot.

Who knows.