Me and my brother took a friend bottom basing in 1 m swell. He is not a seasoned fisherman so he doesn't know any better. Anyways, his tackle is always heavy, there's no finesse, im talking 40 pound + gear at minimum.
So he drops it down and the setup snags in the rocks, meanwhile he thinks he is on and starts pumping like a mad man. Me and my brother are cracking up on the inside, all the time encouraging him to "get stuck into the fish or it will reef him".
The poor bloke is so intent on getting the fish up and is staring intently at the water. He thinks he is on to a fish because when the swell dropped, he would gain a meter and when it rose, the fish would go for a 1 meter run and he would get some line back.
So here is this guy, an old pen reel with the drag almost maxxed out, pumping the rod like his life depended on it for a good 10 minutes before we burst his bubble! Brings a tear to my eyes every time i remember the scenario!