Accidental Catches 2024

flyingmonkie reply :

We've got record low temps today (and a snow day!), so I'm huddled up in the house!

One of the other posts (Strangest animal you've seen while fishing) made me think of another topic. What are some strange "accidental" catches you've had while fishing? Here are my two:

1) I once caught a 6 foot cottonmouth at Lake Tenkiller while bank fishing. I threw a bubble-gum stick worm over a rock, and the son of a gun was sunning on the back side of it. He put up a helluva fight, and ended up biting my worm in half.

2) Once in Florida, my wife and I were fishing off a pier with life bait, and during her cast, a seagull swooped down and grabbed her bait in the air. Ended up dropping it on some old lady's head - we had a hard time explaining that one.

What about you?

CentralFloridaBass reply :

Both times when I was bass fishing I have caught bowfin and one time a bullhead catfish. Surprisingly I caught the catfish on a lipless crankbait.

Wbeadlescomb reply :

A bass lol.

It never fails I'll catch a big "trash fish" in a tournament.

Caught a 10lb catfish at lay on a crankbait

15lb buffalo on a crankbait a couple years ago in a big tournament for a buddies work

Lost count of the big grinnel I've flipped up or caught on a buzzbait or frog. In dirty water piled up in a bunch of grass a grinnel will fool you.

Got on a big school of spotted bass in a tough tournament and you had to catch several stripe before you hooked a spot.

They usually hit while you've got a decent limit and need that kicker fish to put you over the top.

WIGuide reply :

I caught about a 15lb soft shell turtle on a hollow belly frog. I rolled a smallie on a tree so I left it for a few minutes and then came back with my frog. Threw it in there gave it a twitch and had one of the biggest blow up's I've ever seen. As soon as I set it I knew it wasn't a normal catch. Pulled it in and got it boat side and it was probably 24" in diameter.

Caught a 41" musky on 12" smallmouth as I was reeling it in. Managed to get it in the net and everything without actually getting a hook in the musky.

One time when fishing with my great Uncles we were fishing for northerns I had one chase the bait up to the boat. With the murky water I didn't see anything behind it so I pulled it out of the water. At that time the northern jumps out of the water chasing the bait and it landed right on the front deck of the boat. It was insane especially since my uncle had just asked if I had the fished trained and named out there since it was on my home lake. Haha it was absolute perfect timing.

Didn't actually catch it, but I had a loon chase after my bait in clear water. It started moving towards my bait and dove so I started reeling it as far as I could to get the bait in and it looked like a mini submarine right on it's tail and got it in just in time the loon kept going right under the boat.

Wbeadlescomb reply :

Almost forgot snagged a hooded meganser under the water on a rattle trap

TiNuts reply :

I was out in the dark once and could barely see where I was casting. I made a cast and when I thought it should've hit the water a flock of geese took off. d**n near ripped my rod out of my hands. Luckily my line quickly broke. Felt bad for the goose I hooked.

I caught maybe a 3 pound blue cat on a lipless crankbait once.

Darren. reply :

On 3/4/2014 at 12:15 AM, flyingmonkie said:

We've got record low temps today (and a snow day!), so I'm huddled up in the house!

One of the other posts (Strangest animal you've seen while fishing) made me think of another topic. What are some strange "accidental" catches you've had while fishing? Here are my two:

1) I once caught a 6 foot cottonmouth at Lake Tenkiller while bank fishing. I threw a bubble-gum stick worm over a rock, and the son of a gun was sunning on the back side of it. He put up a helluva fight, and ended up biting my worm in half.

2) Once in Florida, my wife and I were fishing off a pier with life bait, and during her cast, a seagull swooped down and grabbed her bait in the air. Ended up dropping it on some old lady's head - we had a hard time explaining that one.

What about you?

Love the snake story.

I've caught numerous mud turtles, but the biggest was a ~10 lb snapping turtle.

Birds: I was casting under a bridge when a pigeon flew out into my worm, mid-cast, and tore off line as it flew away (I quickly lifted the bail)...

Got my line and lure back as the pigeon flew into a tree and broke free.

Cast_And_Blast reply :

I caught a 6 lb. catfish on a little bitty beetle spin! I thought I had the crappie of a lifetime!

Fishing off a pier in Florida I had a lady fish wrap its self up in my line. lifted her all 40-50 feet up in the air without a hook in her and no net.

I had a friend catch a 20+ lb. catfish on a tiny crank bait.

Nothing too crazy though.

gripnrip reply :

The only accidental thing I have caught was a rock. My crankbait wedged perfectly in a rock while I was fishing in a tourny. I had 12lb flouro on the reel. I bet the rock weighed 10 to 12 pounds. The boater took a pic. He was supposed to put it up on our club site. Until now I forgot all about the instance. I'll have to go check.

Another story I have, not necessarily accidental per say, is an old buddy of mine took me fishing in one of his strip ponds. He was terrified of snakes. So, what I did was I hooked a big rubber snake on the hook. I dropped it overboard and let out a bunch of line. I faked a hookset and then the fight was on! Once I got the thing close to the little 8ft two man boat, he freaked. Needless to say the Randy Travis song comes to mind. "He Walked On Water" I haven't been invited fishing since. It sure was worth it though!

Zach Dunham reply :

I caught a very large striper on a spinnerbait on my first cast of the day in a tournament about a year and a half ago. Unfortunately I did not take the time to weigh it.

Also, I caught a 7+ lb walleye in a night tournament on a tube, and a 10 lb channel cat on a tube in a different night tournament.

dreamertino reply :

White bass on a crank and a good catfish on a umbrella rig

Pz3 reply :

Big bowfin on a beetlespin is as crazy as my stories go.

flyingmonkie reply :

On 3/4/2014 at 12:19 AM, CentralFloridaBass said:
Both times when I was bass fishing I have caught bowfin and one time a bullhead catfish. Surprisingly I caught the catfish on a lipless crankbait.

I catch cats on everything! Jigs and worms are common, but I've got a 16lb channel cat burning a spinnerbait, and even caught a small one on a point fishing a jerk bait!

flyingmonkie reply :

Oh, I forgot! Trolling for white bass at Ft. Cobb lake once around an island, and my little brother hooked into Rat-L-Trap… that was attached to a 6'6" ugly stick… that was attached to a nice (at the time) Quantum bait caster!

Still have the reel… haven't cleaned it since I've learned the art. I know it will still work.

Ratherbfishing reply :

30 inch musky on a small rebel crawdad in a local river. Thought I had a record smallmouth.

Todd2 reply :

We were fishing Dale Hollow about 2 years ago and I set the hook on what I thought was a huge Smallie. I'd get it close, it would make a run..several times. My buddy had the net and when it finally came up it was a big stinky soft shell turtle.

tomustang reply :

None of my catches are accidental, I throw my line in and expect to catch something after all

DFrench97 reply :

Northern pike hit senkos on my lake which is weird.

Jd_Phillips_Fishin reply :

I caught a 10lb. Gar on an A-rig once

steelman reply :

softshell turtle in a farm pond, caught a old zebco rod&reel once..nothing to weird

RAMBLER reply :

An aluminum stringer full of rotting trout.

Aluminum folding lawn chair.

A brown pelican.

Jigfishn10 reply :

A Ford F-150. Hung a lipless crank on the passenger mirror on the backcast...I got spooled.

BuckMaxx reply :

Crabs in high school...they suck!

zachb34 reply :

Caught a baby gator accidentally on a jointed shad rap, soft shell turtle on the same, a Mayan chichlid on a red eye shad, bowfin on a bruiser swimbait, caught two catfish on wacky rigged senkos.

macmichael reply :

I was bass fishing when I made this one cast. I felt a big blow to the back of my head. I thought I had hit myself with the lure. When I went to reel it in my ear started moving. Yepper I accidently hooked my right ear. I was having a great day catching so I continued to fish for a couple more hours. I had to go to emergency room to get it removed. By the way the doc saved the lure. I still have it too. lol

Of coure the wife thought I was nuts. I never told her I wasn't.

bartdude186 reply :

12 pound catfish on a weightless fluke, a drum with its eyes gone on a paca craw, and when i was 12 my cousin and I caught the same crappie....at the same time. He ate both baits within a couple of seconds, i'll have to dig up that pic lol.

macmichael reply :

I was fishing a pond while on a pig hunting trip in Texas. My buddy hooked a very very big large mouth. He would reel it in and then the fish would take drag. This went on back and forth for about 5 minutes. Finally when he got the fish to the bank, it was a big fish. A large mouth bass. What was so unusual is the fact that the bass had a10 to 12 inch crappie in it's mouth folded over. When Brian tried to land him, the bass just released the crappe. Yepper.it was never hooked, just hungry.

starcraft1 reply :

I'm the "keeper of rods" I've caught 2, both on Clear lake. 1 while flipping tules, the other pitching a dock. The 2nd one had the brightest green line I've ever seen. Discovered it belonged to a couple of guys night fishing and fell asleep. Looked to us as 1 to many bottles of wine, they were all over the dock!

DILLY07 reply :

I was out fishing on the Mississippi River and flipping a baby bass senko worm into the tree laydowns. I hooked a turtle snapper. I was like dinner time.

Bassguytom reply :

I caught a commorant under water on a lipless crankbait last year. I saw him pretty far away and he swam a long way under water to hit my lure. That was kind of strange.

flyingmonkie reply :

On 3/4/2014 at 7:08 AM, RAMBLER said:

An aluminum stringer full of rotting trout.

Aluminum folding lawn chair.

A brown pelican.

First one is a good one - that takes the cake so far.

Djman72 reply :

Caught a boot once. Also, a fully intact bike when I was 10 fishing with some neighborhood kids. We dried it off and one of us rode it home and used it for a year.

Huffy street racer for the win.

Yumf2 reply :

I was fishing with my dad once and he pulled up an ugly stick with a diawa spinning real on it. Haha I'll never forget how confused he seemed when he finally saw it

FishinDaddy reply :

Plastic fish trap with 3 catfish in it on Lake Istokpoga during a tourney.

Fouled hooked in the back a 15 lb catfish in about 20 ft of water. It took about 30 min to finally get him to the surface.

4' Longnose Gar on a rattle trap. Got him alongside and cut the line.

Pz3 reply :

oh if we start talking about randomness I got plenty of that since I use to fish bottom religiously....

Car Tires, Bikes, Boots, Shoes, license plates, rods and reels, christmas trees, rims, speakers, chairs, condoms.... the crap in the bottom of some lakes/rivers/ocean gets rediculous sometimes.

Janderson45 reply :

Hmmm well I've got a few.

Not original but I hooked a goose once by accident, it was in flight and seemed to dive bomb after my crankbait. The goose took off in a fit of rage and before it could spool me I cut the line. Still feel awful as I'm sure treble hooks and ~30 yards of fishing line made the rest of that birds life miserable.

Used to catch red slider turtles on night crawlers all the time when I was younger, unfortunately I gut hooked my fair share as I was a young kid bobber fishing and didn't know any better. Also caught a snapper or two in my time.

Again not really unique, but just about every time I catch a catfish I'm pretty shocked. I've never targeted them and only caught a handful in my life (I don't think they're that plentiful around here). Needless to say I hesitate to touch them every time I hook one just because of an irrational fear that some spikes are going to come flying out and impale my unsuspecting hand.

Weirdest one I've got was a river rat or muskrat. Hooked it in the side I presume as I was ripping a lipless crank through some weeds.... didn't land the "rat" but had him hooked for about 30 seconds and I have never seen such a commotion on the water. That thing had to have scared off every fish within a 500 yard radius with the way it was thrashing and flopping around on the surface of the water. Got my crank back though!

Tuckahoe Joe reply :

Hooked a beaver on my hula popper. Made the cast and then this beaver pops up right between me and the lure and starts swimming toward my line resting on the water. He swims into it, keeps going, and pulls the popper into the side of his neck. Fought him for about 3 minutes and was about to cut the line but by the time I got to my knife he had gotten himself off. Made me happy that I didn't have to lose my lure but felt pretty bad for the beaver cuz I'm sure that the trebles hurt like hell.

I also recall a time when I was probably no more than 8 or 9 years old. I was crabbing with my dad. We had a 1000 foot trout line with chicken necks tied ever 3 feet or so. My dad was dipping and all of a sudden up comes this snapping turtle on one of the chicken necks. So my dad just takes the dip net and flips it into the boat. The shell on this thing was the same diameter of our bushel baskets. Seen bigger turtles since then but for an 8 year old kid, that thing was huge.

rippin-lips reply :

A beaver while catfishing at night. Was casted out in front of a culvert that ran under the road to the other side of the reservior. I guess he swam through and got tangled/hooked. I thought I had the fish of a lifetime on. Once I got it reeled up and saw what it was, I just opened my bail and cut the line.

flyingmonkie reply :

On 3/4/2014 at 10:18 AM, FishinDaddy said:

Plastic fish trap with 3 catfish in it on Lake Istokpoga during a tourney.

Fouled hooked in the back a 15 lb catfish in about 20 ft of water. It took about 30 min to finally get him to the surface.

4' Longnose Gar on a rattle trap. Got him alongside and cut the line.

Were the catfish still alive???

mnbassman23 reply :

Up here it's somewhat normal but I've caught numerous muskies, bowfin, snapping turtles, and walleyes.

The only "odd" catch i've seen was a pelican. My buddy and I were fishing for bass from shore around a dam and this hillbilly looking guy comes by us and starts casting a daredevil. He hooks a pelican (on the leg) and starts mumbling cuss words or something of that nature. The bird is trying to fly away and he is pulling like a mofo with his drag screaming out. I felt bad for the bird but given the situation my buddy and I were cracking up. Then he proceeds to say, "Ima gonna pull him ta shore and one of you two unhook em, that ther's my lucky daredevil." I told him he was F'in nuts if he thinks i'm grabbing that pelican and he can get his own daredevil. Eventually his line broke and he left shortly afterwards.

SirSnookalot reply :

I've had many unusual and accidental catches, from trumpet fish to snagging a manatee and a manta ray, but 1 stands out for me above all others. I caught permit from shore in a place where there are no permit, caught it on a bucktail, crabs are the usual bait for them. I had to run this fish down on foot nearly 300 yds (I paced it off later) to avoid being spooled, and it wasn't a big one either. This fish is in my all time top 10 list of favorites, there is just nothing like a permit that I have ever caught.

Bluebasser86 reply :

I watched this pig T bone my S waver last summer.

I've caught catfish on everything imaginable, including buzzbaits, hollow body frog, jerkbaits, cranks, traps, every kind of plastic and jigs, even flyfishing. By far my most memorable would be one I caught with my dad last year fishing for walleye with a Gulp minnow on a jighead. It wasn't the bait it ate, it was the coloration of the fish. It's actually a blue cat, even though it would be tough to tell in the picture.

This one on a jig is a close second.

Hopping a jigging spoon, they aren't even supposed to be where I was at!

This little gal slammed my A rig I was heaving on Beaver Lake last spring.

A dinosaur that slammed a 6" Mattlures trout, really thought I had a state record largemouth until it jumped.

A Milford Lake, KS Goldeye. They look like a little tarpon with teeth!

Wbeadlescomb reply :

There's some fine eating in that picture even the gar

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 3/4/2014 at 10:08 PM, Wbeadlescomb said:
There's some fine eating in that picture even the gar

Every single one was returned immediately after their photo shoots, even the gar The baby paddlefish was well short of the legal length limit and way out of season as well.

stratoliner92 reply :

Hungup on someones fishing line went over and started to cut it then noticed a rod reel(KVD and Berkley Lighting)on other end. Took it home cleaned up reel and one of the best i got now. Rod going to trade-in at BPS friday.

Worse thing i ever caught was a goose. Threw lure out and line got pushed over by wind right on top of it. NEVER will i cast anywhere near another bird!!!

iabass8 reply :

I caught a beaver in a pad field. it must have been hiding on the backside of a log because I didn't even see it until it went all superman on my frog. I did not win that battle.

Jay Ell Gee reply :

I was bank fishing one afternoon after college classes and while tossing a grass pig on a swimbait hook down the shorelines, the lure came to a screeching halt.

I swung for the fences but my lure only barely moved. I was certain that something big (catfish, turtle) had clamped down on it, so I locked down my drag and started wrenching on it. It felt like something came "unstuck" and I drug a dead weight all the way back to shore.

I had to use my pliers to get my hook back. Crazy thing is, it was a 4/0 Gammy keel weighted hook, very heavy gauge, and it was still ruined.

Can you imagine the reflexes a mussel must have to clamp down on a bait like this?

z7master167 reply :

I was striper fishing at the locks one day and i was using a drop shot and i got hung up. Well i was pullin and my buddy asked "hey what you got?" And i said the plug. Well it came loose and i still had something and when i pulled it in i swear i had a bathroom sink plug on my line, i had it hooked in the ring perfectly.

Wouldnt have believed it if it had not happened to me..

Basswhippa reply :

I was on a pier in Panama City Beach and hung into a wonderful Spanish mackerel. All of the sudden a I had the ultimate topwater hit.. As I was reeling it, a dolphin came up and grabbed it running about 20 mph. LOL. In order to not have my 5500C3 full of 10 pound line spooled, I just held my thumb on the spool so the line would break immediately. I didn't want 300 pounds of mono floating in the ocean. The dolphin knew what he/she was doing I am sure. They are very smart. Picked around my "gotcha plug" and had itself a good breakfast.

Munkin reply :

Just about every freshwater fish in the state but I don't count those as unusual.

Objects:

Volleyball net, about 4 rods, buzzbait, metal stringer with a small dead channel cat, shopping cart, bike, and my favorite a 3 section folding lawn chair that I thought was the state record.

Living things:

Fishing the Big Piney in MO I caught a painted water snake on a gulp worm. Hooked a beaver on a crankbait and it was not happy at all! Luckily the bait came free after a minute or two. Snapping turtles while pitching creature baits, they are a pain to unhook. Craziest was an owl that swopped down and grabbed a jitterbug while night fishing a small pond.

Allen

FrankW reply :

My most unusual catch was a Wolf Fish caught in Alaska while fishing for Halibut. Sorry for the poor photos.

Frank

Jd_Phillips_Fishin reply :

I've never caught anything strange but one time my dad caught lawn chair!

Bassintheweeds reply :

As far as fish goes it would have to be the gar i caught.

this was caught in Arizona. A few states away from any native Gar population.

fishva reply :

A 20-ish inch musky in Kerr Lake, NC. I had no idea they were in there. I was using a lightweight rod trying to catch crappie with a small spinner. I thought I had a monster bass.

This thing was creepy. Like a dragon of the deep. I was scared of it, honestly. Taking the hook out freaked me out. Them teeth...

Cast_And_Blast reply :

I was watching an older Major League Fishing extended cast from Lake Istogpoka I believe, and Greg Hackney (I could be wrong on the name) hooked into about a 10 foot gator or so. That t hing was HUGE!!!!

jdl2425 reply :

I caught a 19" catfish using a topwater Rebel Wee frog. I never thought catfish ate off the top but now I know.

gripnrip reply :

On 3/8/2014 at 10:36 AM, Cast_And_Blast said:
I was watching an older Major League Fishing extended cast from Lake Istogpoka I believe, and Greg Hackney (I could be wrong on the name) hooked into about a 10 foot gator or so. That t hing was HUGE!!!!

It was Hackney.

geo g reply :

I have had several weird catches over the years.

1). I knocked out a duck on the water with a worm and a bullet weight. I didnt even know the duck was there. I must have hit it right on the head. After a few minutes it woke up and swam away.

2). I have hook a 5 foot gator and dragged it around for 10 minutes before he came off.

3).The most interesting was In the everglades, a big redtail hawk hooked in flight. He flew into my line while my cast was in flight. The lure worked its way up to where the wing meets the body and sunk in. The hawk dropped into the water on its back with its talons and beak going crazy, like he wanted to kill us. I reelled it to the boat and he moved on to the shore edge. Thank god he unhooked himself, because I had no clue what to do with an angry bird of pray.

Arv reply :

A couple turtles. A bullfrog attacked my buzz bait once. He didn't get hooked but didn't want to let go of the lure either. Also a catfish on a little home made jig. Nothing too crazy

skeetercraig reply :

a bowfin which at first I thought I had a 8 pound smallie lol a few 40 inch plus tiger muskies ,a huge snapping turtle ,

Lucas Li reply :

I was fishing with my brother when he metered a spot of fish so I dropped my line. Felt a little something hit the line and set the hook. I pulled up this

Somebody must have been using a live bluegill for bait and I hooked the eye of his hook. I removed old hook and he swam away with a big hole in his hump.

After the session, I went to buy a Powerball ticket and lost. Does this count as lucky?

RipSomeLips reply :

On 3/13/2014 at 12:02 PM, Lucas Li said:

I was fishing with my brother when he metered a spot of fish so I dropped my line. Felt a little something hit the line and set the hook. I pulled up this

Somebody must have been using a live bluegill for bait and I hooked the eye of his hook. I removed old hook and he swam away with a big hole in his hump.

After the session, I went to buy a Powerball ticket and lost. Does this count as lucky?

Bro that is the best on in my opinion, to be able to hook the eye of the hook is madd crazy skills.

RipSomeLips reply :

My crazyiest thing I have ever caught was an old man's sun hat, off the top of his head. I was fly fishing at a state park in MO, and often times folks will try to to walk right behind you while you are fly fishing. You try to watch behind you but shouldn't really need to if folks follow the ettique rules. The proper ettique is to leave plenty of room for a man to cast his fly line...but this guy wasn't paying attention.

I remember pulling my fly off the water, waiting for my line to go straight back and then i went to sweep my rod tip forward and cast the fly...but instead it felt like a 40lb bag of sand at first but then the line came free and I felt like I was flying a kite. When I turned around to see what was going on there was this old man with a shocked look on his face and I had his large sun hat at the end of my line. I of course appologized because I felt bad he could have gotten hurt, but he was very kind and correct when he said he should have been paying better attention and will make sure to leave room for folks to fish. I was like 12 at the time and felt like a dumb little kid, but I had several people around me assure me that I did nothing wrong. And that ladies and gentlemen is why you leave plenty of space for a flyfisherman to work his cast.

Lucas Li reply :

On 3/13/2014 at 12:55 PM, RipSomeLips said:
Bro that is the best on in my opinion, to be able to hook the eye of the hook is madd crazy skills.

All luck my man, was hoping it was a bass lol.

Chance_Taker4 reply :

I was on a small park pond and had to reel me line in to get out of the way for a paddleboat. I was throwing a weightless lizard, while burning it back to me it was skipping off the top off the water and had a 4lb Largemouth take it. I found that strange and exciting.

Also have caught a 10lb Catfish and 30lb carp on Cranks

JLeon77 reply :

Was deep sea fishing on vacation in Puerto Rico once and one of the outriggers started running out line like crazy. We reeled on it for a while hoping for a fish, but instead it was an empty 5 gallon bucket. That bucket fought hard in 5 ft waves though...

basscatcher8 reply :

I feel like the catfish whisperer some days. Feel like I can throw into a mud puddle and pull a catfish out. One week at bull shoals walleye fishing thought I had a giant three different times ended up being nice cat fish. Went to my companies pond for the first time just casting a grub and hooked what i thought was a nice bass ended up being a dang catfish.

bigbill reply :

Caught my leg as I casted a saltwater penn reel the hook went in above my ankle and went 10" up my calf till it finally dug in and stopped. I continued to fish anyway. My dad was with me and a medic in the army before ww 2. Luckily it was a flatfishhook

ostate_hayes reply :

Back around October 10 in 2013 I was in one of my friend's two covered docks crappie fishin and all of a sudden he starts yellin and with a little crappie jig, very light line (of course because we had been catchin crappie), and a crappie rod, he had reeled a 20-25 pound catfish to the surface and right before I got the net under it the line all broke and we never saw the thing again!

And then the next day we paddled down to a shallow rocky cove to try for some bass. We were both castin redeye shad rattletraps and he caught a 6 inch shad! It was so hungry that it resorted to cannibalism!

Nuffsaid23 reply :

I was fishing with 2 inch rapala shad rap and caught a yellow perch that was about 8 inches long and then caught a 2 pound crappie right after that. Pretty interesting.

OntarioFishingGuy reply :

Flats fishing for Barracuda in Cuba from a pier, some guy hooked a huge pelican on a prop bait,had to help him unhook it. The next day that happened again to a different guy... saltwater fishing is crazy sometimes.

fadetoblack21 reply :

Caught a folding lawn chair fishing a deep crank. Pulled in an old rusted kids bike fishing from the bank on the same small lake. I have hooked into a water snake, and had a otter play with my bait, though I didn't hook that one.

Also "caught" a jet ski when he crossed between me and the bank and sucked up my bait. He took my square bill and roughly 75 yards of braid before breaking it off at the mono backing.

Josh Smith reply :

Hi All,

I was fishing the Mississinewa Spillway a few years ago after they'd opened the gates about halfway.

Trying for bass, I probing structure around a bridge a little ways down.

Something kept hitting the ancient inline spinnerbait Grandpa had left me. It would just tap the lure. I thought it was debris or current; Dad (who was with me) thought the same thing.

I was on a 4.7:1 Ambassadeur 5000 with "speed handle" and a MH/F rod, so I figured screw it and next time I felt the bump, I set the hook.

That was the only time I've ever seen that that draw work. Whatever was on was stripping the spool!

I managed to turn the fish, and started into a fight that I've not experienced before or since. Initially, I was almost dragged into the water. (That spillway has steep sides and very little footing room.)

I grabbed the pole's handle with both hands and brought line in whenever I felt that fish turn.

The water was warm, and that fish was fighting.

The spillway was lined with fishermen, and all stopped to watch after five minutes had passed.

I looked over at Dad once; he was sitting there on the rocks laughing it up. I only said two things to him. Initially, when I thought I was going to go into the river (fast undertow!) I yelled at him that I might need his help, then I regained my footing and concentrated on the fight.

When the fight was nearing the 10 minute mark, I could feel whatever was on the end of the line tiring out. I told Dad I was going to land it and I was going to need to come over to where he was. I had been casting from a cement shelf, but he had chosen the part that ran right down into the water.

As I started walking over that way, a HUGE fish came to the surface and rolled. I thought it was a huge carp, but it was colored like a freshwater sturgeon.

I landed it, and it was easily three feet long and looked to me like a carp. I could not lift it myself, and it fought so hard that I decided it had earned a quick release to recoup, whatever it was. It had bent a very stout hook on a very stout spinnerbait.

An old fisherman who meandered over identified it as a quillback.

I've since looked up quillbacks on the Internet and either it was far-and-away a national record, or it wasn't a quillback. According to everything I've read, the record for one of these in MO, anyway, is 6lbs 10oz.

I can easily lift 6lbs 10oz with that rod.

So, I don't know what it was for sure. I know it was three or four feet long, bent a very strong hook, and took about 20 minutes total to land.

Josh

Kevin22 reply :

Caught a spincast rod right in the tip with a jig head once, fishing under a dock. Put it on the dock and the next day there was a thank-you note pinned to the dock.

Piranha out of a city park.

Those have to be my top 2.

mcgreggor57 reply :

Working a chigger craw across some matted grass when a healthy bluegill jumped up and grabbed it.

RoLo reply :

Just reading the title of this post, several incidents popped into my mind.

In saltwater (back in the 70s) I hooked a bottom fish in about 200 ft of water that I was never able to identify.

It looked like a giant goby with a horn-like projection jutting from its nape. My wife & I refer to it as the 'Ugly Fish'

In Georgian Bay out of Parry Sound, Ontario (30,000 Islands, Lake Huron), I hooked a seagull on a floating plug.

I was watching that gull, and as soon as it swooped downward I began burning the lure, but to no avail.

Unhooking that feathered pile-driver was no fun at all (Ouch).

In Lower Shannoc Pond, NJ, I was fishing in 6-ft of water and hooked a catfish on the surface with an original floating rapala.

Caught a small alligator on a bubblegum fluke

Fast-forward to a just a few weeks ago.

I was bass-casting in central Florida with a lipless plug (Jackall TN/70), and hooked a fish that was obviously too powerful

to be a bass. I was applying so much pressure that my wife told me later that she was waiting for my spinning rod to splinter.

I did not know what I was fighting, but told my wife that the fish was 'foul-hooked'. I knew from past experience,

that a fish hooked anywhere behind the head, makes it impossible to turn the fish's head around,

so every run feels as powerful as the first run. The slob made run-after-run for several minutes before I got an opportunity

to finally glimpse the fish. It was a huge gar and was hooked in the tail-stalk. We don't have alligator gar in central Florida,

so I wrongly assumed it was a Florida gar. However, I just recently learned that the state record Florida gar weighed only 9.44 lb.

Based on the weight of large pike we've boated, this gar was in the 20-lb class, which is about twice the state record Florida gar,

so it had to be a Longnose Gar. In any case, the treble hooks pulled out right next to the boat,

so I never got the privilege of weighing that big, slimy, toothy creature

Roger

everythingthatswims reply :

On 3/4/2014 at 10:40 PM, Bluebasser86 said:
Every single one was returned immediately after their photo shoots, even the gar The baby paddlefish was well short of the legal length limit and way out of season as well.

I would have put the blue cat in my goldfish pond. That thing is cool!

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 6/18/2014 at 9:56 AM, everythingthatswims said:
I would have put the blue cat in my goldfish pond. That thing is cool!

Those piebald and albino blues happen pretty frequently at the lake I was fishing.

Another "accidental". Fishing the Kansas River for catfish when this dude swan into my line and got tangled. His bill was busted off, not sure what for, but that's what caused him to get tangled in my line. Grabbed a quick picture and got him right back in the water.

everythingthatswims reply :

On 6/18/2014 at 3:58 AM, Josh Smith said:

Hi All,

I was fishing the Mississinewa Spillway a few years ago after they'd opened the gates about halfway.

Trying for bass, I probing structure around a bridge a little ways down.

Something kept hitting the ancient inline spinnerbait Grandpa had left me. It would just tap the lure. I thought it was debris or current; Dad (who was with me) thought the same thing.

I was on a 4.7:1 Ambassadeur 5000 with "speed handle" and a MH/F rod, so I figured screw it and next time I felt the bump, I set the hook.

That was the only time I've ever seen that that draw work. Whatever was on was stripping the spool!

I managed to turn the fish, and started into a fight that I've not experienced before or since. Initially, I was almost dragged into the water. (That spillway has steep sides and very little footing room.)

I grabbed the pole's handle with both hands and brought line in whenever I felt that fish turn.

The water was warm, and that fish was fighting.

The spillway was lined with fishermen, and all stopped to watch after five minutes had passed.

I looked over at Dad once; he was sitting there on the rocks laughing it up. I only said two things to him. Initially, when I thought I was going to go into the river (fast undertow!) I yelled at him that I might need his help, then I regained my footing and concentrated on the fight.

When the fight was nearing the 10 minute mark, I could feel whatever was on the end of the line tiring out. I told Dad I was going to land it and I was going to need to come over to where he was. I had been casting from a cement shelf, but he had chosen the part that ran right down into the water.

As I started walking over that way, a HUGE fish came to the surface and rolled. I thought it was a huge carp, but it was colored like a freshwater sturgeon.

I landed it, and it was easily three feet long and looked to me like a carp. I could not lift it myself, and it fought so hard that I decided it had earned a quick release to recoup, whatever it was. It had bent a very stout hook on a very stout spinnerbait.

An old fisherman who meandered over identified it as a quillback.

I've since looked up quillbacks on the Internet and either it was far-and-away a national record, or it wasn't a quillback. According to everything I've read, the record for one of these in MO, anyway, is 6lbs 10oz.

I can easily lift 6lbs 10oz with that rod.

So, I don't know what it was for sure. I know it was three or four feet long, bent a very strong hook, and took about 20 minutes total to land.

Josh

Buffalo

everythingthatswims reply :

I have experienced a few "seagull blitzes" while pier fishing. One will fly into someones line and get tangled up, then it starts squawking and all the other ones get upset, when they come over to try to help their friend out, they get hung up in lines too. 3 or 4 people trying to get birds untangled is hilarious, except when you are one of those people.

Paul s reply :

I caught a massive bullfrog on a zoom horny toad thing must have been 1 1/2 to 2 pounds.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 6/18/2014 at 3:58 AM, Josh Smith said:

Hi All,

I was fishing the Mississinewa Spillway a few years ago after they'd opened the gates about halfway.

Trying for bass, I probing structure around a bridge a little ways down.

Something kept hitting the ancient inline spinnerbait Grandpa had left me. It would just tap the lure. I thought it was debris or current; Dad (who was with me) thought the same thing.

I was on a 4.7:1 Ambassadeur 5000 with "speed handle" and a MH/F rod, so I figured screw it and next time I felt the bump, I set the hook.

That was the only time I've ever seen that that draw work. Whatever was on was stripping the spool!

I managed to turn the fish, and started into a fight that I've not experienced before or since. Initially, I was almost dragged into the water. (That spillway has steep sides and very little footing room.)

I grabbed the pole's handle with both hands and brought line in whenever I felt that fish turn.

The water was warm, and that fish was fighting.

The spillway was lined with fishermen, and all stopped to watch after five minutes had passed.

I looked over at Dad once; he was sitting there on the rocks laughing it up. I only said two things to him. Initially, when I thought I was going to go into the river (fast undertow!) I yelled at him that I might need his help, then I regained my footing and concentrated on the fight.

When the fight was nearing the 10 minute mark, I could feel whatever was on the end of the line tiring out. I told Dad I was going to land it and I was going to need to come over to where he was. I had been casting from a cement shelf, but he had chosen the part that ran right down into the water.

As I started walking over that way, a HUGE fish came to the surface and rolled. I thought it was a huge carp, but it was colored like a freshwater sturgeon.

I landed it, and it was easily three feet long and looked to me like a carp. I could not lift it myself, and it fought so hard that I decided it had earned a quick release to recoup, whatever it was. It had bent a very stout hook on a very stout spinnerbait.

An old fisherman who meandered over identified it as a quillback.

I've since looked up quillbacks on the Internet and either it was far-and-away a national record, or it wasn't a quillback. According to everything I've read, the record for one of these in MO, anyway, is 6lbs 10oz.

I can easily lift 6lbs 10oz with that rod.

So, I don't know what it was for sure. I know it was three or four feet long, bent a very strong hook, and took about 20 minutes total to land.

Josh

Sounds like a buffalo. We catch a bunch of them on jigging spoons during the winter at the power plant lake (usually snagged). They're a blast to bowfish too and can grow very big, well over 50 pounds. Lots of the ones we catch are about this size.

roadwarrior reply :

Sounds like a buffalo to me. Those dudes can be monsters!

slimshad reply :

I have caught several junk fish while fishing tournaments. All make the heart beat hard. I have one that stands out. I was on my first trip to Guntersville in 2005. I went out and watched Mirizo catching "Big Momma" on the main lake island during a Bassmaster event. I looked over at the bank and there were some wind break out croppings. We run over and I found some deeper water near grass. I thought wow I bet bass are stacked in here. The very first pitch with a black and blue jig, the line jumped back at me and I was like OH MY GOODNESS, set the hook with all I had. I went to my knees asking for the net. The fight was on. It took me in the grass like three times. As it finally came up and my heart was pounding out of my chest thinking 10+ bass, it was a 15 pound drum. It was such a rush and then such a heart break. I also hooked a 4-5 pound catfish in the back with a rattle trap at Gville. Same story, begging God to let me get this 10 pound bass in lol...

Josh Smith reply :

Hi Guys,

That buffalo fish is what it was!

In looking around on the 'net, it appears they're good to eat! Had I known, I'd have kept it.

They're not supposed to strike artificial lures, but then again neither are carp and quillback.

Looks like there's something about a disease called Haff Disease related to their ingestion, though..?

The Indiana record is 53 lbs 4 oz. (The DNR mistakenly lists it as 53.9oz!)

This is the only time a fish has made a run against that pole/reel setup and made the drag run like that. I had to replace the drag washers after that. It's also the only time I had to work a drag while fighting a fish. That large star adjuster came in pretty handy!

Regards,

Josh

Kevin22 reply :

Buffalo are okay when smoked, but only out of cold water.

JTP reply :

caught a shopping cart once.

bass2bluegill reply :

catfish on a rooster tail, and a warmouth on a wacky worm. i was once fishing for bullhead and caught two at once one was hooked and one had its "whisker" wrapped up in the line a folding chair a zebco 33 combo and a few bull frogs

TNBassin' reply :

Last year I caught a Power Wheels Barbie Jeep. Since it was near a house on the lake, we assumed it rolled off the bank. It was kind of eerie actually.

gripnrip reply :

On 6/22/2014 at 2:49 AM, TNBassin said:
Last year I caught a Power Wheels Barbie Jeep. Since it was near a house on the lake, we assumed it rolled off the bank. It was kind of eerie actually.

Was Barbie in a hidden compartment?

TNBassin' reply :

On 6/22/2014 at 3:53 AM, gripnrip said:
Was Barbie in a hidden compartment?

No and thankfully there wasn't toddler still in the seat.

RoLo reply :

Whenever I fish for largemouth bass, my personal goal is always 9-pounds or better.

As a result, the Vast Majority of bass I catch are accidental bycatches

Roger

phototex reply :

Fishing up in Washington State, I caught a 4+ pound rainbow trout on a 6" live waterdog.

I caught a nutria on a Zara Spook.

Bullfrog on a frog-shaped flyrod popper, 4-lb Bowfin on spinnerbait, 6+ channel cat on jig & pork eel, etc.

fisherrw reply :

I've caught a 4 pound catfish on a roboworms.

RSM789 reply :

1) A bag of grapes. I kept the bag & released the grapes;

2) A freshwater clam while using a clam for bait (for catfish);

3) A big bullfrog on a Jitterbug. Not sure if he was trying to eat it or mate with it.

Closest non-catch was when my sister hit a swallow in midair while casting a buzzbait. She didn't hook it, just knocked it silly, so it doesn't count.

RB 77 reply :

I’ve caught all kinds of by-catches over the years, but the first couple that come to mind are the some-what repeated catches of cat fish off bottom contact soft plastics and bull frogs off hollow body frogs. Frog on frog violence!

corn-on-the-rob reply :

42.5 inch 35+ lb catfish on 3'' inch grub and spinning gear.

about a 5lb steel head on a 5'' fat grub in 4 foot of water while fishing for bass.

A couple of pages ago some one mentioned buffalo. Seems odd to me because here and there we catch a buffalo but all of them are hooked in the mouth.

ABW reply :

On 3/4/2014 at 2:00 AM, TiNuts said:

I was out in the dark once and could barely see where I was casting. I made a cast and when I thought it should've hit the water a flock of geese took off. d**n near ripped my rod out of my hands. Luckily my line quickly broke. Felt bad for the goose I hooked.

I caught maybe a 3 pound blue cat on a lipless crankbait once.

I've also hooked a goose on accident... Fishing at night with a buzzbait and as soon as I make an overhead cast the thing flies out of nowhere, tangles up with my line midair, and since it still had momentum going forward in the water when it landed, it caused my buzzbait to zip right to it and then it even got more tangled up.

GodfatherOfSeoul reply :

Not really accidental but....

When I was a teenager, I was fishing with my best friend and his dad in a private lake in Palmetto, Ga. Bobbers and big reds for whatevers biting!

In between bites, Id leave my rod on the ground waiting for my bobber to get a tug and so i can talk with my hands the my friends dad yells from afar, "youve got a bite James!"

By the time I looked at the water then looked down at the ground, the rod darted in the water too fast for me to react.

His dad walks down and says "which way did it go?" He ties on a treble hook and throws it in the direction to drag the bottom.

Three cast later, he has my line....then he has my walmart shakespere.....then a giant catfish!

I love telling this story bc it was b4 i started bass fishing. I never understood as a kid how artificial bait could catch fish or even the logic of bass fishing. In 2013, I busted up my knee pretty bad and has to quit sports.

2014 was my first year of learning to bass fish. At 29, I've found a new love to compensate for what I've had to give up and the "catfish taking my reel" story is always one that I tell the guys who help me learn new techniques and wanted to share with my BassResource fam

GodfatherOfSeoul reply :

Not really accidental but....

When I was a teenager, I was fishing with my best friend and his dad in a private lake in Palmetto, Ga. Bobbers and big reds for whatevers biting!

In between bites, Id leave my rod on the ground waiting for my bobber to get a tug and so i can talk with my hands the my friends dad yells from afar, "youve got a bite James!"

By the time I looked at the water then looked down at the ground, the rod darted in the water too fast for me to react.

His dad walks down and says "which way did it go?" He ties on a treble hook and throws it in the direction to drag the bottom.

Three cast later, he has my line....then he has my walmart shakespere.....then a giant catfish!

HoosierHawgs reply :

I was fishing with a Squarebill Crankbait and had a snapping turtle swipe at it. I thought I had hooked up with a huge bass. But, I must have had sticky sharp hooks because they stuck him good in his bony mouth.

Bluebasser86 reply :

My first fish of 2015 was an accidental catch

scaleface reply :

One day I was fishing jigging spoons off the end of a boat ramp and catching the snot out of white bass. Also reeled in 2 wrist watches, a spinning rod and reel , and dip net. Just think what else is lying off boat ramps.

tch2391 reply :

Last fish of 2014 was accidental for me. Caught this guy on a red eye shad. Any walleye guys know if this is a walleye or saugeye? I guess we have both here in OH.

adam lancia reply :

Fishinig for bass in Halifax with a crank bait and I caught a toothy little chain pickerel. I'm lucky I had my long needle nose pliers with me or I would have had to cut the line. They're teeth are at least in the sticky sharp range, if not sharper!

Catch and Grease reply :

On 1/6/2015 at 12:47 AM, adam lancia said:
Fishinig for bass in Halifax with a crank bait and I caught a toothy little chain pickerel. I'm lucky I had my long needle nose pliers with me or I would have had to cut the line. They're teeth are at least in the sticky sharp range, if not sharper!

They're incredibly sharp, I had never been cut by one until last week I caught a good sized one and as soon as I reached in the net to grab him he flopped and his teeth cut my thumb open pretty bad....

corn-on-the-rob reply :

On 1/6/2015 at 12:24 AM, tch2391 said:
Last fish of 2014 was accidental for me. Caught this guy on a red eye shad. Any walleye guys know if this is a walleye or saugeye? I guess we have both here in OH.

that there is a saugeye

FunkJishing reply :

I remember being 15 fishing for scup with my dad and having a fish on my line when a duck grabs it. next thing i know it's a tug of war for my fish. Me V.S. a duck lol, that duck was strong but the fish finally slipped from his grasp as i got em' close enough to shore.

Sam reply :

Caught a spinnerbait that I had lost in a pond about three months earlier.

It was still in good condition.

Still use it today.

Logan S reply :

I've caught pretty much every species in the waterways I fish accidentally while bass fishing, it's pretty normal...But one of the most surprising was this nice walleye I caught on a popper very early on the 2nd day of a tournament. I catch walleye pretty frequently while bass fishing, but this is the only one I've ever had come up to hit a popper.

In practice I caught a 4 lb. LM on a popper off this same spot so needless to say, that's what I thought I had . It was still dark so I never even knew til it was a few feet from the net . A 4 lber on this lake goes a looooong way in a tournament so needless to say I was frustrated!

Blues19 reply :

Fishing a 2" grub on a 1/16 oz jig head with ultra light gear hooked into the back of something. I was running back and forth along the bank trying to not let it get off. My cousin saw it and said it looked about 3' long before the hook popped out of its back.

I was throwing a crankbait, trying to get it under a willow and just barely hit a low hanging branch. I managed to pop the bait free and was reeling it in, but there was a vine on it. Turned out to not be a vine, but a neon green snake that I had hooked through the middle of the snake with both hooks. That joker was squirming like a worm when you first put the hook through it.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 1/6/2015 at 12:24 AM, tch2391 said:
Last fish of 2014 was accidental for me. Caught this guy on a red eye shad. Any walleye guys know if this is a walleye or saugeye? I guess we have both here in OH.

The splotches usually mean a saugeye in my experience. I catch them pretty often in a lake close to my house that has saugeye but no walleye in it.

powerduster reply :

I feel really bad when I hook something other then a fish. Once, I hooked a turtle in the eye, which really sucked. I eventually got it off, and don't want to experience that again. Another time, I set the hook hard on a comorant, because I thought it was a fish that grabbed my popper. I was horrified, but the popper just slipped off within seconds and the bird was perfectly fine.

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