Catching The Wrong Species 2024

Senko lover reply :

How often do you guys catch the wrong species of fish or animal while fishing for bass? What's your biggest wrong-species catch?
I catch turtles and bream with regularity on fake bait, typically by foul-hooking, but sometime's they'll actually eat it. I've caught some crappie as well, but never a big fish like a cat or a carp yet. I know a guy who foul-hooked a goose and had a terrible mess getting the hook out. Not fun!

Share your stories.

desmobob reply :

On southern Lake Champlain, it's a regular occurrence. Channel cats, sheepshead, northern pike and pickerel, bowfin... I even caught an unexpected 6 lb. 15 oz. walleye on a crank bait early one morning!

My biggest "mistake" was a 14 lb. 4 oz. northern pike.

Here's an ugly bowfin that ate a wacky-rigged Senko:

Here's a 10 lb. 1 oz. northern caught the same day on a 'trap: (I lost two spinnerbaits to big northerns that morning.)

Tight lines,

Bob

Mr_Scrogg reply :

Bluebasser is the KING of Drum and cats. But! HiSalenity catches MONSTER Flatheads dragging a jig in 10-30 FOW

DFrench97 reply :

For some reason pike hit senkos at my lake?

fishguy613 reply :

Back in summer I had a really nice muskellunge thump my jig when I pitched it under a boat, was good times

Dwight Hottle reply :

On Lake Erie you just never know. I have caught walleye, pike, lake trout, steelhead, channel cats, brown trout, perch, largemouth, rock bass, white bass, drum, gobies and white perch while fishing for smallies. I know I lost a musky that smoked me in front of a creek as well.

EmersonFish reply :

The drum bite really seems to be on for me this year. They have developed a taste for Baby Brush Hogs.

Munkin reply :

Depends on where I am fishing?

Lower Potomac I catch some nice blue cats on bass lures. Deep Creek Lake you catch everything that swims in a 8 hour bass tournament. Upper Potomac it is a lot of big panfish.

Allen

buzzed bait reply :

caught like an 8 lb carp one time on a 5' ultra light setup with 4 or 6 lb line that was fun.

aside from that i caught a gar one time and had no idea how i was going to get the hook out left my net and grippers at the house that day.... got it right up to the kayak and for the first time smiled from ear to ear when the fish spit my crank bait into my kayak....

Bluebasser86 reply :

It's a rare trip that I don't catch the "wrong species". As an avid multispecies angler though, there really isn't a "wrong species" in my book

14lbs on a baby brush hog under a dock.

Rattle trap wiper

20lb blue cat on 4lb test and a 2" power minnow.

Monster pumpkinseeds on baby brush hogs and jerkbaits

13" jerkbait crappie.

Big wiggle wart rainbow

15lb gar on a Mattlures trout

Keitech wallys

25lbs on a finesse jig.

My 2 biggest "wrong" fish. Neither got weighed, scale broke trying to weigh the flathead and it was too far of a walk to the truck for the carp.

6 3/4" S waver eating grass carp

Hardest jig bite I've ever had.

shanksmare reply :

Here in SW FL there are many "wrong species" of fish present. I've caught gar, bowfin, mayan cichlids, white and blue tilapia, a variety of catfish species and tarpon on lures meant for bass. But the most frequent accidental catches are snook that have made their way into freshwater. A 15 lb snook is a worthy advisary. Their raspy lips make short work of 20 lb mono if they come in contact with it. By the way, they just love bladed jigs although I've caught them on a variety of lures - even worms.

Catch and Grease reply :

I catch big bowfin and pickerel all the time but don't weigh them often, I know I've caught bowfin atleast 8lbs before probably more...

boostr reply :

On 10/8/2014 at 5:40 PM, shanksmare said:
Here in SW FL there are many "wrong species" of fish present. I've caught gar, bowfin, mayan cichlids, white and blue tilapia, a variety of catfish species and tarpon on lures meant for bass. But the most frequent accidental catches are snook that have made their way into freshwater. A 15 lb snook is a worthy advisary. Their raspy lips make short work of 20 lb mono if they come in contact with it. By the way, they just love bladed jigs although I've caught them on a variety of lures - even worms.

I wouldn't mind at all going bass fishing, and hooking up on a Tarpon our or Snook.

boostr reply :

I've caught the usual Pickeral or Pike. I don't mind catching Pike as long as they don't break off my lures.

Scott F reply :

My wife used to get mad when she caught something she wasn't fishing for. Happens all the time. Here is a drum I got down on Pickwick and a walleye in Wisconsin.

desmobob reply :

On 10/8/2014 at 9:18 PM, Scott F said:

A nice walleye has been the only thing that has made me fill up the live well and keep a fish. I'm a 99.9% catch-and-release guy. Except for nice walleyes! They come home to the frying pan.

Tight lines,

Bob

Catch and Grease reply :

Hey desmobob, I see in that picture of the bowfin you caught you are holding it with a fish grip vertical. I would advise you not to do this... Bowfin have some pretty crazy rolls and they will freak out even when they seem completely wore out, if they spaz out while you are holding them like that it can mess their jaws up bad. If one happens to start freaking out don't try to stop it just kinda go with it, still hold onto the fish grip but let him do what he wants if that makes sense...

I used to do that to but stopped not to long ago becaue I realized it was bad for them...

Dwight Hottle reply :

A-jay likes the diversity when the smallies quit biting.

desmobob reply :

On 10/8/2014 at 9:33 PM, Catch and Grease said:

Hey desmobob, I see in that picture of the bowfin you caught you are holding it with a fish grip vertical. I would advise you not to do this... Bowfin have some pretty crazy rolls and they will freak out even when they seem completely wore out, if they spaz out while you are holding them like that it can mess their jaws up bad. If one happens to start freaking out don't try to stop it just kinda go with it, still hold onto the fish grip but let him do what he wants if that makes sense...

I used to do that to but stopped not to long ago becaue I realized it was bad for them...

Thanks for the tip!

I know it's risky to hoist a fish vertically by the lower jaw, but it's the only quick and easy way I know of to take a quick photo when I'm by myself. I guess an alternative is to lay the fish down on the deck, but I know that rubbing off some of the fish's slime layer can be a very bad thing, too. Any ideas?

Tight lines,

Bob

SHaugh reply :

I've developed a severe case of photo *** from this thread.... those don't look "wrong" to me....

Catch and Grease reply :

On 10/8/2014 at 9:42 PM, desmobob said:

Thanks for the tip!

I know it's risky to hoist a fish vertically by the lower jaw, but it's the only quick and easy way I know of to take a quick photo when I'm by myself. I guess an alternative is to lay the fish down on the deck, but I know that rubbing off some of the fish's slime layer can be a very bad thing, too. Any ideas?

Tight lines,

Bob

I just lay them flat with some kind of object so people can see how big it is, I'm sure laying them down for a few seconds to take a picture won't hurt... Mudfish are one tough fish! I wonder how well they respond to catch and release...

geo g reply :

We all catch other species when we go out fishing. Sometimes conditions will make it make for increased junk fishing. In South Florida there is a wide variety of other fish on the menu. Caught regularly, snakeheads, peacocks, bowfin, chain pickerel, gar, alligator gar, huge grass carp, pacu, myian cichlids, freshwater snook, freshwater tarpon, Oscars, rock bass, occasional gator, just to name a few. You never know what will tug on your line.

PersicoTrotaVA reply :

My other species is usually these guys:

I have hooked bowfin but never gotten them to the boat and I catch the occasional crappie slab but I like crappie fishing and don't get upset when I catch one. Sometimes I get a big bull bluegill, also fun.

Senko lover reply :

I forgot to add in the forum starter that I have caught a Northern. It was a small 20-incher on an equally small Bomber spinnerbait.

I rarely target species besides bass, but I want to catch both a big carp and a big cat, which are present in the ponds I fish. I see giant (20 lb) carp all the time finning and stirring up mud in one of the ponds. There is about 10-20 of them, including a koi which is bright orange and you can see it from across the pond. That would be fun to catch! I'm told they are great fighters.

I don't eat any of the fish I catch; my parents aren't too big on cleaning fish. (I'm thirteen) Bummer. I would if they'd let me, though.

geo g reply :

On 10/9/2014 at 7:23 AM, Senko lover said:

I forgot to add in the forum starter that I have caught a Northern. It was a small 20-incher on an equally small Bomber spinnerbait.

I rarely target species besides bass, but I want to catch both a big carp and a big cat, which are present in the ponds I fish. I see giant (20 lb) carp all the time finning and stirring up mud in one of the ponds. There is about 10-20 of them, including a koi which is bright orange and you can see it from across the pond. That would be fun to catch! I'm told they are great fighters.

I don't eat any of the fish I catch; my parents aren't too big on cleaning fish. (I'm thirteen) Bummer. I would if they'd let me, though.

I have never had a big carp bite a lure, but I have snagged them twice with a wacky rigged trick worm, and once with a zara spook. One had to be over 20 pounds.

OntarioFishingGuy reply :

There are no wrong species, there are other species.

bassinOUT89 reply :

This turd (bullseye snakehead) faught like hell, caught on a okeechobee blue trickworm. I'd guesstimate his weight around 6-8 pounds.

xxmurrxx reply :

Not too often in my area when fishing for bass but when we target walleye in the river the silver bass become a pain when they are running.

Can't keep them off the jigs.

Munkin reply :

On 10/9/2014 at 7:23 AM, Senko lover said:

I forgot to add in the forum starter that I have caught a Northern. It was a small 20-incher on an equally small Bomber spinnerbait.

I rarely target species besides bass, but I want to catch both a big carp and a big cat, which are present in the ponds I fish. I see giant (20 lb) carp all the time finning and stirring up mud in one of the ponds. There is about 10-20 of them, including a koi which is bright orange and you can see it from across the pond. That would be fun to catch! I'm told they are great fighters.

I don't eat any of the fish I catch; my parents aren't too big on cleaning fish. (I'm thirteen) Bummer. I would if they'd let me, though.

Oatmeal works best for carp around here as I use to fish for them. Take some regular oatmeal and mix a little sugar/koolaid/vanilla in. Get a handfull of oatmeal, put your hand in the water then just squeeze and release water until it gets hard. Make a little ball out of the hardened oatmeal and you are set. Treble hooks in size 6 with no weight is what I normally use. The oatmeal ball will weigh enough that you can cast it without any additional weight.

My record carp is 32lbs and on average most of them are 12-20lbs around here.

Allen

Goose52 reply :

I target bass and actually have very few (statistically) collateral catches. For instance, I'm a bit over 1,500 fish caught this year and only about 40 were NOT largemouth bass. If I hadn't used my ultralight spinning rod a few times, it would have only been about 20-25 collateral catches.

Largest collateral catch? 48 pound grass carp:

faygo1979 reply :

I catch Pike about 40% of the time when fishing for bass. I cant complain. they are fun fish to catch as well.

SirSnookalot reply :

For me there is no wrong catch, if I had a good battle even a fish smaller than my intended target is welcome.

kudagra reply :

I recall a time that I was throwing a Musky spinner bait on heavy gear all day while my father was just fishing for smallies with 10lb test and a Creme worm. He ends up hooking a 10lb muskie in the side of the mouth in open water and got it in. Right Fish, Wrong Fisherman.

Dillo reply :

to me there is no "wrong species". I typically target one species on a trip, but if i reel in something else, I'm not mad, at least i caught something! I typically use small plastics, so anything is fair game.

Darren. reply :

I have caught yellow perch, white perch, crappie,

bluegill/sunfish varieties, american eel, pickerel,

warmouth, mud turtles, snapping turtles, and one

14 lb striper when bass fishing.

Oh, and one pigeon, LOL. I cast my worm and it flew

right into it, or grabbed it, I'm not sure. Fortunately

it flew into a tree, got free and took off. I got my worm

back none the worse for wear.

Always fun catching the unexpected...well, unless

it is a hideously slimy american eel, and you want

to retrieve your hook w/o touching it (and are w/o

grippers).

Bassun reply :

I agree with "no wrong fish" as a staple, but sometimes its not a fish...

I was about 12, fishing a canal leading to Okeechobee with a borrowed ultra light for panfish under a bobber. I discovered realing line in, infront of a 4' gator could cause a strike. So I hooked into him, but had no chance of doing anything with him. He promptly dove and I was broke off in some reeds. It was fun, and we all were shocked that it happened.

I've been lucky with birds. I've had a few pick up lures, but none have gotten hooked up yet. Even had a crazy sea gull trying to steal my rapala for about 15 mins down at Fort Fisher NC. He managed to pick it up twice, and fly with it once but luckily he dropped it. I had a bad cast put a big bucktail on the menu for a pelican once down in the keys too. He never managed to get ahold of it but it wasn't for lack of trying, lol.

bighed reply :

One of my bigger wrong kind catches from Falcon a few years ago. Flipped a jig into a bush and got the thump of a lifetime. For scale, I'm about 6-3 and 330

Verisimilidude reply :

Had an American Kestrel dive bomb my practice casting weight when i was practicing in my back yard.

SHaugh reply :

On 10/11/2014 at 2:14 AM, bighead said:
One of my bigger wrong kind catches from Falcon a few years ago. Flipped a jig into a bush and got the thump of a lifetime. For scale, I'm about 6-3 and 330

That is an incredible fish. You could eat for a winter on that... I've fished for cats on Amistad.. never Falcon... nothing wrong about that fish....

Comfortably Numb reply :

Last year I unintentionally caught this 20+ Grass carp on a crankbait.

It ended up they were feeding on the Cicadas. I end up I started fishing for them with a popper and caught a bunch including a 41#. Dang thing took my boca grip too

Crazy aggressive bite that sounded like a bowling ball dropped in the water

Turkey sandwich reply :

Reading this thread brougt back some crazy memories. I grew up on the Susquehanna River, and while it's a great smallmouth fishery, it's also a great place to pick up trophy musky. We'd wade throwing grubs, tubes twister tails and poppers on light tackle and there were days where we'd pick up 20-40 smallmouth, a handful of rock bass, and whatever weird that day would have in store. Sometimes it was a handful of delicious walleye, other times it'd be hooking into 20+ lb carp (in current with light gear, these were probably some of the most ridiculous freshwater fights i've ever had), or get the **** scared out of you when a 40"+ musky would blow up your top water 10 feet away in waist deep water. Hell, i even remember foul hooking a 20" quilback in current on 6lb mono and being confused for 20 minutes trying to get it out of current.

This came out of a lake I used to fish a ton while growing up. The guy was fishing for trout on 4 or 6lb line and caught this:

everythingthatswims reply :

I have no idea how many of these guys I have caught while bass fishing...Swimbaits, crankbaits, worms, jigs, senkos, topwater, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, they will eat absolutely anything! (Fallfish)

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