Unusual catches on artificials? 2024

Krzkev reply :

My brother and myself fish a golf couse system fairly often, and do quite well with the old LM's. Recently we have gotten some odd catches on artificials like a fairly nice catfish on a jig-n-craw, and a big tilapia on a soft plastic. Just wondering what else everyone has gotten on artificial baits that were intended for bass. Let see what you guys come up with.

Marty reply :

I don't consider catfish (at least channel catfish) an odd fish to catch on artificials. Perhaps artificials wouldn't be the first choice when targeting them, but I've caught a number of them on jigs with grubs, crankbaits, and my most recent on a Chatterbait-style lure.

SirSnookalot reply :

What comes to mind is grass carp (actually largest minnow). A vegetarian by nature and spook very easily, I have caught 1 grass carp on an xrap and once on a rebel topwater. Bear in mind 4 years of constant casting into grass carp infested waters, probably several thousand casts and only 2, I think that's rare.

Catch quite a few spotted and blue tilapia on crappie jigs.

Bassin_Fin@tic reply :

A few that come to mind.

1lb crappie on a full size heddon torpedo.Another crappie not even a lb on a 5in senko carolina rigged. These baits are pretty big for a crappie that size.

1/2 lb pumkinseed on a 10 inch yum worm.How he got the the 4/0 wide gap hook in his mouth is beyond me :

Tilapia on a dt-6.Another tilapia on a yo-zuri crystal minnow.Tilapia on spinnerbait.

Grass carp on a 5 inch senko ;D

Oscar on a manns 1-

Gar on a senko,frogs,trickworms,poppers,spooks,spinnerbaits,prop baits etc.etc.I hate those things.Most annoying freshwater fish in Florida.

Blugill on a 3/8 spinnerbait.Once again,how did he get the hook in his mouth? :-?

Blugill on a superspook jr.Mouth stretched over all three rear trebles :

etommy28 reply :

stingray on a senco? same on a spinner bait. i have caught grass carp once or twice. and others i cant remeber

Triton21 reply :

Snapping Turtle on a beetle spin. Also on a jig.

Kelley

Micro reply :

Blue Catfish kitten on a DD22.

iceintheveins reply :

I've caught lots of Channel Cats on spinnerbaits, cranks, and even one on a skitterpop once. Catfish are serious predators. The most unusual catch I have had while bass fishing was a 7 pound carp that actually took a panther martin spinner.

etommy28 reply :

my partner caught this monster on a trick worm

etommy28 reply :

and this one on and x rap

Triton21 reply :

Bowfin on a Chatterbait. 16lb Blue cat on a Buzzbait.

.ghoti. reply :

Two snakes. A diamond back water snake, caught by me, on a 5" Senko. A very large copperhead, caught by my wife, on a 4" Senko.

I caught mine in the water. She caught hers on an errant cast that landed in the grass, about six inches above the water line.

The water snake survived the encounter; the copperhead did not.

fishinfiend reply :

-Gar on a lucky craft crankbait

-Alligator on a soft plastic frog

-Catfish on a sammy

-Catfish on a sexy shad crank

-Spoonbill catfish on a deep diver (accidentally snagged)

etommy28 reply :

mud fish on ever thing

pickeral on every thing

gator Fligging, top water and wacky rigging a senco

snake bird on a bang a lure

bull shark on a senco

turtle on a finesse worm

done reply :

I am glad to hear that about catfish. I swear, in the summer on Wylie, I could put a hook on an old fridge, kick it over the side of the boat and have a catfish on it when it comes up. Those things seem to hit everything.

One surprised me 3 weeks ago. I was trolling with a deep diving crankbait, and had a good cat hit it. Gave me a good fight.

Besides that the wierdest thing I ever caught was a HUGE snapping turtle on a plastic worm. By caught I mean I tugged and tugged on the line until he decided it was time to come up, then cut the line and let him keep the worm. I ain't messing a big snapper.

As much as almost counts, I almost caught an otter in the new river on a spinner.

bilgerat reply :

Catfish on a rattle trap

Trout on a beetle spin (only trout I've ever caught)

About a 1.5" fingerling bass on a Mepps inline spinner. What was he thinking ?

Huge bullfrog on a topwater plug

Countless turtles while using live worms fishing with my daughters

Matt Jungblut reply :

heres a few i have got on crankbaits

47 inches dont rember the weight

almost 7lbs

28 inch 10 12 pounds some kind of carp

and last but not least

dont know weight and lenght but it was quite funny ;D

Micro reply :

That frog picture is great! ;D

bass or bass ? reply :

Sea Gull on a Mirro Lure. Happy fishing.

~B.A.S.S.~N.A.F.C.~BoatU.S.~N.R.A.~A.M.A.~

Tokyo Tony reply :

In FL - seagulls, pelicans, moray eels (that was on bait though)

In CT - snapping turtles (twice), bullfrog (on a SPRO frog)

landscraper reply :

a brown bullhead nailed a colorado blade spinner one day when i was out pickerel fishing. surprised the heck out of me.

Paul Roberts reply :

That first "catfish" image is of a bullhead, not a cat. And that is somewhat unusual. Cats take do lures pretty well at times. I've caught bullheads on lures too but not often. I did see some large brown bullheads actually surface feeding under lights at night on shad during a shad spawn. That was a cool, and unusual, thing to see.

Bullfrogs are darned easy to catch -they are really aggressive, and will chase a topwater lure for some way. I often have to avoid a 15ft radius of shoreline around each bullfrog to avoid catching 'em!

Hmmmm..

-I once caught a fishing rod with a carp at the other end.

-Two perch on one plug -one on each hook.

-Accidently hooked a dog by the ear! Not proud of that one.

-Oh yeah, a striped bass head! Hooked a small striper and a BIG bluefish knarfed it, leaving me only the head on my fly.

-A friend brought out a new lure he'd bought and started singing it's praises. He boasted (in fun) that he would probably catch the biggest walleye. We all said "Yeah, Yeah..." Then he set the hook! "I've got one! It's big! It's...heavy. It's...YUCK!!!" It was a big and long dead rotting walleye that stunk to high heaven! It was hooked by the rear treble through the upper lip! We all laughed pretty hard, except for the catcher -he had to unhook that stinking thing to get his lure back.

-One more: We were night fishing for walleye. My buddy Phil shouted "Get the net!! It's a BIG one!!!" Our friend Di, grabbed the net and ran over. "Don't you miss him!! warned Phil. Di watched the line coming in like a hawk, then made his stab at the first sign of....THE HOTDOG Phil had stuck on his hook!

basser89 reply :

3 different ones come to mind.

1st is snapping turtle on a Red Eye Shad. Hooked in the mouth as I was burning it over the top of a shallow grass bed.

2nd is a bullfrog on a Strike King SG Toad.

3rd is a bluegill that I somehow hooked in its side on a 5" Kinami Flash that I had wacky rigged.

mrlitetackle reply :

just a cat on a 10 in culprit worm.... not that odd though i suppose.

S I G M A reply :

that frog is hilarious

DawsonH reply :

Why do you make the distinction between bullheads and catfish? For me, I have caught a bullfrog on a jig, and I have had them chase my bobbers when bream fishing. I got a red ear on a dd4 while bass fishing last year, and I have snagged turtles on a sugar shad a couple times.

T-rig reply :

Barbel on Megabass Anthrax 100.

Rudd on lipless crank.

Strange bass.

Baby zander.

Carp on shaky head.

Paul Roberts reply :

Quote
Why do you make the distinction between bullheads and catfish?

Catfish (channels, flatheads) are faster and more aggressive predators than bullheads. Bullheads are slower and less visual than the cats. It's easier to catch cats on lures than bullheads -in my experience.

I remember another:

I spotted a pod of small carp (~10") in slightly roiled water. They held just below the surface and I could see their gold flashes. I tossed a #2 Mepps Aglia below them and one zipped over and I felt a tap. I cast again and this time I timed the visual and hooked one -inside the mouth -he took it! I caught two more this way. They were aggressively chasing and smacking that spinner.

Micro reply :

Two Hickory Shad today on a Daiwa Shad SP.

cambridgefisherman reply :

I dont think that catfish are that unusual to catch on artificial baits. I can think of 5 right of the top of my head that I have gotten on artificials, Sliders, Lizards, ect.., and none of them were below 5lbs. I have had a number of unusual catches including a Paddlefish on a slider that I somehow snagged in the mouth, a mussel that clamped onto my line, a leach that somehow grabbed onto my DT-6, a 6lb common carp on a rattletrap, and a 6" bluegill on a 5" swim senko with a 4/0 hook. Cant think of anything else right off hand. ;D

.dsaavedra. reply :

Thats a DT-10 stuck in his shoulder:

i also caught a duckling while fishing with bread for bluegills at the park. poor thing was screaming while i held it and got the hook out of its mouth. it was really soft ;D

carrothead reply :

I really can't compete :-[, but I caught about a 12 inch channel cat on a crawfish color Rebel Deep Wee-r.

CRFisher reply :

Technically I think I snagged it but caught a gigantic freshwater clam today on a fluke I was deadsticking. The hook got right in it's mouth, it fell off the hook before I could get a picture though.

Hammer 4 reply :

caught a couple of catfish on a 3/8 oz white bleedin eye spinnerbait..lol

FloatTuber reply :

Caught a fat 11 oz pumpkinseed on a 3/8 oz kastmaster.

Sure catching one on a little kastmaster wouldn't be too crazy, but the treble hook barely fit in his mouth.

bigtimfish reply :

catfish on a berkley power lizard,catfish on a h&h spinnerbait,crappie on a x rap xr10

Dock Master reply :

Mine would be a 2-3 lb. catfish (not sure what kind) on a chartreuse Bomber crankbait.

Big Tom reply :

T-Rig that is a really odd bass.

Its built more like a crappie.

SaintsFn reply :

Quote
Blue Catfish kitten on a DD22.

I call that picture...(from the fish's perspective)"I shoulda stayed home!"

VA-Cal reply :

While fly-fishing late one evening, I caught a flying Bat on my backcast. When I started the forward delivery, and felt the tension, I thought I had snagged something. Just as I turned around to see what it was, the bat hit me in the back of the head!!

Talk about "FREAKIN' OUT ! !"

Cal

Chris W reply :

I caught a watersnake on a fluke last year, and a couple of years ago I caught an alligator on a flipping tube. I wish I would have taken a picture of him he was about 4 ft long. I also caught a 35" northern pike on a 1lb smallmouth bringing him to the boat one year in Canada.

Use ONLY Stren reply :

Ive caught tons of cats and carp on soft plastics, ive also caught tilapia on spinnerbaits. But the best catch on artificials was a 8lb. mudfish(Bowfin) on a Yum Crawbug, and 2 gar over 10lbs. one on a rattle trap and the other on a brushog.

JacobK reply :

caught on a wacky jig//finesse worm, i didn't wanna touch it so i had my buddy hold it while i snapped the picture.

SuperNewbie reply :

i caught a 6 inch shinner on a nose hooked 5inch fat ika watermelon and blk flake :D

eosteve reply :

7# flathead catfish on a plastic worm

bluegills on crankbaits,

and this doesn't really fit the thread, but.....

I caught a bass fishing for catfish with a chicken heart. :-?

riverfisher reply :

I caught this gold fish flipping a Karu finesse jig in some timber last week.

NJAngler609 reply :

30# carp on a 3/4 oz strike king sexy shad trap

RippinLips86 reply :

i was fishing the other day and caught a 3/4lb white crappie on a 6" Morning Dawn Roboworm :-?

Big Bait Fishing reply :

caught a 5.1 oz. rainbow trout on a DT-10 silver shad . thought it was a BIG bass the way he fought !!! ;D

mrlitetackle reply :

this thread will go on forever..............................................................

Bernie Mac reply :

and to add a couple more....caught a couple of brown trout on some shallow jerk baits...and a white sucker on a lil 1/8oz rapala (segmented jerkbait)...hit it as soon as it touched the water.

S I G M A reply :

Mid 20's northern pike on a shakey head worm today

CRFisher reply :

I just narrowly missed catching one of these on a 1 ounce Daredevle this weekend. I didn't see the bird at all on my cast. At first as I saw it start to follow I thought I was looking at a personal best bass. Then something looked wrong so I ripped the lure away at the last moment thinking it was a snapping turtle. I've had birds take a look at a spook as they fly overhead, but never had a bird chase a lure underwater.

fisher1973 reply :

Had an owl come out of a tree and hit water less than 6'' behind buzzbait, was really glad he missed.

NaturalAcoustics reply :

a swim suit tied to to beach umbrella with a chatter bait =) thought i had the worlds biggest trout on the end on the line *sigh*

DawsonH reply :

Nearly got a coon and a rubber frog I threw on the bank.

Also got a large red ear on a 3/4oz spinner bait.

S I G M A reply :

catfish on a lucky craft LV

and an old sock on an lucky craft LV

both today

Bernie Mac reply :

Quote
and an old sock on an lucky craft LV

awww...the elusive "old sock" fish...you should feel privileged

etommy28 reply :

tee shirt on a bandit 100

Mepps reply :

Sea gull on a Gotcha plug.

CookieMonst3r reply :

Fishing rod/reel combo on a jighead. ;D

MattinOK reply :

My weirdest catch was in a pond fishing a 10'ish crankbait. I was burning it in, and all of a sudden my line went taught and my pole almost bent in two. I'm thinkin' "This must be a dadgum' big fish.". So I finally reel it in, and it turns our to be a old newspaper... ;D ;D ;D

ShouldBe0utdoors reply :

Crappie- Crappie SwimBait

Numerous Catfish-Spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits

Snapping Turtle-Tube

Duckling-Rooster Tail

Sunfish-Creature Bait

KYntucky Warmouth reply :

half a pack of hotdogs on a crankbait

J-B reply :

Quote
Had an owl come out of a tree and hit water less than 6'' behind buzzbait, was really glad he missed.

A little over a week ago I was fishing at a pond back in the woods. I threw in a Manns topwater frog and looked away for second to close my tackle box. I had not locked the reel yet and the line started going out like crazy. I looked out to the pond and my line was not there, instead it was going up. A hawk had taken my frog and was flying away with it. It dropped the frog into a pine tree on the other side of the pond. Due to the weedless design of the frogs, I got the bait back. I am glad that the bird did not get stung by the hook.

Bernie Mac reply :

Quote
half a pack of hotdogs on a crankbait

What happened to the other half of the hot dogs :-?

DawsonH reply :

A lot of people use hot dogs for catfish bait. May have been remains of the bait they discarded.

SuperNewbie reply :

5 inch sunny on a 3/4 oz jitterbug bit one hook and caught his tail on the back one needless to say i caught a 8 lbs cat fish that day too

Folshen reply :

Odd one for me would be about an 8lb carp that slammed a Hula Popper years ago.

Koop reply :

I got a garr on a DT10 and a little 14" northern on a husky jerk, though the northern had *2* jerkbaits in his lip, both fire tiger color. One of them had gone through his mouth entirely and he was unable to open it. Was lucky I was even able to land him as I didn't have a hook on him, he must have went for my jerk bait and I got hung up on a treble and a gill. Glad I caught him and was able to remove the lures or he wouldn't have survived very long.

Minuteman reply :

How about a 42Lb Flathead on a Mann's Stone Jig..That's My Boy!

etommy28 reply :

10 + pound cat fish on a black and blue jig suspended in about 10 feet down in 35 feet of water

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