What Is Your Strangest, Unintended Catch 2024
islandbass reply :
I bet we've all caught something strange and possibly unintended.
This was a while back. I was fishing a dock with the sun going down. I was fishing a pink worm on a jig head. All the flying creatures that target flying insects were doing their thing in the air. As I neared the end of my retrieve, I yanked the line up to swing the jig back to me to make my next cast. Because it was getting dark, I misjudged my grab of the jig. As the jig and pink worm swung away from me, a bat came out of nowhere and went for my jig. There was enough light to see that at the very last second it changed its mind probably realizing it wasn't a bug but as it tried to maneuver away, the jig's hook got hold of it's wing and caught it. So there it was, flying around like a kite on a string. Fortunately, it wasn't solidly hooked so it was able to free itself without my help. I was relieved because I didn't want to deal with an animal that might possibly have rabies.
Share your strange catches.
soflabasser reply :
My strangest unintended catch while bass fishing is catching a fish called a big mouth sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor) , which I have caught several of them from land in freshwater. These fish are very rare to catch in South Florida and I know few people who have caught them. I have caught much rarer and harder to catch fish in saltwater.
Shanexd9 reply :
I'm not sure if its strange but definitely unintended. I was fishing in some golf course ponds one afternoon and I caught an alligator.
GrumpyOlPhartte reply :
Unintended catches, but probably not rare (at least for me) are:
1. Pant leg
2. Other fishing rod
3. Anchor line
4. Assorted trees and shrubs
5. Cold (after an unintended exit from my yak)
6. Approximately twenty feet of line with a nice new tungsten sinker, 4/0 hook, and Culprit worm (which I used)
7. My own water shoe (containing one foot ... mine)
Hmmm. Makes me wonder why I fish with treble hooks sometimes.
RPreeb reply :
Dry fly fishing for trout on some beaver ponds about 20 miles north of Seeley Lake in Montana I caught a few frogs. Had to work hard not to catch gulls when fishing topwater in the Bahamas.
Glenn reply :
Cat
Clam
and on a different occasion, a stray line with a catfish on the other end that was still alive.
On 8/18/2017 at 7:31 AM, soflabasser said:My strangest unintended catch while bass fishing is catching a fish called a big mouth sleeper
Better known as my mother-in-law
The Bassman reply :
Big snapping turtle while frogging. Thought I had my PB but couldn't understand why he didn't jump.
NHBull reply :
A seagull......and I did get my lure back!
YaknBassn reply :
Caught a catfish by the dorsal fin with a crankbait. On a separate occasion, I caught a gar by the tail with a crankbait. Crankbaits are fun.
I've also had an Osprey make a dive at a fluke. He grabbed it, but luckily, he didn't get hooked.
Porkrind reply :
A fifty five gallon trash bag that had a couple of what I assumed were poached deer heads with the racks cut off.
DomQ reply :
Caught on two separate occasions, carp dragging a black and blue jig on the bottom.
Dtrombly reply :
A frog. Thankfully it unhooked it's self in mid air. Every time I throw frogs in this certain pond, real frogs come flying off the bank into the water chasing down my frog. It's quite amusing. Lol
MassYak85 reply :
I was dragging a worm and snagged some line. I started pulling it in to get it out of the water and low and behold there's a little catfish on the end, very much alive and kicking.
wdp reply :
1. Water moccasin on a live minnow.
2. Egret swooped down down out of a tree and picked up my Spro Frog I was working thru some lily pads. Luckily it didn't hook its foot when it tried to fly away with it.
BuzzHudson19c reply :
Channel catfish on a Yum dinger/crankbait/spoon/dry fly. Carp on a spinnerbait. Frog on a frog.
All of these were hooked in the mouth not snagged.
nosdog2 reply :
One of those old school metal Coleman coolers. It was in about 6 foot of water, luckily I had braid on. I kept it to.
Ksam1234 reply :
Mine was today I got a snapping turtle. Thought it was a DD bass or my new PB but when it came up like an anchor I knew something was wrong.
CroakHunter reply :
I didn't catch this while fishing, but while I was bowfishing. I shot at a small spotted gar and hit him, but my arrow was stuck in the mud beneath him. I pulled and pulled on that 200Lb braided line until I pulled up my prize...an Ab Lounge! And I must say, that fish had some of the best abs I've ever seen on a fish lol
IndianaFinesse reply :
Mink, ducks, lots of alligator snapping turtles, a swim suit, water snakes, plus some other animals I can't remember right now. The mink and snappers were the worst, those cute little mink are not so cute when they use their wicked sharp claws to tear any exposed skin apart. And the snapping turtles are always bent on separating my fingers from my hand.
A-Jay reply :
Striped bass fishing in the Merrimac River, Newburyport, Ma, fall of 1980 something - on a dark, cold & windy night.
Hooked something BIG - wasn't fighting much, or at all. Seemed very heavy, like dead weight.
Took forever to get in. Had 2 Buddies helping me. Couldn't imagine what the heck it was, but it was slowly coming in.
It was like a war pulling against the out going tide. Had the flashlights beaming out into the river trying to see what the heck I had.
Finally came close enough to get a glimpse - looked weird. Couldn't tell.
Then someone said jokingly "Hope it's not a body" . . . . . . . .
I started getting a little bummed out but I was too far into this to give up now - I had to know.
Mistake.
It was a big old bloated & very stanky, beheaded deer carcass.
I cut the line and earned a new nickname.
Deer Hunter.
A-Jay
Columbia Craw reply :
I was fishing for sea bass several years ago and caught a wolf eel. Google them, they are nasty creatures. I've also hooked silvers and chinook on crank baits. My buddy hooked a seven foot sturgeon. After an hour it finally broke off.
OCdockskipper reply :
A bag of grapes.
Catt reply :
I have found a body on Lake Vernon near Leesville Louisiana; it had been under water for 5 days.
Not a pretty sight for a teenager!
One night at Housen' Bay Marina Pat and I were talking while grilling steaks outside, Steve was trying to get a back lash out of one of his reels. After reeling in his line Steve made an underhanded cast to check out his work and immediately went on point like he was going to set hook. Puzzled Pat and I looked at each other then back at Steve who had reeled in and cast again. Turning towards us Steve states some thing bite my jig, Pat and I bust out laughing, Steve says no seriously. Reeling in and casting he says there it is again, this time Pat and I both see his line move. Gabbing a flash light sure enough there is a big ole owl with Steve's jig in it's mouth. Pat and I bust out laughing and shout dude don't set hook!
islandbass reply :
That's messed up, Catt. I bet something like that stays crystal clear with you forever.
Almost Catching an owl ? must have been a hoot for your friend.
Great stories! Keep them coming.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I have bad luck with birds. I've caught a couple seagulls, a Grebe, an owl, and a blue heron. The owl slammed into a muskie jitterbug while I was night fishing, thought I had a state record.
My jerkbait Grebe.
A-Jay reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 4:34 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I have bad luck with birds. I've caught a couple seagulls, a Grebe, an owl, and a blue heron. The owl slammed into a muskie jitterbug while I was night fishing, thought I had a state record.
My jerkbait Grebe.
Sweet ~ I have loons chasing baits all the time.
Never caught one but I guess it seems inevitable; although I don't think I've heard or seen anyone else hook one so maybe they are just 'chasers'. Either way, when I don't know one's around and it suddenly shows up behind my bait at the boat - there always a moment of "Holy $%^&", followed by some random, out loud name calling and some directions as to where I'd like that water fowl to go . . . .
They're actually pretty big up close.
A-Jay
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 7:01 PM, A-Jay said:Sweet ~ I have loons chasing baits all the time.
Never caught one but I guess it seems inevitable; although I don't think I've heard or seen anyone else hook one so maybe they are just 'chasers'. Either way, when I don't know one's around and it suddenly shows up behind my bait at the boat - there always a moment of "Holy $%^&", followed by some random, out loud name calling and some directions as to where I'd like that water fowl to go . . . .
They're actually pretty big up close.
A-Jay
I had a loon come out from under the boat chasing my jerkbait at Table Rock, a big male. You're right, they're a large bird when you see one up close, especially when they surprise you like that. That little Grebe was easy to deal with, would not want to have to try to unhook a loon.
Jigfishn10 reply :
I was striper fishing in Maine in the bay and hooked into "something". I knew it wasn't a striper just from the fight, this was more like dead weight, kind of like trying to reel in a garbage can lid. It took a while or what seemed like forever but I finally got it to the boat:
Not the actual pic, but this Goosefish or "Monkfish" as titled on a restaurant menu, was pretty scary to me at first. I was a little more careful than usual taking the hook out. I ended up with 4 that day. All went back in the water.
Megastink reply :
1) computer monitor
2) sock full of change
3) shopping cart
4) goose
5) snapping turtle
6) various articles of clothing/shoes
A-Jay reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 8:51 PM, Jigfishn10 said:I was striper fishing in Maine in the bay and hooked into "something". I knew it wasn't a striper just from the fight, this was more like dead weight, kind of like trying to reel in a garbage can lid. It took a while or what seemed like forever but I finally got it to the boat:
Not the actual pic, but this Goosefish or "Monkfish" as titled on a restaurant menu, was pretty scary to me at first. I was a little more careful than usual taking the hook out. I ended up with 4 that day. All went back in the water.
Back in the day we called those "the poor man's Lobster"
Ugly but the tail is some good eats.
A-Jay
Scarborough817 reply :
i hook into muscles all the time when throwing a crank, had multiple seagulls try to eat my spook, but the strangest was a tool box
12poundbass reply :
About 11 years ago my wife and I were night fishing. She had never done it before so I was excited to take her.
It was over cast and extremely dark. She was using a Pop-R. She lost sight of her lure as a swan was swimming by. She panicked and started reeling in so they wouldn't cross paths. She felt a tug followed by a honk and flapping of wings, followed by a giant white bird flying right by us with her line!
It quickly snapped and she worried about the bird. Needless to say that was the end of the night and she hasn't been night fishing since.
Yeajray231 reply :
About a decade ago when I was 13 or 14.. I was bobber fishing in a state park in Michigan. Just trying to catch anything I could... I ended up having a huge take on my bobber! It was a giant splash not even 10 feet from where I was standing. I reeled in out of excitement and the fish ended up taking my worm... I battled it on my little ultra light and got it to the walkway I was fishing off of...and at the time it was the strangest thing I've seen.. the fish was about 20+" , had an eel like body with a round head and had teeth ! Not only that but it made a very strange grunting noise out of the water.
I had no idea what I had... My step father was a paramedic and was sitting outside of the park on call, his buddy told me it was a dogfish... Which made sense to me cuz of the weird noises it was making out of the water..
I know today that it was a bowfin. And it's not so strange after all... But at the time, it was very exciting and odd.
NYWayfarer reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 8:15 AM, NHBull said:A seagull......and I did get my lure back!
Same here. Gull dove and snapped up my catch as I was reeling it in while surfcasting.
My son recently caught a snake that struck his lure as he was bringing it in. I unhooked it myself after determining it was non-poisonous.
Jigfishn10 reply :
Oh sheesh @A-Jay, back when you I started eating seafood, lobster was considered the poor man's seafood dinner, what were they doing with monkfish, giving it away?!?!
Actually, not long after I caught them I heard that the tail section was delicious. I should have tuned into the Food Network a long time ago...
We actually caught Spiny Dogfish that day as well and I found out that Dogfish was originally used by the English for Fish & Chips. I'm not sure how true that is though.
Jigfishn10 reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 9:30 PM, 12poundbass said:About 11 years ago my wife and I were night fishing. She had never done it before so I was excited to take her.
It was over cast and extremely dark. She was using a Pop-R. She lost sight of her lure as a swan was swimming by. She panicked and started reeling in so they wouldn't cross paths. She felt a tug followed by a honk and flapping of wings, followed by a giant white bird flying right by us with her line!
It quickly snapped and she worried about the bird. Needless to say that was the end of the night and she hasn't been night fishing since.
A bird on the hook is worth 2 in the....Ah never mind
A-Jay reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 10:33 PM, Jigfishn10 said:Oh sheesh @A-Jay, back when you I started eating seafood, lobster was considered the poor man's seafood dinner, what were they doing with monkfish, giving it away?!?!
Actually, not long after I caught them I heard that the tail section was delicious. I should have tuned into the Food Network a long time ago...
We actually caught Spiny Dogfish that day as well and I found out that Dogfish was originally used by the English for Fish & Chips. I'm not sure how true that is though.
Times were tough for some of us back then. We had a family friend who was a commercial fisherman out of Boston. I used to take the "T" into town as a kid and meet the boat at the dock. Helping to unload fish & then load ice would get me a little scratch. That's where I learned about the monkfish tails. The dealers considered them trash fish / worthless but the fisherman knew better and kept everyone.
A-Jay
UPSmallie reply :
Caught 3 of these mudpuppy salamanders ice-fishing this past year. This one wasn't my PB, but the longest I caught was just over 12 inches.
Doelman reply :
I've hooked into all kinds of weird things saltwater fishing.
An absolutely huge green sea turtle, easily 250 lbs, with a cobia jig.
A 6 foot sand shark on a piece of squid the size of my thumb, hooked it in the corner of the mouth and managed to get it in on Fluoro on a snapper rod.
Fought so many dolphins, I've almost had one ram me when I was wade fishing, never hooked one though.
Caught a cuddlefish on a sibiki rig.
Octopus on cut bait.
Cormorant on a twitch bait.
A boot.
Djohn reply :
High top Chuck Taylor. It really put up a fight!
AustinHellickson reply :
Not really strange but unintentionally caught a catfish while fishing in Florida today. Never seen a catfish before so I was kind of freaked out a first LOL
Russ E reply :
a 4 foot long nose gar on a squarebill. never dealt with a gar before and did not want to lose my last crankbait, so I netted him and brought him in the boat.
won't do that again. he went nuts. teeth and sharp scales flying around my deck. got my bait back, but his scales shredded my hands and he slimed my boat.
Crestliner2008 reply :
I caught a large carp on a fast retrieved spinnerbait once.
Dens228 reply :
A big bullfrog on a hollow body frog.
scaleface reply :
On 8/19/2017 at 9:09 PM, Dens228 said:A big bullfrog on a hollow body frog.
A big bullfrog on a buzzbait .
.ghoti. reply :
Ever see an old cartoon of a guy reeling in a boot? The old style galoshes, with buckles? Caught one of those with a jig. The jig was inside the boot, hooked just above the heel.
Reeled in a small aluminum ladder on LOZ.
My fav; a bikini top from an obviously well endowed lady. That one put a smile on my face.
deaknh03 reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 11:28 AM, A-Jay said:Striped bass fishing in the Merrimac River, Newburyport, Ma, fall of 1980 something - on a dark, cold & windy night.
Hooked something BIG - wasn't fighting much, or at all. Seemed very heavy, like dead weight.
Took forever to get in. Had 2 Buddies helping me. Couldn't imagine what the heck it was, but it was slowly coming in.
It was like a war pulling against the out going tide. Had the flashlights beaming out into the river trying to see what the heck I had.
Finally came close enough to get a glimpse - looked weird. Couldn't tell.
Then someone said jokingly "Hope it's not a body" . . . . . . . .
I started getting a little bummed out but I was too far into this to give up now - I had to know.
Mistake.
It was a big old bloated & very stanky, beheaded deer carcass.
I cut the line and earned a new nickname.
Deer Hunter.
A-Jay
The wife and I are going to newburyport today...not fishing, dining.
Hurricane reply :
Figured i would try braided line again a couple weeks ago and had a decent day on the water but not the best.. It was a crazy day on erie with pleasure cruisers everywhere.. i cast out and these 2 idiots drove real close to us and my braided line wrapped around their motor.. Easy way to get all of the braid off my reel.. i am sure he was happy with the 100 yards of braid wrapped around his weekend joy ride...
A-Jay reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 12:27 AM, deaknh03 said:The wife and I are going to newburyport today...not fishing, dining.
While stationed at the USCG small boat station (1982-85) there on Waters St. I ate many a meal & spent many night at the Starboard Galley - right next door.
Really good eats & fuzzy times. . . .
A-Jay
http://starboardgalley.com/
deaknh03 reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 1:49 AM, A-Jay said:
While stationed at the USCG small boat station (1982-85) there on Waters St. I ate many a meal & spent many night at the Starboard Galley - right next door.
Really good eats & fuzzy times. . . .
A-Jay
http://starboardgalley.com/
While I'm sure its a fine place, not sure the wife and I will be going to a sailor hangout.
Sword of the Lord reply :
Not really strange, I guess... But...
I've caught a turtle on a Senko. I've caught several frogs on plastic worms. Just last weekend I was bank fishing and had a green pumpkin trick worm hooked up. It was dangling on about a foot of line while I examined my surroundings. A frog jumped up in the air and attacked it like a ninja and got hooked up.
I've hooked up bluegill on soft plastics as big or bigger than them. I've caught a bluegill on a crankbait before... Except it wasn't even after the bait... The treble hooked it in the back.
A-Jay reply :
On 8/20/2017 at 1:57 AM, deaknh03 said:While I'm sure its a fine place, not sure the wife and I will be going to a sailor hangout.
~ Right out loud on that one - Thanks.
Wasn't actually a recommendation, as I've not been there since.
More of a self-serving walk down memory lane which I'll graciously thank you for.
A-Jay
the reel ess reply :
The ex wife. She wouldn't get off my stringer so I kept her. Ended up throwing her back though.
I've told this story here before, but I was catfishing with hot dogs for bait once and got a bite. I tightened up and started reeling and there was something live on the line. Then it just changed to dead weight. I reeled it up and it was a dead catfish head hooked in the mouth. But it didn't just die, it was rotting. All I can figure is a turtle, or perhaps a bigger cat, had the head already in its mouth and bit my hook.
My ex-monster inlaw was using my Zebco 33 (primary crappie outfit) and somehow managed to throw the entire combo so far off the dock that I couldn't find it. (Tell me that wasn't intentional) A couple years after getting divorced I caught that combo and reeled it up. I cleaned it up and gave it away.
MoBassRaider reply :
My thing seems to be turtles; big, small, doesn't matter if they're there I catch them. No turtles but my latest outing at one of the local bass lakes netted me three small sunfish on a 130 size Whopper Plopper. 
EW6 reply :
I hooked into an eel once throwing a texas rigged plastic up here in Minnesota. That was a surprise.
Gundog reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 8:53 PM, Megastink said:1) computer monitor
2) sock full of change
3) shopping cart
4) goose
5) snapping turtle
6) various articles of clothing/shoes
Fishing in Philly? Surprised you didn't hook a hobo.
HookRz reply :
Condom and bikini top while trolling walleyes on Lake Erie. Both on the same pass!
the reel ess reply :
I forgot this one. My dad and I were fishing a flat one day and he hooked a catfish basket. He reeled the thing up and there was a big turtle and some rotten catfish in it. The turtle thrashed around and soaked us both with disgusting rotten catfish stench as we tried to unhook the basket. The fishing day was over at that point.
Fishing Rhino reply :
When I was a commercial lobsterman, I caught many basking sharks when they got entangled in the ground line of the lobster trawls. Believe me, you do not want to catch them. Also caught sea turtles.
But, the most interesting catch was the mainsail of a Hinckley 42 foot sailing yacht. But wait, there is more. On our next trip, the sail bag for the sail came up draped over a lobster pot.
Leftymuk reply :
I guess I was about 12 or so fishing a local lake for carp using pilsbury dough for bait....on a back cast my line got tangled so the bait ball ended up on the ground somewhere behind me......so just as I get it untangled and start reeling a larger than normal squirrel grabs the dough ball and takes off....out of reaction I try and pull it away only to hook him and tick him off....up the tree he goes with my hook in his mouth....I was able to pull it a few times and get it loose but let me tell you that was one ticked off animal
ohtheguilt reply :
We took my old man's boat out this afternoon near Chattanooga, TN to fish nice little shallow shelf that is known to produce decent bass...and (historically) only bass. I caught a 3-inch long bluegill on a half-ounce rat-l-trap (hooked in the mouth - not sure what he was thinking there) and my dad caught an 8-pound drum on a shallow crankbait. Odd afternoon of unintentional catches.
Jay Dubs reply :
Lordy, fishing rivers in Florida for bass, I have caught pickerel, bowfin, catfish and small bluegill on baits as big as a 6" stickbait. I had a baby gator take a frog bait once, but luckily he didn't get hooked and let go. We were on vacation in Chattanooga, and I wanted to fish the river for smallies. I had a flat sided crank on and hooked what I thought was a log...until it started swimming. Ended up being a big sheepshead. I get the weird and hungry ones, I guess.
IgotWood reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 11:28 AM, A-Jay said:Striped bass fishing in the Merrimac River, Newburyport, Ma, fall of 1980 something - on a dark, cold & windy night.
Hooked something BIG - wasn't fighting much, or at all. Seemed very heavy, like dead weight.
Took forever to get in. Had 2 Buddies helping me. Couldn't imagine what the heck it was, but it was slowly coming in.
It was like a war pulling against the out going tide. Had the flashlights beaming out into the river trying to see what the heck I had.
Finally came close enough to get a glimpse - looked weird. Couldn't tell.
Then someone said jokingly "Hope it's not a body" . . . . . . . .
I started getting a little bummed out but I was too far into this to give up now - I had to know.
Mistake.
It was a big old bloated & very stanky, beheaded deer carcass.
I cut the line and earned a new nickname.
Deer Hunter.
A-Jay
Gross!!!!
IgotWood reply :
Striper fishing on the Housatonic River in Connecticut. We were actually fishing about a boulder field about a mile outside the mouth of the river. Full blown saltwater. It was dark. I was chucking an Atom 40, which essentially is a big 8” wake bait. I hooked up. It felt really weird. It was fighting but it was really slow and sluggish. The tide was running hard and the surf was up. This fish was giving me trouble. I finally drag the fish onto the beach. It was a big channel cat about 25lbs.
Cats arent entirely uncommon on the river. They’re there but only a few sharpies know where to target them. The odd thing is that this fish was caught about 10 miles from where they’re usually caught. He was on a boulder field in about 5’ of water. Strange!
Swbass15 reply :
When I was in high school I somehow managed to catch a mallard on a in-line spinner. The darn thing tried to fly off. Luckily I was able to get it to shore unhook it and the mallard flew off.
Catt reply :
I snagged a body on LAKE Vernon near Leesville Louisiana; it had been under water for 5 days.
NOT A PRETTY Sight ????
Russ E reply :
I was fishing a magnum fluke, when a Heron swooped down and grabbed it.
he pulled some line out then spit the bait. Not sure what I would have done if he would have swallowed the bait.
gnappi reply :
In the last two years (summer 2017 and summer 2018) I've had two alligators take my frog. I've also caught bats fly fishing in the Catskills
NittyGrittyBoy reply :
Alligator eats just as good as bass.
John Walter Sewell reply :
The husband of my wife’s coworker caught a clam with a pearl inside it on the Concho River in downtown San Angelo TX
I thought that was a rare catch.
Logan S reply :
Not strange to see it since the Potomac is loaded with them...But it was very odd to actually catch it, not snagged either.
slonezp reply :
Birds, turtles, bats, mudpuppies, push broom
Gundog reply :
Three pages in and I'm surprised no one said herpes yet!
slonezp reply :
On 12/3/2018 at 10:54 AM, Gundog said:Three pages in and I'm surprised no one said herpes yet!
If someone is catching herpes where they fish, it's time to stick their rod elsewhere
Dr. Watson reply :
While fishing in my kayak a few years back, I was throwing a texas rigged plastic for bass, ended up getting an alligator gar....no thank you.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 12/3/2018 at 1:52 PM, Dr. Watson said:While fishing in my kayak a few years back, I was throwing a texas rigged plastic for bass, ended up getting an alligator gar....no thank you.
Just don't try to lip them, trust me.
Pro Logcatcher reply :
I've caught some weird stuff...
A vacuum cleaner
an umbrella
a snapping turtle on a homemade crankbait (I got a backlash and it was sitting in the water, once I got it out my crank was gone)
a tiny sunfish on a 1 oz jig
an enormous snapping turtle ate a two pound catfish off the stringer once, bent the metal...
And
The bottom, more than fifty times ????
haggard reply :
Fishingmickey reply :
I saw a Heron was mentioned earlier. This spring I caught a great blue heron on a spinner bait. I was beating the bank and the heron flew up from behind some reeds and right into my line. It got tangled in my line just after I had made a cast. I managed to land the heron. Covered it's head with my jacket and untangled & unhooked him. I was in my kayak at the time and didn't know it at the time but one of the other guys fishing the tournament saw me catch the heron. It was joked afterwards at the weigh in on whether or not I should get the big bird award. I've also caught the usual plethora of turtles, clams. A couple rods and reels, one used to be a decent combo (Shimano Curado E50 on a St. Croix rod). I've been meaning to send the reel off to DVT and see if it is salvageable. Last but not least was a gill net (probably 20-30' long) I snagged it on a crank bait. Highly illegal in fresh water here in Texas. I notified the game warden and trashed the net.
Fishingmickey
Dr. Watson reply :
On 12/3/2018 at 4:36 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Just don't try to lip them, trust me.
Ouch.....I had no intention of grabbing him, I left him hooked and paddled to the shore to get more leverage and some help lol
slonezp reply :
On 12/3/2018 at 4:36 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Just don't try to lip them, trust me.
A mere flesh wound
flyfisher reply :
my ex wife
A-Jay reply :
On 12/16/2018 at 4:28 AM, flyfisher said:my ex wife
Stick Bait ?
A-Jay
N Florida Mike reply :
This thing is probably mine. It's some kind of puffer .
Way north bass guy reply :
On 12/16/2018 at 6:17 AM, N Florida Mike said:This thing is probably mine. It's some kind of puffer .
Not many nice places to get ahold of that guy! Looks like a good one for a “pliers only release”.
FishDewd reply :
On 8/18/2017 at 7:44 AM, GrumpyOlPhartte said:7. My own water shoe (containing one foot ... mine)
Man sounds like a bad day when you loose your foot and water shoe all in one! Careful or you'll end up like Chubbs Peterson!
slonezp reply :
Last summer I caught a Natty Light with a pull top on a jerkbait
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 12/16/2018 at 4:15 AM, slonezp said:A mere flesh wound
Pretty sure it either broke a tooth off in the joint of my index finger or it did some kind of damage to it, still hurts to bend it all the way.
N Florida Mike reply :
On 12/16/2018 at 6:20 AM, Way north bass guy said:Not many nice places to get ahold of that guy! Looks like a good one for a “pliers only release”.
You got that right. Hardest fish Ive unhooked in years. Hard even with pliers.
J.Vincent reply :
Many years ago I was casting a Jerkbait on Lake Erie, and I snagged what I thought was a water logged orange life preserver....but when I got the life preserver within 20 feet , the life preserver began swimming....and it actually turned out to be a giant bright orange Goldfish.
Hillbilly Bennett reply :
I caught a mud turtle on a $20 popper out of Guntersville. It destroyed that lure. I also caught a 10+ pound catfish on that popper during that trip too. Anyone else ever catch a catfish on topwater? Blew my mind. I watched my dad catch a beer can and a shoe out of Chickamagua and he caught a 20+ pound Carp that he snagged right in the bung hole while we were trolling for walleye on Dale Hollow. He thought he had the state record on when he was reeling that thing in. Every time it would swing its tail when it was swimming it looked like a massive head shake. Crazy.
Sam reply :
Our club's last tournament of the year this past November on the Historic James River had me nailing a used condom.
I shook it lose and never touched it.
Gross. 
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 12/18/2018 at 4:32 AM, Hillbilly Bennett said:Anyone else ever catch a catfish on topwater?
Lots of them. They love a buzzbait. I catch several every year on them. The worse are when they destroy a frog through the grass, it looks like a state record every time they do it and you can't really tell what it is because they bury in the grass and it isn't until you see them that the giant letdown happens.
soflabasser reply :
On 12/16/2018 at 6:17 AM, N Florida Mike said:This thing is probably mine. It's some kind of puffer .
Yes it is a pufferfish. They are very common in South Florida, especially in the Florida Keys. I have caught huge ones over 12 pounds on live blue crabs as bycatch while fishing for permit.
On 12/18/2018 at 4:32 AM, Hillbilly Bennett said:Anyone else ever catch a catfish on topwater? Blew my mind.
I have caught a couple channel catfish on poppers and channel catfish, bullheads, and other types of exotic catfish on poppers, jerkbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, and jigs.
Hillbilly Bennett reply :
On 12/18/2018 at 1:18 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Lots of them. They love a buzzbait. I catch several every year on them. The worse are when they destroy a frog through the grass, it looks like a state record every time they do it and you can't really tell what it is because they bury in the grass and it isn't until you see them that the giant letdown happens.
Looks like that cat hammered that Cavatron buzzbait. That’s the only cat I’ve ever caught on topwater and I swore that it was “Ol Rufus” himself when it hit it.
slonezp reply :
On 12/18/2018 at 1:18 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Lots of them. They love a buzzbait. I catch several every year on them. The worse are when they destroy a frog through the grass, it looks like a state record every time they do it and you can't really tell what it is because they bury in the grass and it isn't until you see them that the giant letdown happens.
So, you're wearing gloves. What temp are you catching cats on topwater? I catch cats all summer where the bass should be. I catch them in cold water with crappies. Don't fight worth a **** when the water is cold. They roll all the way to the boat.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 12/28/2018 at 12:00 PM, slonezp said:So, you're wearing gloves. What temp are you catching cats on topwater? I catch cats all summer where the bass should be. I catch them in cold water with crappies. Don't fight worth a **** when the water is cold. They roll all the way to the boat.
Those are Guidewear sun protection gloves. It was probably 60-70 degrees out with water temps in the 70s still.
brgbassmaster reply :
Channel cat on a spro frog
MO_TightLines reply :
The two that really stand out for me are:
#1 - I was fishing a Chatterbait on Lake of the Ozarks and had a Drum hit it. I couldn’t even believe his mouth held up for me to get him to the boat.
#2 - I was fishing a river for Smallmouth with a Ned Rig and my Spinning Rod Doubled over and felt like it was going to break. I took it slow and pulled up a HUGE snapping turtle that I had hooked in one of its toes right behind a claw. That was quite a chore getting him off.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 12/16/2018 at 6:20 AM, Way north bass guy said:Not many nice places to get ahold of that guy! Looks like a good one for a “pliers only release”.
One of those things literally ate a small chunk of my thumb.
GonzoFishing reply :
Bass fishing in a local pond with a topwater prop bait I got smashed by a Pacu which after fighting for approx. 30 min ended up weighing 27lbs! An amazing hit in shallow water and a great fight. I'm guessing it was mating or protecting a bed of some sort but it hit this topwater like a truck and with a vengeance!
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 1/18/2019 at 9:47 AM, MO_TightLines said:The two that really stand out for me are:
#1 - I was fishing a Chatterbait on Lake of the Ozarks and had a Drum hit it. I couldn’t even believe his mouth held up for me to get him to the boat.
Drum love bladed jigs. Can't tell you how many I've caught on them. The worse ones are during tournaments because they smash them just like a big bass
I had about a 10lb bright orange koi to the boat today and lost it, actually pretty disappointed about losing it.
redmeansdistortion reply :
This happened to me just a couple months ago. I was fishing the Clinton River, one of my local steelhead and brown trout holes far upstream of Lake St Clair. There's a dam about half way up the river, and I was floating wax worms upstream of the dam. I saw my float go down, set the hook, and thought I had a nice steelhead until I got a visual. The water was a little murky and once I had a visual, saw what looked like a hammer handle. Once I got it to shore, it ended up being a 20" musky. I have no idea how it got to the other side of the dam, as the steelhead have a hard enough time getting over it, but it was pretty surprising to say the least.
BurrStone reply :
I joined the snapping turtle club today. I knew it was big, and alive, but it definitely didn't feel like a fish. As it got to the side of my yak the hook came loose, I think from his front foot. We were both lucky.
Couple of years ago I was night fishing with a jitterbug and an owl tried to take it but I was lucky enough to see it coming and pulled it away.
claya reply :
I caught a belted kingfisher on a topwater last year. Was able to release him safely. A few of them showed up at my local lake over the past couple years. They're way too aggressive towards topwater baits and don't seem to have as discerning of an eye as a seagull.
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