Whats your strangest catch?

[sdjrobs]

Just a little tread to keep us kicking until open water comes our way.
I was fishing the Minnesota river with my brother years ago and he said he was catching eyes around a small creek around dark. So we got our crawlers and headed down to the river. We sat there til dark and then I had one...a monster! After about 10 minutes it came to shore spashing around. We couldn't see very well and there were a couple of "what the ##### is that"? Well we got it up on shore and it was a three foot sturgeon! I don't know what kind of sturgeon but it was rust color and ugly! After getting the hook out of it's mouth we let it go. I guess it's not too stange but it's my strangest catch. Post yours and let's see if we can get some laughs.

[Skeeter]

My second wife! The devil made me say it. Well its the first thing that came to my mind. ha

[WAZ]

Jigging for walleye on a cold feb day felt the tell-tail dead weight on my jig in about 15ft of water on the fox river in IL. set the hoook and thought I had a small eye, get it to the boat it was a foot long frog. Must have weighed almost 1 1/2 pounds.

[Reels]

A seagull that came down and ate my topwater bait! Darn thing took off flying with the lure in its mouth, tried to yank the bait out, sent the bird flying in the water, then he took off flying again!

Finally got this thing in the boat,, trying to grab this flopping thing was a task, feathers everywere, looking for the needle nose, finally got it out and took a pic, then released.

<{{}}><

[TBO/MN]

Fishing the Mighty Mississippi, pool 4, just south of Lake City, MN. MWC tourney Sept. 2000.......Vertical jigging a sand point drop off, with a rather fast moving current, using a 1/2 once jig/powerbait, and a 4 inch fathead minnow. We were in about 12 ft. of water and I got smacked, WOW! heavy fish, heart starts pounding, and Spiderwire starts stripping from the reel, so I held firm, loosened the drag a bit, and waited for him to slow down, I thought walleye, but figured sturgeon in stead, nope......played it for a few minutes....got it to the boat and found a 34 inch Gar......the most ugly fish I have ever caught..but what a fighter....

Gotta love that river.

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[s.f.]

a bra, a pamper (diaper), a 10 inch LIVE walleye in a ziplock back (open and full of water), a loon that dove down 38ft. to eat my chub,
a filleted walleye skeleton....
#49

[OLETOM]

A friend and I were walleye fishing the wisconsin River near Sauk Prairie and he caught about a 14lb paddle fish. Another friend of mine caught on near la Crossse that same year that would probably been a lien record for a paddle fish (6lb test) and that one we though was around 30lbs. If I remember right it was over 50" long with the paddle...it took him an hour to land the fish. Hooked it up near the dam and landed it below the I-90 bridge.

[perchjerker]

Dont really know if this would qualify as strange, but...

Fishing the Trenton channel a few years back in the spring in the usual circus. Hooked into something that came up slowly but didnt fight. I thought, ahh Hoffa's body at last!!! Then when it got close to the surface we could see it was a huge musky! As soon as he saw the net, all he11 broke loose!! After about 15 minutes, we tired him out enough to get him along side the boat to unhook him and try to measure him, he was about 41" long. We let him go. The funny thing was we had my friends old (probably 80) neighbor along who is a seasoned river rat and he didnt even bat an eyelash at the thing. It was nothing but a bother to him! He cracked me up. Wouldnt even get out of his seat to look at the thing! I will never forget that one. Wish I had the camera that day.

[carrocr]

I've caught a few spoonbill and sturgeon up there myself. The weirdest though was feeling my jig graze something really big, then having a little weight on the line. Bring it up, and I had snagged and ripped a 12" Lamprey eel off of one of the spoonbills.

Also, out with the pops i caught a Bowfin(dogfish). Neither of us had ever seen one before this point, and were amazed by it. Now they seem to take a liking to my bucktails while musky fishing.

[TBO/MN]

I caught a large carp with a lamprey on it. The lamprey was another ugly critter caught in the Mississippi.........love that river. "Goes to show ya, Ya jus never know"
Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[gilman]

My oldest son and I were fishing in Norhtern Wisconsin last summer. I was 5 minutes into a fight with a Northern that was about 30" when my son said to me "dad I have bottom.....but i think its moving". We were drifting down wind at a brisk pace so I set my rod down and eventually helped him net a 27" eye, his biggest ever. After a few seconds of congratulations I picked my rod up to real the Northern in the last 25' when out of the sky drops an eagle onto the Northern. After about 6 flaps of his wings he was airborn and flew off with the fish. The lure fell out as he flew off. He flew to a dead pine tree on shore and ate his catch while we watched in awe.

[cassey]

A scaleless carp on a crank bait on Banks Lake, in Washington State. I am sure I snag it by accident, but the hook was in it's mouth. At first glance I thought I had the state record for a Smallmouth. Then I got it up closer and my parnter just laughed. OOPS

[FJH1]

A diaper (never know what you'll dredge up on the Illinois River), several tennis shoes, one pair of Harry Cary sunglasses, several hats, lots of lures... In terms of odd fish caught while walleye fishing: eelpout, sturgeon, bowfin (trolling) and way too many carp.

Best Regards,

FJH

[Goldpig]

Nice big mallard!

[Bill R]

I was prefishing a tournament at Little Bay de Noc using a jigging spoon in about 20 feet of water. I felt the thump and set the hook. I could tell it was a really heavy fish and thought for sure it was a big walleye. It came up to the top pretty easy and then took off with me chasing it with the bow mount. After about 10 to 15 minutes I landed about a 30 pound salmon, no stamp so I had to let it go.

[Steve(CO)]

In northern Ontario last June, while jigging 45' of water for lakers, I brought in a 28", ugly, slimy, semi eel-like creature that I identified only because of my In-Fisherman subscription. You northerners will recognize that guy with the barbel on its chin as a burbot or eelpout. Another VERY ugly catch was a big ling cod while fishing for halibut out of Seward, Alaska. Neither truly unusual catches, but were notable for me.

[Craig B]

Years ago, fishing with my dad, late at night on the Great Miami, near Piqua, I had a hit on a softcraw, something very heavy, after about 15 minutes it was right under the small johnboat we were in and started to come up, all I could see was a large tail and two hind feet paddling for the bottom. It turned out to be a very large snapping turtle, about 20 pounds or so, hooked in the tail, naturally my dad decided to grab it by the tail and throw it in the boat, bad mistake, there is nothing more scary than to have one very large, very mad snapper in a ten foot johnboat, heading straight for you. You can guess the rest, we all got wet, and never saw that turtle again.

[157]

Caught my buddy's cheek (face) with a treble once

Also was pulling in a small eye in Ontario when a huge northern ate the walleye right next to my boat. Two fish on one cast.

157

[fishinnut]

A 3lb. northern stuck inside a six pack ring. It had been around the fish for some time as the pike was deformed. Caught on LOTW. Caught a5lb LMB on a musky Jitterbug. The bass had the leader end of a snelled hook hanging from its vent. It must have been there for some time as it had algae growing on it. Both hit lures and appeared healthy.

[ginamaria]

While dragging a crawler across the botttlm of a river on base at Ft Stewart Ga. I hooked something that fought like bulldog. It took me 10 minute to get it to shore my rod was bent nearly to the breaking point. Then it cane flying out of the water and nearly hit me in the face. At first I thought it was a snake then realized it was a 3ft American eel. It must have been tangled in some snag and freed up at the last second. I got Bowfin down there too and they are downright prehistoric looking. Ive also gotten snappers, frogs, crayfish, and snagged snails, And who on Leke Erie hasn't caught there share of Zebras

[Pitts]

Fishing a small lake my nephew said he had something so he proceeded to reel it in but was not strong enough to do so. After about 10 min or so of him struggling to reel in I took the pole and figured out he had something that was not fighting back so I tightened the drag and had him reel it up it was a 10lb round rock the trebles from the shadrap had hooked into really thick algea on it's surface.


Pitts

[flyman]

I had the same thing happen to me. I saw the bird coming. I thought to myself "it is looking at my bait". It was just so odd that I didn't think of pulling the topwater away until it was too late. Luckily, I did not hook the bird and the bait came loose after I tugged it. Since then I keep an eye on those gulls and have had to pull my lure before they could strike a few times.

[flyman]

Was "hopping" soft plastics over lillypads in Ontario for pike. We noticed something "following" my bait. I'd move the bait once, it would move 3 times. Quickly realized they were frogs. At first, I thought mating season. But, one ate my soft plastic. I lifted him in the air at the boat. He opened his mouth and fell back into the water. I could have caught more that day, but didn't see the point in it.

[BigJohn]

My dad and best friend and I were fishing at night on the face of the Garrison dam. Using spoons for walleye and sauger. I hooked on to something big and fought it for 15 minutes without being able to get a look. Gave the rod to my buddy and he fought it for another 15 minutes. We thought we had the biggest pike in the lake on. Finally got it close enough to shine a flashlight on it and was surprized to see I had snagged a beaver. It's mate was swimming right along next to it. We cut the line and they swam off. What a fight. Biggest ##### beaver I ever saw.

[VeeDee]

Crabs

[hgmeyer]

Well...fishing a small lake in Northern Wisconsin...drifting slip bobbers over some sand humps...not once, but twice...I caught a live clam on a leech...talk about sensitive hands... (LOL)

[sdjrobs]

Keep them coming!

[scooter]

A bra and panties on the Rainy River.100LB + Paddle fish on the Wisconsin at Sauk it was almost half the length of a 16'boat.Lassooed a Sturgeon at the Wisc.Dells, it must have rolled on my jig and the hook caught on the line to the rod makeing a noose it was about 30".
A brand new Shimano rod and reel with about a 8lb catfish still draging it around at the Petenwell flowage during a W.W.A tourney.
The worst was a angry muskrat snagged in the butt while night trolling Pewaukee Lake that was not fun.I thought I had hooked a tree limb or something till it started splashing and hissing.What a pain in the butt for both of us.

[MIKE]

Like a couple before me, I caught a stugeon. While jigging for walleyes on the north channel of the St. Clair river. At first I didn't know if it was a big channel cat or maybe a salmon.It was 48" and about 30 lbs.

Also did catch a seagull too! Brought him down to the side of the boat and grabbed the needle-nose to remove the hook from his beak. Proceeded to try to get the hook out but it would squack and trhash about. So in a stern voice I told it either let me take the lure out peacefully and quickly or else. But one way or another I will get my lure back. So I tried again and it just sat perfectly still while I got the one hook out of its beak. Then he flew off. Must have understood english.

[The Guide]

Was pulling bottom bouncers and hook into something felt kinda weird, got it up and was a clam. Evidentling was open and clamped down on the worm harness.
><> :) ><>

[Wiley Walleye]

I have about 10 good stories but I'll share my sons. Slow day Lake Erie, he is 14yrs old and always hungry. Fish are not hitting,so he eats. I say, Chris you notice your pole has just been polled over the side of the boat. He looks and says yeah. He goes over takes his shoes off and dives into the water. Swims down about seven feet and grabs his rod. Hands me the pole. Swims around the back of the boat and climbes in and grabs his pole and reels in a 5 lb. WALLEYE. Not bad for a slow day.

[mnjimcarp]

nearly the wildest catch one could ever imagine... i was fishing one day down on the river.......
at the end of the day i was sitting along the bank with a nice fire burning. it was a great end to a fun day. a guy came walking along and decided to join my dog and i near the nice fire. he said, "it was a fun day." he also said that he caught a 14 pound walleye. i reacted by simply saying, that isn't too bad. i also asked the guy, "do you see my lantern hanging over there?", he says "yeah". i proceed to tell him that it was burning just as bright when i caught it that day on a crank bait while fishing the river. he replies with amazement and says - "wait a minute, the lantern was burning when you caught it?" i said, yeah...
well, not to outdone with his alleged 14 pound walleye story, he says,"I'll tell you what, i will take 4 pounds off the walleye i caught today if you turn out the light on the lantern!

[TK_551]

I have caught numerous mudpuppies on Lindy Rigs with a floater below the Dells Dam. I also had a pretty good fight with a lawn chair that I caught about 10 miles up river from there. Hard to tell it was a chair with the current and all. Got a good laugh from that one. Caught a reel handle once as well.

Tom
#551

[FROGMAN]

Well as a young boy growing up in Florida back in the 60's we spent a lot of time on the Gulf of Mexico camping, shrimping, and fishing. The strangest thing I ever caught down there was a foul-hooked Manta Ray. We had it hooked on the one heavy rod that my dad owned. All we had back then was a 14' "Florida Jon", one of the real narrow, and shallow kind to fish out of. Well that thing towed us around the Gulf area for about an hour until we finally saw what it was and cut the line. Also had a friend of my dad's out with us one time that caught a shark, not too unusual, but the rest of the story is that the shark ended up in the front of the jon-boat with me!. That 5' shark demolished the guys tackle box but good! LOL

On the Detroit River one year during a tourney caught what I thought was a small eel, until I realized it was a black condom. First one of those I have ever caught, and hopefully the last! LOL
Tight lines

Keith Segar
NPAA #260

[Water Dog]

14 LB downrigger ball and 60 ft of cable off St Joseph ,Mi
A 12 inch white condom off St Joseph ,Mi
A sail boat sailer with a PETA shirt off Saugatuck ,Mi (THRU HIM BACK)

[Wallygetter]

We were three waying with crankbaits when I had a jolting hit on my rod, didn't know what is was right away but whatever it was it was huge, and from time to time felt like a large fish of some type. Finally got it up to the boat and it was a large burlap bag tied at the top with all the weight on the bottom end, I had snagged the bag up front by the area where it was tied. Well we pulled it into the boat and the smell was really, really bad, we quick cut it open to find some chicken heads and a calf head.We could only think that someone had put this out to attract bullheads and catfish to this area, I can still smell this awful mess everytime I think about it, now thats what you call a real foul catch.

[Wallygetter]

We were three waying with some crankbaits when my rod had an awful jolting hit on it. I grabbed the rod and did not know what it was right away, but it was huge. It was really heavy and felt like a large fish of some kind from time to time. We put the boat in reverse and backed up to the area where the huge "fish" was. Down in about 12 ft. of water was this big brown thing laying on the bottom. I knew my line alone wasen't going to allow us to land our whatever it was so we tied on two dare devils to two more rods and drug it toward shore so we could get a better look. It was a burlap bag, we got into about four ft.of water and my friend jumped in and was able to grab a hold of it.He threw it into the boat and we started gagging, the smell was horrific. We didn't want to but had to cut the bag open to see what was inside, we found several chicken heads and a small calf head. We figured some one had put it out there to attract bullheads,catfish. Now that is what you call one foul catch.

[Atomic Eye]

A 10# anchor off of Governor's Island on Lake Mendota while I was in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin. I snagged the very end of a broken off anchor rope about a foot below the water's surface and reached deep into the water & managed to get it off the bottom.

On former responses, let's start a new thread. How did SF's (#5 response)& #27's bra & panties get into the water? What's your creative story on this? But, we need to keep it clean and non-sexist!!

I'll start - "New promotional scheme by Victoria's Secret after last year's Super Bowl commercial gave them an idea to promote jigging instead of jiggling."

Atomic Eye -- "Gone Fission!"

[rick]

2 years ago at Pierre, my daughter caught a perch with mono wrapped around it, pulled the mono in, and found a small eye on the end, very much alive!

[Mike]

I was trolling in shallow water on Winnebago with a 10 year old when all of a sudden all 6 of my boards went backwards. The first 5 we pulled in had walleyes from 15-21 inches. The sixth had a rope with an anchor. I will always wonder if we had not hooked the rope, would I be able to say I had 6 walleyes on at one time. The way it went it was a real Chinese fire drill, but one we will both remember forever.

MIke

[gremlin266]

Fishing crooked lake my buddy caught someones minnow trap. I caught a piece of drift wood that looked exactly like a moose (horns & all). Once speared a 6lb northern with a Bomber A stuck near one of the pec fins.

[bluelund]

Was pulling cranks behind downriggers one day on Lake of the Woods when both the rods on the transom tripped. Looked like a double, I grabbed one rod and my brother from New Mexico grabbed the other. Both fish felt heavy and first one would do the classic walleye head shake and then the other would. We fought them for about 10 minutes with my sister in law ready to net which ever one surfaced first. Finally got them up and found out we were each reeling in one end of an eight foot long log. When one of us would pump the rod to gain line the other would feel the log move thus accounting for the head shakes. Had a good laugh and hauled it back to shore so no one else would catch it or hit it with a prop. Was surprised it didn't have any tackle attached though.

Take care and good fishing,

Bob M

[chadk66]

I was fishing over top of an old railroad bed one time. I felt a little the rod go heavy and set the hook and reeled in a railroad spike. I couldn't believe it. The hook just set into the head in the rust and I was able to real it in.

[RickTK]

I actually "caught" a rock, it had some sort of aquatic invertebrate casing on it's side and the hook of my Lindy rig dug into it. I've seen a turtle caught,a frog, almost a seagull, a beverage can,line with lures attached,and line with dead fish attached.

[ANXIOUS]

when i was a young kid fishing with my dad up on leech lake off of ottertail point i snagged an old dead decaying sucker fish and it still had a hook in it's mouth with line attached,so we pulled on it and brought up an ol'musky pole with an old penn bait caster.

[Tommy]

I heard of a guy who caught a snow shovel by the handle, and every time he would start to get it up it would flutter back down, and really felt like something alive. Kept telling his wife to get the net ready, that he had a real monster on!

[Anonymous]

Please, do not try the following. I was a teenager and the adults didn't do their job in correcting my behavior.

Up on Lake of the Woods and made a shore lunch. After lunch we tied up the fish guts into a ball and wrapped fishing line around it (no hook). We cast the ball out and would wait for a Seagull to pick it up. We would let the line free-spool for awhile and then set the hook - so to speak. The gull would get yanked a little and drop it. the other Seagulls would go nuts picking it up and getting it yanked out. It got to the point where a couple of times it would get caught in the air as it was yanked from one - only to get yanked again.

It was a hoot for a teenager.

Another time I was fishing off a bridge in northern MN when this loon went for my jig/rainbow. I yanked it away before he could grab it. He went after it about three times before leaving the area. Boy. that would be a heck of a fight. It is amazing the power and grace they have under the water.

[Backwater Eddy]

HA!!....Funny Keith!!

:D

I had the same thing happen to me last year, twice!

We were fishing below a large dam when they pulled the gates open wide and tons of trash came our way and the thingy ended up on the ancore rope that time. Although I believe that ell looked more glow in the dark green to me?

The other time a client snagged it, that was funny as heck! We thought it best to C&R that critter too.

Someone is haveing a lot of fun fishing the Red I would say?

It's good to always carry a pair of pliers, if for no other reason then if that happens to you!

LOL!!

:)

Backwater Eddy ~ ~ ~><sUMo> ~ ><>

http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/home.html

[Peluso]

While fishing with my father back in the early 80's on the Missouri River near Bismarck I snagged onto something. I told Dad it was moving some but it wasn't a fish. He said he could see something on the paper gragh but couldn't make it out. I kept trying to break my line but it wouldn't break. So Dad said hold on and I will back the boat up for you. Just as we started to head up stream something gave and I was reeling it in. It was still pretty heavy but I managed to get it to the boat. We couldn't figure out what it was? It was shaped like a U. We kept it in the boat that night and brought it home. Dad hung it on the garage wall and said he would asked around to figure out what this U shaped thing was. Well, about a week later one of Dads good friends came over and looked at it and said it was the hoop from an old horse wagon. He asked where we had snagged on to it and Dad told him the where abouts. It turns out it was an old burned wagon that had disapeared into the river many many years ago and at one time they had dive teams looking for it but never found it. They believe the hoop I hooked was part of it. We did bring some divers to the area some time later but the sand had covered it up again. Pretty cool stuff! Good fishing and don't forget to shoot the puck. Mike Peluso #999

[s.f.]

this "catch" story doesn't involve me directly, but the catching was done by a friend(s) of mine.
these guys, a couple doctors and lawyers and a car dealer, rented a houseboat on rainy lake. they hired a couple young indian guides to come along. they dragged some fishing boats behind the houseboat.
one early morning, one of the guys got up first and decided to cast for notherns off the back of the houseboat, which was beached in a little, weedy cove type bay, for the night. one of the young indian boys heard him and walked out and approached him from behind. sure enough...the guy swung the daredeville back to cast and hooked the boy right in the nostrils. well...the rest of the gang got up at that point, you might guess, too. now, the closest hospital is thirty miles by water at international falls. but before they took off to treat this kid beyond what the onboard docs could do, they strung him up by his feet from the clothes line pole on the houseboat and the guy posed for pictures as in the marlin type scenario. lol
of course, these guys were charged with crimes of sorts and banned from canada fishing waters and also paid stiff fines to the ministry.
i saw the pictures and the story is told in the book (fellegy authored) "minnesota classical fishing stories".

takes all kinds! #49

[pete]

Years ago I was fishing on a small pond called Buck Pond in upstate NY.This guys gets out of his house,walks across the street and asks me what am I fishing for,I tell him bass and he says he can't believe the bass are still here.As we are conversing to one another,my black Jitterbug is hanging from my popping rod about 6' or so from the water and this 2 lb. bass leaps out of the water and grabs it.We were stunned but he did become a believer.