Accidental Catches

[FrankW]

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

 

Frank

 

 

 

[Jd_Phillips_Fishin]

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

[Bassintheweeds]

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

 

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

[fishva]

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

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

[Cast_And_Blast]

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

[jdl2425]

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

[gripnrip]

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

It was Hackney.

[geo g]

I have had several weird catches over the years. 

 

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

 

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

 

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

[Arv]

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

[skeetercraig]

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

[Lucas Li]

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

 

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

 

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

[RipSomeLips]

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

 

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

 

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

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

[RipSomeLips]

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

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

[Lucas Li]

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

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

[Chance_Taker4]

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

 

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

[JLeon77]

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

[basscatcher8]

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

[bigbill]

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

[ostate_hayes]

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

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

[Nuffsaid23]

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

[OntarioFishingGuy]

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

[fadetoblack21]

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

 

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

[Josh Smith]

Hi All,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

The water was warm, and that fish was fighting.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Josh

[Kevin22]

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

 

Piranha out of a city park. 

 

Those have to be my top 2. 

[mcgreggor57]

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