Unexpected Catches

[WVbassin87]

Ever catch something you didn't intend to, maybe on a lure or bait you didn't expect to work? when i was 12 my father took my brother and i wade fishing below a local dam that's a hotspot for bass. having never used lures much, i snatched one of those old spinners that was basically just a blade, a weight, a red bead, and a treble on a piece of wire. i assumed the faster the blade spun, the more it would attract fish, so i started casting downstream to let the current turn the blade. after several unsuccessful casts, i suddenly felt weight on the end of the line. i didn't feel anything fighting, so i assumed it was a stick and dragged it in. to mine and my father's shock it was a 5lb. mudcat. i didn't even know they hit lures.

[Jar11591]

We were on a school of smallies just killing them. I was running a Rapala DT-6 dragging it over a mid lake hump. I felt a hit, set the hook, real it in and what do I find? A 16" walleye hooked through the base of the tail. I have no idea how, but it was hooked so perfectly it was like somebody was down there and put the hooks through the walleyes tail.

[RAMBLER]

It had been a long day and I was trolling a Strike King Bitsy Minnow, hoping for a crappie or bluegill and something hit hard.  After a long battle with an ultralight  rod and 4 lb test line, I landed an eight pound catfish.

[STPC]

Yesterday around 6:30 p.m. I was throwing a t-rigged white Zoom trick worm and on my third cast to the edge of the grass in around 18" - 24" of water when a 3.5 lb. bowfin (we call them blackfish and mudfish around here) nailed it.  Surprisingly my worm was spared the wrath of those nasty teeth and came out unscathed. 

[Bassic Training]

In a dream, I caught a mountain lion. Not sure what that's supposed to mean.

[David D.]

When I was about 8, I was fishing up in Minnesota for smallmouth with my dad when my rod was almost pulled out of my hand. After about 10 minutes I had a 5 lb Northern in the boat. Somehow those teeth didn't cut through the line.

[PondHopper96]

The other day I was pitching a trick worm into some Mats and a 12 pound channel cat smoked my worm!

[TorqueConverter]

I was fishing a Yamamoto Flappin Hog on a shaky head pitching docks and managed to boat a tiger musky pushing 40 inches two weeks ago.  The bite was so soft and the bait was just a little bit heavy as I noticed the line move.  I set the hook and then had a hell of a fight. He decided to chomp off the line and throw himself over the boat and head back home.  Those tigers are mean fish.

[greentrout]

Where I live, we have just had a lot of rain resulting in high water. Today, I fished a flood retention lake of about 25 acres that

holds Largemouth Bass up to 6 pounds. Also, there are many other species. It's wild. That's ok and it's located in a very large

metropolitan city.

 

Pulled out my 3/8 ounce chartreuse large single gold Colorado blade spinner bait  and caught three large Crappies. No Largemouths.

 

That's fishin'...enjoyed the Crappies.

[7mm-08]

My first artificial lures as a kid were Roostertails and I fished with them almost exclusively for years.  I've caught just about anything that can be caught around here on those things.  All the sunfish of course; flathead, channel and mud cats; white/yellow bass.....you name it...  I guess the one that I expected the least was about a 3 or 4 lb. freshwater drum. 

[Megastink]

Here's one for you: fishing the tidal Chesapeake Bay in a club tournament yesterday. Was throwing a strike king rage blade on some riprap. I boat two 4.5lb largies, then proceed to boat FIVE catfish. On a Rage Blade. Are you serious!?!?!?!?

[Oregon Native]

On a monday nite wildcat couple weeks ago caught a 25# drum (had to be...was huge) on a swimbait.  Sure are strong.

[Catch and Grease]

Yesterday I caught a freaky eel looking thing with legs and a tiny mouth in the river! Couldn't get a picture because my phone was dead. I've never had so much trouble getting a hook out of something, that was a strong.. Well a strong whatever it was.

[Nelson Wormefeller]

I have a good one, happened yesterday. I decided to try my luck with a Booyah Pad Crasher (looks like a real frog) over vegetation yesterday. 5th cast I get huge eruption of vegetation, and something on the line. I reel it in and it was the biggest toad I have ever seen.

[FishChaser1]

My first fish ever - I dropped my rod in the water and when I picked it back up there was a 6 inch fish on the hook.

[Choporoz]

On Friday, I caught a 6 inch bluegill on a 5 inch fluke with a 3/0 EWG hook. 

[Scott F]

I've caught a walleye and a lake trout on top waters in the past. Two species not normally known to be surface feeders.

[donewiththis]

I caught a decent little catfish on a 2 inch pogy shad while fishing for longear sunfish! 

[donewiththis]

Here's one for you: fishing the tidal Chesapeake Bay in a club tournament yesterday. Was throwing a strike king rage blade on some riprap. I boat two 4.5lb largies, then proceed to boat FIVE catfish. On a Rage Blade. Are you serious!?!?!?!?

Catfish are crazy! I caught a some of them on bread yesterday and we are having them for dinner lol!

[SCJW]

I caught a gar on a zara spook last year.

 

 

[DILLY07]

Today, I went out fishing at the slough thats connected the Mississippi River. Its considered backwater. I was in this somewhat a cove along alots of cover and grass. I was using a Potomac and Electric Purple jig that I made. My confidence jig. I was standing on the bank, Pitched to a tree thats in the water. I let the jig fall to the bottom and twitched twice. Seen my line, got tight, swan to the left. Hookset it hard, was using my Denali flipping stick. Its loaded with grass. I wanted a rod to hold the fish and grass along. I started reeling fast, the fish tail was slapping the water like a maniac. It appears to be a dogfish aka bowfin. I get mad when I catch them. I weighed the fish, it was whooping 5.5 lber. They get huge here. 

[Catch and Grease]

Today, I went out fishing at the slough thats connected the Mississippi River. Its considered backwater. I was in this somewhat a cove along alots of cover and grass. I was using a Potomac and Electric Purple jig that I made. My confidence jig. I was standing on the bank, Pitched to a tree thats in the water. I let the jig fall to the bottom and twitched twice. Seen my line, got tight, swan to the left. Hookset it hard, was using my Denali flipping stick. Its loaded with grass. I wanted a rod to hold the fish and grass along. I started reeling fast, the fish tail was slapping the water like a maniac. It appears to be a dogfish aka bowfin. I get mad when I catch them. I weighed the fish, it was whooping 5.5 lber. They get huge here.

In the swamp behind the house out here I wade in a foot or so of water and catch big bowfin (mudfish) casting into 1-4 feet of water and its a blast! Man they tear top water frogs to shreads but losing the lure is worth catching the fish because they are a great fight!

[Bluebasser86]

It's always funny to me how folks think catfish are just a slow moving, bottom feeder that eats nothing but dead stuff. I think it's probably because they don't often feed off the surface like other species do. I've caught them on about ever bait imaginable though and have even targeted catfish with lures at times.

14lbs on a baby brush hog pitched under a dock.

Channel cat on a Gulp minnow

22 pounds on a Power Minnow

9 3/4lbs on a crappie jig

40lbs on a jig

14lbs on a Craw Fatty

13lbs on a jig

25 1/4lbs on a jig

11lbs on a shakyhead

12lbs on a shakyhead

9 pound flathead that absolutely CHOKED a bladed jig.

2lbs on a jig

I've caught several on buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, lots on crankbaits, tons of them on bladed jigs, even one on a hollow bodied frog. My buddy caught one on a 7" Triple Trout last year, they're way more predatory than they get credit for.