Funniest personal fishing story

[N Florida Mike]

We had something along these lines a few years ago, but it didnt go very far as I recall.

Tell us your funniest fishing story that happened to you. 

[CroakHunter]

3 tournaments in a row I got attacked by a bumble bee the size of a pterodactyl, each time I tried to swat it with my hat or with my hand. My hat and sunglasses ended up in the lake 3 tournaments in a row.

We live in a VERY rural area (hick town, 2 stop lights, gotta drive 20 minutes to get socks). We were out bowfishing one night when the river was flooded. There were 3 of us. After we left our first spot and were driving down the road, we could tell the trailer was pulling funny and the boat seemed to be leaning to one side. The leaf spring for the trailer had busted and the tire was rubbing the boat. We didnt know what to do as we couldn't fit the 16ft boat in the back of the shortbed chevy we were in, even if we could have picked it up. We walked around and eventually found a perfectly sized log and jammed in between the frame and the boards of the trailer to make a leaf spring. We drove 15 miles to the closest property us 3 owned and finished the night bowfishing off the bank. 

Another time we were going down the bank chucking a spinnerbait. I broke off down at the reel after a small fish bit. A few casts later my friend says I got one, but its fighting weird. He had one alright, he had caught his spinnerbait in the line that I had just broken off and it still had the small bass on the other end. 

 

[lonnie g]

so excited  to go fishing one evening last summer, one of those evenings you just get that feeling your gonna catch fish. I was going to a small lake back off the road aways. so I load my small row boat on a trailer put the four wheeler on the trailer to pull the boat back to the water. picked out the rods and baits I wanted to use, got me some snacks ,a cold drink, and on my way!. really getting excited now , man I could just feel it. unload everything drag the boat thru the brush and weeds to the water. get everything set shove off take a cold drink, then noticed  NO OARS!?WHAT!!!  did not want to retrace my steps and drive back to get them loosing another 30 minutes of daylight. thinking "man" what am I going to do I really want to fish. look for a flat stick, find none. the thought? "?" ill use one of my bait boxes!!, doesn't move the boat around very fast but it worked. I even managed to catch a half dozen or so bass. glad no one had a camera, can't even imagine what I might of looked like. man sitting in little 8' row boat, 5 rods a small cooler rowing with a plastic box. what we won't do to catch a fish 

[N Florida Mike]

This is a long one. My wife and me made plans to take the kids camping and fishing at a remote lake in the Ocala National Forest. She was taking the kids early to a swimming hole at a spring on the way there. I was going to meet them at the spring after work, and we would all go to the lake together. So I get off work , load up , and head south. I decided to stop at a bait store  in the last big town before the forest. I come out of the bait store, turn the key, and nothing happens. Dead battery. So I get 2 different people to try and jump it and its not working. So about that time an OLD F-150 pulls up and the owner gets out and its evident he is very drunk. He sees my plight and is sure he can jump start my truck. He could not. So he says he'll show me where the closest parts store is , if I'll drive. So we get in the truck and it doesnt take long for me to realize that, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst , the brakes were a 1.5. I would have to bow up in the seat, and put all my weight down to get it to stop. 

So we make it to the parts store, and its the girls first day on the job. And theres about 100 batteries on display. The manager comes out and gets me the battery and I put it in the back of the truck, get in, turn the key.... And nothing happens. So we had left his jumper cables back at my truck. We go back in and convince the manager to come jump us off .His truck starts, and we head back to the bait store, and I put the new battery in. 

But the old drunks battery wont start again...

So Now I try jumping his battery off with my new battery but its no use...

So now he wants me to take him back to the parts store to get HIM a new battery. I glanced at my watch, and realized I was now very late for my rendevous with my family, so... I know it was probably wrong but....I bailed on my alcohol induced friend. I may have offered to take him home minus the truck, I dont remember. But I was genuinely worried about my family, because I thought they would be lost in the woods, wife would be mad, etc. I doubt that he remembered anything the next day anyway. And me getting him a new battery would have caused him to drive drunk.

So I go as fast as I can to the spring, and everybodies gone, and its getting dark. Im still 20 miles from the lake, or 60 miles from home. Was not sure my wife knew where the lake was so I had to decide to go on to the lake or turn around and go home. No cell phones in those days .Decided to go to the lake. I get there, and Im driving around the lake looking for them. No campfire visible. Im careening down the dirt road through the palmettos and my middle son jumps out  and flags me down. The next day we got up, and went fishing as planned, and it was HOT. Ice had melted in the cooler, but was still pretty cool. We all had a drink, but before long we were all searching for our own private palmetto, because we now had the runs from the water.

I dont remember if we caught any fish or not....

[haggard]

First season on the water, just a couple years ago, with Boat 1.0, a 60's Starcraft with a '76 Evinrude 15hp. Got it on the lake early that morning, anchored down in about 30 ft of water and fished (got nothing) and when ready to move I couldn't get the anchor up. Line must have knotted up through the bow eye which I couldn't reach. Climbing over the windshield onto the slippery deck was a recipe for landing in the water (I was solo) so finally had to let the anchor go. It was early, so I moved on.

 

Found a new spot and dropped wife's GoPro into the water on a long line to get some underwater footage while I fished. Wind started picking up and the boat was drifting fast towards shore. Tried to start the motor but it wouldn't. Tried to pull the motor up but it was resisting, couldn't figure out why. Winds were now about 15-20 mph and pushed me right into shore where I jumped out and kept the boat from grounding.

 

That's when I see the GoPro line wrapped around the prop. This is what happens when you forget to pull in the camera before motoring on. Got it untangled from the prop but for some reason couldn't pull it in by the string, so decided to toss the string to the other side of the boat, swing the boat around and pick up the line. Problem was I couldn't find it. Went up and down the bank a bit, while holding the boat in the wind, while trying to find the camera or its tether. By some miracle, did.

 

Camera recovered, motored back out into the chop and found one very nice bass. Keep in mind a nice bass for me is probably a dink for you all but I was very happy with this one. Wind was getting worse so time to cross the lake and get back to the launch. It was a challenging trip in the 16 footer but got there.

 

Headed back to camp at dusk, backed the truck into the site and went to remove the rods from the upright holders, which is when I saw the line heading back towards the truck. Followed it back to the tailgate, with the rod, reeling in line as I went. Now it's getting dark. And it's raining. Followed the line under the truck past the rear axle, to the front, then down the driveway, continued reeling. Soaking wet now. Surely the end of the line was nearby. But no, it took a turn and I followed it back down the road, past several houses, and finally found the lure snagged in a tree.

 

Walked back to camp, now wet and hungry, figured I'd put the rods in the camper on site before heading to the local pub for dinner, which would have been a great plan.

 

Had I not left the keys to the camper at home.

 

Went to the pub, had a great dinner, then slept in the shed on a cot made from a ladder topped with whatever wooden boards I could find in said shed.

 

That one bass made me work for it and it was totally worth it. So far, haven't had a bad day camping and fishing.

 

[Oregon Native]

First story that comes to mind was that in my younger more desperate days to get on the water with buddy's we would do anything.  There was a big pond with an old boat that had no back to it.  It was about a 12 footer and we found that if we sat near the front and didn't move much the back would stay out of the water and with one of us paddling in front we could fish off shore....we caught fish....was great.

[deadadrift89]

Many many years ago(before we all carried cell phones) we lived in Florida, I put boat in and wife stayed with it at dock while I parked truck. Ramp was huge and parking was way down road, by the time I got back boat was half full of water and wife was siting relaxing on dock with a beer. I asked her why didn't you come get me or something? She replied "I knew you were coming back this way eventually and at least I pulled it up on ramp so it wouldn't sink completely" ?? 

[N Florida Mike]

10 hours ago, Oregon Native said:

First story that comes to mind was that in my younger more desperate days to get on the water with buddy's we would do anything.  There was a big pond with an old boat that had no back to it.  It was about a 12 footer and we found that if we sat near the front and didn't move much the back would stay out of the water and with one of us paddling in front we could fish off shore....we caught fish....was great.

My first "boat" was an inflatable raft. It was impossible to control with any wind at all. You mostly just went around in circles in it.

It got a little hole in it and would start sinking. Tried duct taping it . ? Sometimes I waited too long  to put air in it and it WOULD sink. 

It just got to be too much after awhile and I started using my friends JB.

[The Dread Pirate Fisherman]

Fishing my favorite lake last year using one of my favorite crank baits that happens to be discontinued I hooked into something large and started the retrieve. Then to my shock the line broke. I was upset to say the least and as I was cursing I look up and a eagle flies over and begins circling the same spot I had just lost one of my favorite crank baits. Thinking the worst oh no don't go after that fish you will get hooked I yell Noooo! Just then I look on the bank and a big deer begins making his way towards me. To my surprise he keeps coming closer and he gets within 10ft of my canoe then passes and bounds up the bank. Shortly after I tie on another crank bait and catch this tiny yellow perch LOL See pic. Sometimes it's not about the fish but it's about the wildlife and scenery.  

[Sam]

Told this story before, but here it goes again.

 

Prefishing a club tournament on the Historic James River out of Osborne Landing when we went down the river's bank just east of Dutch Gap and my buddy hooked something big.

 

Now I have to tell you that where we were fishing is where the Fort Lee guys to go have fun on the river and do some bank fishing. No one was around when my friend hooked that monster.

 

Well, he huffed and puffed and the fish would not come off the bottom. So he hunted in his boat compartments for the bait knocker, put it on his line, and let it go. The bait knocker screamed down his line to where the fish was holding and my friend pulled on the knocker's rope to move it around.

 

Oops. The rope was not tied to the knocker so he lost it. All he could do was look at the end of the rope where he was supposed to have tied it on the bait knocker and frown. That started me laughing.

 

He got so mad at that big fish that he started pulling on his rod and yanking and cussing and yelling at the water for that fish to come up when all of a sudden, the fish gave way and headed up towards the boat.

 

When the fish got to the boat it turned out to be a military boot and I am laughing at him and his antics. But when I see the boot being brought into the boat I just lost it and went into hysterics.

 

So there is my friend, sitting between the seats, with a boot covered in mud at his feet and I said, "look inside of it to see if you can find your lure knocker."  And he does. He takes a look into the mud in the boot and then looks up at me and says "it ain't there." It was at this time I almost fell out of the boat laughing.

 

I then suggested he throw his finesse set up back where he caught the boot to see if he could find its mate.

 

He just looked and scowled at me and we just floated along the bank continuing our prefishing activities like nothing happened, except for me bursting out in laughter from time to time.

 

To this day he denies that it happened and refuses to talk about it. I still laugh when I remember his facial expressions; his fighting that boot on the bottom; and the look on his face when he pulled up the bait knocker's rope without the knocker.

[the reel ess]

I got a gift card to Lowe's several Christmases ago. When I went to spend it they didn't have anything I wanted (go figure). So I put some money with it and bought my daughter a kayak and surprised her. She was 9, I think. So we go out a few times and she says I fish too hard and long. Last time we went, we launch and I'm slowly paddling along trying to fish when she starts beating the inside of her kayak with the paddle. I said, "Are you trying to ensure I don't catch a single fish?" She said, "But there's a spider in my kayak."

 

I've told this story many times on here. My dad, his buddy and I were trolling along the bank and came across a guy in a bass boat. He told us to leave this particular spot alone because he had a tourney the next day and it was a good one. He left and we caught all we could off it. We came back later and did it again.

 

My best friend isn't much into fishing but he's incredibly competitive. We went once and he caught a nice 4 pounder about halfway around the reservoir. He sat down in my back seat and talked smack to me the rest of the way, texting pics of it to everybody he knows and drinking beer. He was satisfied just to beat me. I caught one bigger right at the boat ramp. I told him to let that be a lesson. You can't outfish me without a hook in the water.

[the reel ess]

My dad had a pontoon boat we used to crappie fishing. After losing a few anchors to the brushpiles, we took to using cinder blocks. If you lose one, you're out less than a buck. We got ready to leave a spot and took off, but the pontoon just didn't seem to have any power. My dad said he was worried something was wrong so we chugged back to the dock to check it out. Got close and felt the anchor dragging along. We forgot to pull it up.

 

My dad and I were out in my F&S and got ready to move to another spot. Turned the key and nothing. Not even a click. I checked the battery connections and they seemed fine. There was a guy near enough to see what was happening and gave us a tow back to the dock. I worried over the boat for about 6 months and was just about to take it to a mechanic. My dad called me up one night and asked me if I'd checked the kill switch. ? That's what it was. I didn't suspect it because I wasn't wearing the cord and it had never happened before.

[schplurg]

I've barely been fishing a year so I don't have many stories. BUT a few days ago I got a jerkbait stuck in a small offshore "tree" and I put a lot effort into getting the stupid $4 hunk o' plastic back, including chucking a bunch of rocks at it.

 

Oh ya and I have it on video so you don't even have to read it! I don't know how to embed videos here, so here is a Youtube link.

 

I'm not making money off my little channel so not trying to spam. The whole video is just me fighting with this lure, except maybe the first 60 seconds of it.

 

(7:34 video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q71GGKtgHxY&t=3s

 

Oh ya, my new Lady President reel is also seen in the video - if anyone saw my thread about that. It's pink but it's a d**n nice reel!

[Johnbt]

Not about me, but I was there about 5 feet away. About 30 years ago I was with my fishing buddies on the end of the Virginia Beach pier casting live spot for cobia. The end of the pier has a wide T and we were shoulder to shoulder with all sorts of guys. Underhand casting with fairly short boat rods was required.

 

Behind us were some built-in benches and there were plenty of spectators, wives, kids, etc.

 

After a couple of hours this old guy (probably younger than I am now) made his underhanded cast and tossed the entire outfit in the ocean... Not a word was said. People were turning blue trying to stifle a laugh or comment. There were workers from Newport News Shipbuilding, government workers, my buddy the loudmouth lawyer, and not a word was said.

 

Then, from behind us, an older woman said, "That's the second time you've done that this weekend."  Yep, his wife.

 

Everybody had a good laugh and a supervisor from the shipyard put a 4-ounce Hopkins on and dragged the bottom until he snagged the line. As he pulled in the first 100 yards he turned to the man and asked, "You tied it on the spool, right?"

 

Everybody had another good laugh, the rod and reel were recovered and we went back to fishing.

[Rip_lipz]

Last year was my first time owning a big bass boat. lets just say I learned a good amount...

 

Being in New England our April is normal pretty cold. But, I was so excited to get this new boat on the water. I spent my whole Friday off cleaning, organizing de-winterizing the boat etc. So, I get to the water Saturday with my buddy, as soon as we pull up the safety boat inspectors start checking the boat and talking to us. They tell us maybe one other boat was out and to be careful because of how cold it is. So I unload and troll out to a ledge to find some winter bass. (troll on the electric trolling motor with the wind pushing us). We fish for maybe 45 minutes and realize it was so cold and miserable lets head back. I turn the key, motor won't start. This goes on for 15 minutes with nothing. I troll back to the boat launch which took forever because the wind is coming at us. Finally get back to the ramp, and I can not for the life of me keep the boat straight to get in on the trailer, the wind was whipping diagonal into the ramp. I get into the water in my jeans to try to push the boat on to the trailer, I cant get deep enough to push it on. Now the boat is swinging on to the rocks. With every wave I can see a sharp rock digging into the fiber glass. I decide that the only way to get the boat over the bunks was to full submerge the trailer and push the boat over the top and slowly pull the truck out. We did that 3 times and on the third it fit on perfect. Freezing to death my feet are bleeding from the cold rocks. This was the most miserable day of fishing I have ever had, never been so cold in my life. The next day I start diagnosing the motor with revenge. Come to find out, when I was cleaning the boat, smart me turned my fuel tank selector switch to (drum roll please) OFF POSITION.

 

 

About a month after that, same lake. I launch the boat after a long day of work, beer iced, fishing poles rigged. I turn my battery disconnect switch to on and my motor begins to trim upwards. I can not get it to stop unless I disconnect the switch. We start to follow wires and looking bad grounds etc. Anything to get us fishing, an hour later of trying to get it fixed, I give up. I back the truck up into the water, hop on the boat, and lean over to hook the winch to my boat. as I am doing this I realize that I am leaning on my Ram arm that is connect to my bow HDS 7. Then I see that the ram arm tightening knob is pressed into my trim up switch at the bow. We laughed pretty hard after.

 

 

Lastly, me and my co-angler where fishing at a local tournament. Not having much luck since the early morning. My buddy pitches to the left of a dock. With my surprise his rod comes flying back and has one of those hook sets where the line is screaming. I jump into action grab the net and he starts yelling "dude 10 pounder". He reels it in half way. What emerges is a 6 foot long branch. I nearly ticked my self.

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

This is going back 10-15 years ago when we were kids. The fishing was bad, either no bass or only a few small bass, shore fishing. Hot sunny summer day.  I decide to jump on this big dead tree over the water, it was a few feet in the air over the water. I had a little popping bug for blue gills, also looking for bass.  After a few minutes my buddy jumps on the tree. He starts jumping up and down. I panic and grab a big dead branch, It didnt hold up my body weight. So I fall in with my fishing rod, my buddy is pissin himself laughing.  I try to the throw the tree branch away and get myself untangled. Well my line was rapped around it. The little panfish fly went into the elbow. The part where there is no nerves.  It was deep haha, sat there for a bit to get it out. 

[Preytorien]

First ever outing and experience with a casting reel...

 

Had it spooled up with 30lb mono and for some reason decided to use one of those giant DareDevil spoons (red and white one) that was about 1.5oz...

 

Knew nothing about backlashing and how to properly adjust the reel (this was years ago before I knew to do some research before buying something)...

 

Made my first cast off the bank of some good looking water...

 

INSTANTLY backlashed and with the weight of that giant spoon on the end it ripped the whole rig out of my hands and into 6ft of water a couple yards off shore... 

 

Had to jump in and get her back...

 

Meanwhile my aged, master fisherman grandpa was 30ft or so down the bank rolling on the ground laughing his backside off ?

[Jigfishn10]

A few years back I was bank fishing in the morning. The only people around were the lifeguard kids getting ready for the day. These kids were college students on summer break.

 

I was fishing a lipless crank and caught a pickerel. I pick the fish up by the lure so I can grab my pliers to release the fish. The little snot rocket was thrashing about and I caught one of the hooks in my hand. The same hand that's holding the bait that's hooked into the snot rockets mouth. With my free hand I try to calm the fish down so I can get the hook out of it's mouth. It thrashes more and the hook is getting deeper in my hand. Finally I get the fish unbuttoned but was in so much pain I didn't have the strength to pull the hook out. Finally I asked one of the kids to pull the hook out. He looks at my now bloodied hand and the look on his face was a look of queasiness. He says; "Mr. you don't have any diseases do you? Ya know, like aids?"

 

Couldn't help but laugh. Gotta give the kid credit for asking!

[BassNJake]

On 2/23/2019 at 1:22 AM, schplurg said:

I've barely been fishing a year so I don't have many stories. BUT a few days ago I got a jerkbait stuck in a small offshore "tree" and I put a lot effort into getting the stupid $4 hunk o' plastic back, including chucking a bunch of rocks at it.

 

Oh ya and I have it on video so you don't even have to read it! I don't know how to embed videos here, so here is a Youtube link.

 

I'm not making money off my little channel so not trying to spam. The whole video is just me fighting with this lure, except maybe the first 60 seconds of it.

 

(7:34 video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q71GGKtgHxY&t=3s

 

Oh ya, my new Lady President reel is also seen in the video - if anyone saw my thread about that. It's pink but it's a d**n nice reel!

Your persistence paid off.

I got a chuckle out of you tossing rocks at it

[Glaucus]

Wife and I are on our way to our next spot so I have time to share something.

 

So we're fishing today and she crossed my line with her line and we had a memory come back from a couple years ago. We were fishing with my buddy and his lady friend. She didn't know what she was doing and they weren't really in a serious relationship yet. She crossed his line and he explained why that sucks and how to avoid it. Next cast she does it again, on purpose. She's laughing and giggling. Mind you he's still feeling this girl out. He looks at her says with a straight and serious face and voice: "It's not funny and it's not cute."

 

Never did see that girl again.

[Brew City Bass]

So 2 years ago I was fishing a small local tournament. I get to the lake and do a quick shakedown run, everything seems fine. Go back to the launch and wait for the shotgun start. Gun fires and we all take off. My boat stalls 20 yards off the launch. Well crap... I did some trouble shooting and realized I ran it out of gas, doh! 

So my buddy comes over in his boat and offers to tow me back to the dock. I told him I'd pay him $20 and a sixxer to tow me to my spot and tow me back in time for weigh in. He towed me the 10 mins to my spot and sure enough was there in time to get me back to the launch for weigh in. 

I ended up having a killer day and won the tournament ($150 cash prize) and my buddy won my $20 for towing me (most he ever won in a tournament haha). 

4 hours ago, Glaucus said:

Wife and I are on our way to our next spot so I have time to share something.

 

So we're fishing today and she crossed my line with her line and we had a memory come back from a couple years ago. We were fishing with my buddy and his lady friend. She didn't know what she was doing and they weren't really in a serious relationship yet. She crossed his line and he explained why that sucks and how to avoid it. Next cast she does it again, on purpose. She's laughing and giggling. Mind you he's still feeling this girl out. He looks at her says with a straight and serious face and voice: "It's not funny and it's not cute."

 

Never did see that girl again.

There was a girl I was seeing a couple years back. Just met her a month or two into spring and she mentioned going fishing and was generally impressed with all my fishing photos yada yada. So we made a date to go out and do some fishing. 

We were maybe an hour into fishing and she said "So how long are we going to be here?" like she had something better to do. I decided right there she wasn't my type of gal so I loaded up the boat and took her home. I went right back out to the lake and had a great time alone. 

[N Florida Mike]

I told this one before, but I was dating a girl and we went fishing. My one rule was watch when you cast , Im behind you. About 5 minutes later I heard a swoosh and felt something ( her bait ) as my hat lifted off and was cast 50 feet or so out in the lake. She was so worried Id be mad but I thought it was funny for some reason and laughed. 

I did not marry her though.

[TOXIC]

It's great that we can all laugh at ourselves when we do a major screw up.  I'll share one that was pretty embarrassing.

 

I fished a tournament on a local lake and did very well.  I'll add that it was when sublaminated Jerseys first came out and I had one proudly promoting my sponsors.  It was beautiful bright white with a heavy spattering of Logos.  Everybody thought it was pretty cool.  To back up a little...stay with me here, it will all come together,..... for Mother's Day, I worked my rear off and constructed my wife a Koi pond on the backside of our house.  The place I put it was on a steep hillside so I had to build up the side of the hill with those half moon style bricks before I put down a liner/filtration system, etc.  It was a royal PITA and a LOT of work.  Back now to the lake.......After I weighed in, I remembered that during the tournament I found a cove with a lot of water lilies and thought to myself how great it would be to have some of those for the Koi pond so I dumped my fish, collected my check and headed back out on the lake.   Made the run up in one of the river arms to the cove and by this time the wind had come up pretty strong.  I got upwind of the pad field and went to the front of the boat and laid on my belly hanging over the side as the wind pushed it along.  As I drifted into the pads, I reached down and grabbed one firmly around the stem and as low in the water as I could reach to avoid breaking it off.  Do you have any idea how well anchored those plants are to the bottom?  Well, let me tell you they are STRONG.  Without any problem, that devil plant pulled me right off the front deck and I went into the water head first and stuck in the mud from my head to past my shoulders.  By the time I got myself free, the boat continued to drift and beached on the far shore.  I was soooo mad I went ahead and harvested 4 or 5 plants and waded over to the boat.  Put them in the livewell and headed back to the ramp.  When I got there the hardcore fishermen were still hanging around having some adult beverages and telling fish stories.  As soon as I pulled up the laughing started.  I was a little mad that they would get such a kick out of my misfortune and said the same to one of my friends who was there.  He simply replied, "go into the marina and look at yourself in the mirror."  So I did.  What did I see?  With the bright white (brand spankin new) Jersey on I looked like a chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream cone with the mud line half way down and still on my face.  What could I do but laugh right alongside them.  It ruined the Jersey and to add insult to injury, the Koi ate the water lilies within 2 days after I put them in the pond.    

[IgotWood]

Fly fishing a major hatch years ago for trout one night. It was dark out. There were hundreds of bats eating flies out of the air that night and they were chasing our flies when we were casting. My buddy was casting. When he swung his rod fwd, he snagged a bat and it got stuck in his net which was hanging from his back. He started screaming and yelling and dancing around in the water trying to get it off. The bat crawled up his back and went down his shirt. He panicked and jumped in the water. I ran over to help him. He climbed out of the river, waders full of water. He stripped down butt naked on the river bank. The bat fell on the ground and had drowned.

 

Initially it was funny until it went down his shirt. At that point the panic was real. It scratched his back a little bit. No blood or anything. I took him to the hospital to get checked out. The phone call to his wife was pretty funny. Luckily he was ok, no injury, no disease.  It was a very scary scenario at the time, but today we laugh our butts off when we tell the story. What a freak thing to happen!

[MickD]

On 2/18/2019 at 12:39 PM, The Dread Pirate Fisherman said:

Fishing my favorite lake last year using one of my favorite crank baits that happens to be discontinued I hooked into something large and started the retrieve. Then to my shock the line broke. I was upset to say the least and as I was cursing I look up and a eagle flies over and begins circling the same spot I had just lost one of my favorite crank baits. Thinking the worst oh no don't go after that fish you will get hooked I yell Noooo! Just then I look on the bank and a big deer begins making his way towards me. To my surprise he keeps coming closer and he gets within 10ft of my canoe then passes and bounds up the bank. Shortly after I tie on another crank bait and catch this tiny yellow perch LOL See pic. Sometimes it's not about the fish but it's about the wildlife and scenery.  

I think you have one of my photos.

 

I took a friend fishing one time on Saginaw Bay.  We were after smallies, and went to Big Charity Island.  My friend was not a very sophisticated fisherman, with his Zebco 33.  We fished a nice drop into about 10 feet, me using tubes, and catching about nothing.  So my buddy puts a couple split shots above his metal leader, and puts a yellow 1/4 oz Jitterbug on the snap of the leader, and throws it out.  And immediately caught a nice 18 inch smallie.