What is your craziest fishing story?

[The Budget Angler]

What is that one trip that was so epic that it's etched in your mind forever?

 

I'll go first:

I was a kid and my dad had taken me to a brackish lagoon in SoCal.  It was our typical spot, full of small bass and sunfish, and perfect for kids.  We netted mosquitofish, crawdads, and small shrimp to use as bait.  I plunged my hand into our bucket, hooked a mosquitofish through its lips with a #8 hook, and cast my bobber and small split-shot setup near some cattails.  My bobber went under, but the line wouldn't move.  "Dad, I'm snagged," I said as I tugged on my line.  He turned, his eyes went wide, and he grabbed the line and pulled.  Our bait bucket tipped as he ran back, and as my brother rushed over to see the fish, he hooked the dog.  That bass was well over 10 lbs, an oddity for the lagoon and the biggest bass I've ever caught, to this day.

 

That's just one story though, and I'm excited to hear yours!

 

Tight lines!

[JayMac89]

This story is what really got me hooked on bass fishing. I did some fishing as a kid, but never specifically targeted bass. As an adult, bought a house with a lake down the block. Wanted to get into bass fishing. Did some research and learning. Just painting the picture that i was new, no experience, and was trying to piece all the info i looked up together. 

 

Maybe only my 5th time specifically targeting bass. Fishing a lake in a park. Man made i belive. The whole lake is surrounded by a walk way where people jog or walk thier dogs. No bank, just a sort of wall. I went in the morning, throwing along the wall as i made my way around the lake. Because structure, right? I felt the heaviness of getting snagged on a branch a few times. Mistaking it for a bass. Long story short, i was starting to feel defeated. Threw my lipless out, felt what i thought was just another snag, then just as i was realizing somthing felt different, thought of setting the hook, i saw a huge (to me) bass jump and throw my lure. Ugh. Threw a few follow up casts. Nothing. Ended up leaving shortly after. 

 

All day i couldn't stop thinking about this fish. At this point i had only caught 1 small bass in my few trips. Felt so close to success. Replayed the situation over and over in my head. And i knew it was a big guy. I NEEDED redemption. Ended up heading back later in the evening. Still no luck. Was getting annoyed because now thier was a ton of people around. Kids running up to me, people feeding the ducks and swans right next to where i was fishing. Sun was about to set. Im done. I'll keep throwing casts out as i make my way back to the parking lot, but I'm defeated. The motivation was gone. I get back to the spot where i lost the fish. Two kids are looking in the water. And we see a big boil. They just looked at me with wide eyes. I stepped back, made a cast. BAM! I caught a 3-4 pounder. Probably closer to 3 1/2. I was ecstatic. The kids were freaking out. The rush...i was hooked.

 

The kicker, I'm 99.9% sure that was the exact fish i lost. Same exact spot. Same size i thought i saw. And this lake is not even close to having a ton of big fish. What were the chances? I went back after thinking about that lost fish all day, just hoping to catch somthing. The thought of catching the same fish i lost seemed impossible. But im confident that was exactly what happened. From thier on, i was hooked. 

[OmegaDPW]

Craziest fishing story? I was fishing a farm pond full of cattle and donkeys. The cattle stayed away but the donkey were more curious and hung around. I cast a line and spooked one of them and it charged me. It took a couple of seconds to realize that the stupid donkey was running full blast at me and my only option was to jump off the dam I was standing on. Luckily, the owner's dogs were out there too- and one of them realized that the donkey was charging me. It went nuts and turned the donkey around right at the dam or the donkey would have come crashing down on top of me in the water. 

 

 My family was all out there. They thought (and still do) it was the funniest thing that has ever happened. I disagree and stay far away from horses, mules, donkeys, bulls, etc. now. 😉  

[Woody B]

Over the years I've had all kinds of strange stuff happen.  Even though it wasn't a BIG Bass what happened to me today was.....crazy.   

 

I caught a 15 inch Largemouth on a Devils Horse (top water prop bait, with 3 treble hooks).  Usually when I unhook a fish I'll toss my lure (especially if it's got trebles) over the side of the boat and let it hang in the water while I deal with the fish.  This keeps from getting hooks in my carpet, seat, lunch box ect.   I unhooked this Bass, tossed the lure out of the boat, took a picture of the Bass, then released it.  It was 3 feet or so away from the floating Devils Horse, facing the other way when I released it.   I bolted to the Devils Horse (the one it had just been caught on) and grabbed it.  I was barely able to grab my rod before it went overboard.   

 

So basically, I caught, and released the same Bass 2 times, with one cast.   

[MediumMouthBass]

When i first got into bass fishing a few years ago (i did it once before when i was younger but fished for trout and panfish heavily for many years) i was bank fishing a really nice big lake 45 minutes away, sunny afternoon with nice weather, covered as much of the bank as i could, switching spots moving constantly. I really didnt know how to fish for bass at all, i had just bought the rods/reels and the lures that were suggested.

I had no clue how to even fish 90% of the lures and baits i had with me, i also might have been using my first bait caster too, the Abu Black Max i got on sale at Walmart.

Well after 6 hours and not a single bass i left and was very discouraged.

 

Just hours later that same night before sundown my parents offered to take me to another lake thats very close by to fish for trout or panfish from the public pier/deck. I enjoyed fishing for panfish very much so i left all the bass stuff at home, grabbed my panfish rods and a bag of baits and went.

Caught a few small bluegills and then the sun went down, i figured the big bluegills would be coming out soon, picked up my Light action Cherrywood with a 1000 sized reel, took a small plastic Creme worm broke it in half and put it on a 1/64th oz trout magnet jig head and tossed it in the water.

Something grabbed it and i was fighting it for several minutes, it was fighting very hard (well for a Light panfish rod with 4lb line) i saw it was a bass and as it got closer it got tangled in the small area of lily pads infront of the deck/pier. I didnt know what to do since it was such a weaker rod and line, i couldnt flip it, drag it etc.... After a minute i was able to get it out of the weeds and grabbed it.

 

It was one of the biggest bass i had ever caught at that point in my life, it measured 19" i got some pictures taken and couldnt stop smiling for days, i looked it up when i got home and from the length google said it was between 3-4lbs with an average of probably 3.5lbs.

 

That day is the reason i never gave up on bass fishing, and have become even more addicted to it ever since. I now know to take every second on the water as a learning experience and to learn as much as i possibly can. I still take some days throughout the year to fish for trout or panfish, but 80% of the time im going for smallmouth or largemouth.

 

Other crazy stories, helicopter was flying around and hovering over us for a few minutes (30-40') until it landed next to the field on the side of a lake i was fishing. (Medical life flight it turned out to be)

And i fish a pond throughout the year that someone released their pet alligator in years ago, it was just a small one and several people fishing saw it popping its head above the water, they called the local news stations too. The state hired a reptile zoo or whatever you call it and took it out.

Even tho i know they removed it i always hear the theme song of jaws in my mind while paddling over the lily pads in that pond.

[A-Jay]

I've had a few crazy catches over the years but this is one of my favorites.

I posted this clip up right after it happened and a few times since,

But I never gets old - at least not for me.

 

While fishing for smallmouth bass in northern Michigan, I caught my personal best Musky. The fight and especially the landing of this mutant, (my line broke) was quite an adventure. After a measurement and the giant fish photo op, this beauty was released and swam away strong. So glad I was able to capture this very special memory on video.

 

A-Jay

while fishing for smallmouth bass in northern Michigan, I caught my personal best Musky. The fight and especially the landing of this mutant, was quite an adventure. After a measurement and the giant fish photo op, this beauty was released and swam away strong. So glad I was able to capture this very special memory on video

[The Budget Angler]

These are all great, guys!

[DaubsNU1]

Early 1990's, I did not have a boat, or even a canoe. Buddy worked at Cabela's and hooked me up with a gently used belly boat. I would pull on the neoprene waders, strap on kick-fins, and wade down the ramp in to the lake. Thankfully there was a nice wood filled cove right near the ramp.

 

This was in Northeast Missouri, the lake was used for city-water, so trolling motor only. Oh, did I mention they stocked with Musky(?)

 

I had recently switched over my bait-casting rods to Fenwick IronThread braid. Loved the sensitivity, and could manage a good length case without bird-nesting.

 

I was pitching a jig-n-craw next to trees in about 20' of water. Using my feet / kick-fins to position my little belly boat.

 

Pitched next to a nice big tree...and watched the line...the jig stopped...then started moving to the right..."hello Mr. Bass!" and I set the hook!

 

Knew right away the bass had escaped, as it felt like I set the hook in to a stump. Bummer. 

 

Then the stump moved(??!!) I kept the line tight and the fight was on!

 

Pretty surprised to see a nice Musky surface next to my belly boat...he pulled me around in circles for a while before I kicked to the shore. I was able to unhook and release the toothy predator unharmed. And thanked him for the dance. 

[DaubsNU1]

That's a great story @A-Jay!! And the video was wonderful!  

[Catt]

Catt & Pat are sitting on a little ridge just south of Indian Mounds; full moon is barely on the horizon, slight southerly breeze. I make a long cast towards deep water and start the count down to the bottom. The Texas rigged worm settles down when there's that classic "Thump", drops the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook. Nothing gives, then in a microsecond on my knees, rod half under water.

Catt: Yells get the net!

Pat: For what!

Catt: I think he's heading for the Louisiana side

Pat: You gonna land em or what

Catt: Aint you suppose to play em first?

Finally back to my feet, line singing again, drag slipping, rod all bowed up.

Catt: He's headed for Six Mile, if you start the big motor we can head em off.

Pat now standing behind me: Want me to pour some water on your reel?

Catt: No! just get the gun!

Look a swirl just under the surface, a sudden dive for freedom, your mine sucker.

Pat with quick move and it's in the net: Took you long enough.

Catt falls back into the seat drops his rods on the deck: Dude let's see it.

Pat turn on the interior lights: Shoot it's only a stripper!

Catt sits up, lips it and grabs the tail, gotta be at least 36"

Pat digs around in the console for the scales 16 LB 5 OZ.

Catt: Slipping it back in, that's a hawg right there.

Pat: Don't count it's a stripper!

Catt: Still a hawg

Pat: You're still down 7 to 4, shut up & fish!

[Jmilburn76]

A guy I went to school with was pretty good friends with my ex-brother-in-law and was as much as an avid outdoorsman as any teenager could be in the mid-nineties.  He was always hunting, fishing or bragging about one or the other.

 

For several weeks he had been talking up this secret fishing spot that was loaded with big bass. My ex-wife and I, her brother and wife and Mr. Teenage Outdoorsman finally found the time and set off to fish this secret spot.

 

We were in two cars and even though it was an official county road a big section of it was literally driving in a creek bed with several nice size rocks to navigate so it took forever in a Honda Accord and Subaru.  We finally came out of the rough creek and drove awhile longer when Mr. Outdoorsman stopped his car. 
 

He got out to tell us we had to walk the rest of the way which was 1/2 mile or so through a cow pasture. We finally arrived at his secret spot only to realize it’s nothing more than a small cattle pond. I was a little upset to say the least but we had trekked that far and I was curious if he was being truthful and wanted the bragging rights of landing a big one.
 

We all started throwing some cast in with no action when my ex-wife belted that she had a bite. I told her to set the hook as hard as she could and started walking the few feet towards her. The pole dropped she yanked and set the hook and pulled a massive snake out of the pond that flew right by my head between us. 
 

She threw the pole down and was gone! At this point I was pretty ticked and was just ready to go. We packed it in and called it a day with zero fish caught by anyone. Way back then we thought any snake like that had to be a water moccasin and was sure that’s what it was. I know now there is zero moccasins in that area of TN.  We talked smack to Mr. Teenage Outdoorsman for many years after that about his secret spot holding monsters.

[Pat Brown]

I caught fish on a buzzbait in December, January and February this year.  I know to some folks this isn't a big deal but I had to prove to myself that in the winter bass don't burrow into the mud and go to sleep for 2 months and by golly those fish did that!  🤣🤣🤣

[Jar11591]

This is one story that always come to my mind when I think crazy happenings while

fishing:

 

About a decade ago, I was staying on a famous fishing lake in northern NY, a short distance from the Canadian border, for a week long fishing trip. One morning at sunrise I was down at the dock waiting for my fishing buddies so we could take the boat out and slay some smallmouth like we’d been doing for the last few days. I was making a some casts in the weedy, murky, slate colored water with a wacky senko. After my bait hits the water on one cast, I get the unmistakable line jump of a strike, so I reel down and set the hook on something heavy. After some brutal head shakes, this beast starts swimming straight at me and I can’t reel down fast enough. The fish swims under the dock, parallel with it, and my drag is screaming. I still can’t see what ever this thing due to the stained water. I have no control over this fish, I was just along for the ride. It continued darting back and forth under the dock at unbelievable speed and peeled drag off my spinning reel like a T-Rex. Predictably my 8lb nylon line breaks either from sustained pressure or scraping the dock. I sat there stunned at what I might have hooked, but not surprised at the outcome.
 

But that isn’t the crazy part of the story.  This next part is still hard to believe, even though I’m the one it happened to. 
 

After my line broke on the giant mystery fish, I tied another hook on and rigged up another senko as soon as my adrenaline settled a bit and my hands stopped shaking. I make another cast and I’m immediately greeted with another strike. I reel down, set the hook, and I kid you not, THE EXACT SAME SCENARIO PLAYS OUT MOMENT FOR MOMENT, INCLUDING THE OUTCOME. Same heavy weight, lightning speed, brute force, took the same path under the dock, until my line breaks after the drags screaming run. Same exact situations play out back to back. 
 

I have no idea what those 2 fish could have been, but they were certainly not bass. The thing that really makes the story is that this lake almost every fresh water fish imaginable, including lake sturgeon, Muskie, and bowfin. So it’s very exciting to think about what I could have hooked into, but man that back to back heart break losing 2 monsters will stay with me. 

 

[Swamp Girl]

@Jar11591: That's quite a story.  I wonder if they were carp. I've hooked massive carp on crank baits and when they ran, there was no stopping them.

[geo g]

I could tell several stories involving Everglade Gators, but this one had me and my partner fooled for sure.  I had been flipping the bank of the glade's canals with 65 lb braid and catching nothing.  I suddenly saw a big swirl off in the distance and decided to make a long cast with the flipping rod.  I cast the bait toward the swirl and let it settle on the bottom.  I felt a nibble on the bait, took up line on the minnie telephone pole, and set the hook hard.  It was out at least 40 yards from the boat but the weight was extraordinary.  I reeled up hard and I could see the line moving off to the side.  Everytime I took up line it would move in another direction.  My partner was as excited as I was at the bend in the heavy flipping pole.  With 65 pound new braid I knew the fish would not break the line, and this had to be a personal best.  While coming in it had moved off to the right, and then off to the left, and I could feel it coming up, and then settling back to the bottom while taking a little drag.  I was confident I had the right equipment to get the job done.  When it got close to the boat it actually dived again and swam under the boat. I leaned back and put everything to the max and reeled as hard as possible.  My partner fell to the deck laughing as a large saucer shaped bolder broke the surface.  It had move immediately upon hook set, it had run right and we watched the line run, then run left, I had worked it up in 20 feet of water and it ran toward me back to the bottom.  It felt more like a fish then many of the fish I have caught in 50 year period.  

My partner and I laughed for ten minutes  after unhooking this new Florida State Record ROCK.  It was a double digit special, but the shape made it do some strange things with long sideway runs.  Somewhere I have an old school picture of the monster, it was a beauty and gave us lots of laughs!  

[Jar11591]

@ol'crickety it’s certainly possible they were carp, but the sustained endurance the fish had didn’t feel like the typical carp runs. But carp could certainly fit the bill in terms of size though. Fish I can rule out are bass, walleye, panfish, bullhead, perch, gar and pickerel. That leaves sturgeon, pike, muskie, bowfin, and carp. If they were pike, they would have been absolutely massive. 

[IcatchDinks]

On 4/14/2024 at 11:52 AM, ol'crickety said:

@Jar11591: That's quite a story.  I wonder if they were carp. I've hooked massive carp on crank baits and when they ran, there was no stopping them.

This. I had a story similar to @Jar11591 while bank fishing my favorite pond. Hooked something on a crank bait and it TOOK OFF. I know there are catfish in the pond, and also good size carp. I'm guessing it was a carp, although the story is cooler if it was a massive cat. I've landed carp on that little 8lb mono I was using, but not this time. Sucker snapped me off about a second after hooking him. It was fun for that second though. 

 

I think probably my craziest fishing story was my first year of fishing since I picked it up again. (This would have been 2021.)

 

It was a short fishing trip after work. I still had my work clothes on.

 

I had walked maybe a half mile of river bank and was on my way back to the car. I fished both ways, and had caught nothing but a handful of rock bass. I was tired and sat down on the bank, my feet hanging just above the water. I had tied on a T-rigged senko and was just fishing the bend in the river very casually, not really paying attention. I was listening to the Tampa Bay Rays beat my Detroit Tigers. The part of the bank I was sitting on was deeply undercut by the river, and as I reeled my bait in and was about to lift it out of the water, a long, dark shape darted out from underneath my dangling feet. I'd never seen a pike in person before, but of course I knew what it was. I was enamored by this long, carnivorous fish. It seemed to levitate there in the water, nearly motionless, his nose not four inches from my worm. I was locked on him, he was locked on my bait... I gave it a twitch and he struck.

 

I went to set the hook, but all I managed was to rip the worm in half and Mr. Pike was gone. Did I really expect to hook this guy on a T-Rig? Not really, but it's what I had tied on. As fast as I could, I cut off the bass bait and tied on a big jointed crank bait. I didn't know much about pike at the time, but I figure he'd be more likely to hit a big moving bait like that than a rubber worm. Plus, the lure was big enough it might protect me from getting bit off. 

 

Five casts later, I hooked him. It was a rush of a fight. I'm afraid I was too scared of losing him that I don't remember much of it. But I managed to lead him to the bank, and now I was in a pickle. The water was two feet or more below the bank I was standing on, and I had no clue how to lift him out. I didn't have a net, and I was still squeamish of getting bit. (What a coward I was.) I think I eventually just lifted him out by the line, praying the bait wouldn't come out of his mouth. 

 

Once I landed him, turns out he wasn't nearly as big as he'd looked in my adrenaline fueled state: only 25 inches. But it's still one of my most memorable catches. My heart belongs to the smallies, but boy if the pike and musky don't turn my head. 

 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

I was in Canada with my father. I'd hired a float plane to drop us on a musky lake I'd first reached by paddle and portage. Our canoe was loaded with all our gear as it was our pickup time and we were fishing at the pickup point.

 

I'd just hooked and lost a musky and was wondering where to cast next when I noticed the musky, nearly vertical in the water, locked on my lure, and pining for round two. So, I pressed the button on my reel, the lure dropped to it, and it was on like Kong. Anyone who's hooked a musky with only a couple feet of line between you and it knows the fury of the next few seconds, but I landed it and it was my 19th of the week. My dad had caught 21, which he never lets me forget. 

[gim]

Full disclosure, this is not actually happen to me.  It happened to my Father and 2 of his friends.

 

About 20 years ago, the 3 of them were fishing on Lake of the Woods (Minnesota side) for walleyes.  They were hammering them with jigs and minnows.  Several times they had a triple going.  They became so pre-occupied with fishing and landing and measuring walleyes, that they failed to realize that they had accidentally drifted into Canadian waters.

 

Shortly thereafter, the Canadian authorities came motoring out to them.  They immediately realized what had happened and they did not have Ontario fishing licenses.

 

The Canadian authorities seized all of their fish (if I remember correctly they had about 10 fish in the livewell at the time, a mix of keeper sized walleyes and saugers).  And since Canada does not allow importation of live bait from the states, the authorities also made them count out every single live minnow they had for bait on board.

 

They were fined for not having Ontario angling licenses, possession of illegally-harvested fish, and they were also fined PER MINNOW that they had.  Each of them ended up paying out over 600 bucks, plus the loss of their catch and live bait that day (they were using rainbow shiners).

 

A costly lesson for not paying attention.  The international boundary is clearly marked with a dotted line on the GPS.

[TnRiver46]

I’ve got several but finding a corpse is still the craziest I would think 

[thediscochef]

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve got several but finding a corpse is still the craziest I would think 

That checks out

 

I high sticked and broke a rod yesterday but somehow managed to get my bait back in the process. Still figuring that one out. Physics is dumb sometimes 

 

I've had so many other memorable experiences next to water in such a short time, it would take up the character limit describing them all. I think a Roberts guide said it best once: "if you do something long enough, anything that can happen will eventually happen to you" 

[Pat Brown]

I have a ton of good fishing stories and even crazy ones - many are already in the latest catch thread - so I'll try to keep with the theme of 'off the beaten path' as I scour my brain for oddities worth recalling.

 

I came up with these:

 

A couple years back we went out in the spring around a full moon and we were seeing all sorts of life on the banks and in the water.  One of those days where it feels like you're in a Disney movie on the lake hah!  Well - towards the end of the day as we were headed back in to the marina, I spot a family of deer on the southeastern shoreline of the lake.  We all enjoy them for a second and then it happened 🤣

 

One of the deer - as though leaving for college or the military - breaks from the group and enters the lake.  I'm thinking he's thirsty.  Nope.  He starts a-swimmin and I don't mean struggling to survive, I mean Michael Phelps of deer swimming.  We watched the deer swim plum across the ENTIRE lake and get out on the steepest bank like it was nothing and scale the bluff wall - all in probably less than 5 minutes.

 

Deer are athletes!

[TnRiver46]

@Pat Brown I’ve seen deer do that as well. And bears and hogs 

 

I once heard that humans are the only animals that have to be taught to swim , everything else is born with the ability 

[Swamp Girl]

On 4/19/2024 at 5:26 AM, Pat Brown said:

I have a ton of good fishing stories and even crazy ones - many are already in the latest catch thread - so I'll try to keep with the theme of 'off the beaten path' as I scour my brain for oddities worth recalling.

 

I came up with these:

 

A couple years back we went out in the spring around a full moon and we were seeing all sorts of life on the banks and in the water.  One of those days where it feels like you're in a Disney movie on the lake hah!  Well - towards the end of the day as we were headed back in to the marina, I spot a family of deer on the southeastern shoreline of the lake.  We all enjoy them for a second and then it happened 🤣

 

One of the deer - as though leaving for college or the military - breaks from the group and enters the lake.  I'm thinking he's thirsty.  Nope.  He starts a-swimmin and I don't mean struggling to survive, I mean Michael Phelps of deer swimming.  We watched the deer swim plum across the ENTIRE lake and get out on the steepest bank like it was nothing and scale the bluff wall - all in probably less than 5 minutes.

 

Deer are athletes!

 

I witnessed a deer who wasn't a long distance swimmer. It was on the Wisconsin side of Lake Pepin, a natural widening of the Mississippi River and was attempting to swim to the Minnesota side, about 1.7 miles distant. It had made it about 20% of the way and was already exhausted. It hadn't yet reached the channel, where a tow or speedboat might hit it, so I used my boat to turn it back. When it reached the Wisconsin shore, it staggered onto land, utterly spent.

[Swamp Girl]

Craziest story that happened on a fishing story: I went to northwestern Ontario with an outdoor writer I'd read and admired for years. I simply emailed him and suggested a paddle and portage trip and he agreed. I took him to a favorite lake. Now, this guy was hardcore and had paddled Arctic rivers, where he'd carried a shotgun if they'd met a predatory polar bear. And he was fearless, sleeping on the ground outside and swimming across the lake. Then something happened that scared Mr. Fearless. 

 

We had built a campfire and he was sipping from his flask (I don't drink.). About 50 yards away, right before the cliff of another island, a line of lines started to flash the primes: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, etc. The lights were brief and brilliant, like strobes. 

 

I just watched.

 

So did he.

 

After two to three minutes, I said, "Do you see that?"

 

"Yes," he said.

 

"What are you seeing?" I asked.

 

"A line of bright lights. It looks like they're flashing the prime numbers. What do you see?"

 

"Same thing," I said.

 

Then a parallel line started flashing. Then another and another and another and another, faster and faster, much too fast for us to perceive a pattern. The height and width of the flashing was about 10' by 10'.

 

There was no noise. After about ten minutes, I said, "I'm going to light it up."

 

I had a tactical flashlight that turned night into day.

 

"Don't do it, Katie," he said, and I heard fear in his voice.

 

So, I didn't. 

 

Then the lights were suddenly gone. No noise ever.

 

The next morning, we paddled over to where we saw the lights, but it was only the cliff and a few clinging trees.

 

He turned the event into a funny column because we both understood that if you see the inexplicable, there will be doubters. So, he played it safe with humor, laughing at us before giving anyone else the chance.

 

I've seen other things I couldn't explain. Spend enough time far from folks and you will too.