What's the weirdest thing you ever caught?

Snakebite · 04-23-2005, 05:38 AM

While we were tagging blacks on Thursday I caught a....sand dollar? It was more like a sand nickel, but It was hooked right in the mouth! Feisty little critter too!

8knots · 04-23-2005, 06:38 AM

I caught a good condition rod/reel while fishing for sturgeon in the CR near Astoria. You lose some and you find some.

skein · 04-23-2005, 06:45 AM

I caught a sea pen up in Canada once. Seen lots of 'em while diving, but never got to pull one up before.

And DipSea Diver caught this ratfish last year north of the pile.

Skein

Metal Manipulator · 04-23-2005, 07:00 AM

Thats cool never seen anything like that out there. You better watch out those rats might sneek on board.

NEEDABOAT · 04-23-2005, 07:37 AM

I CAUGHT A BIG RED WOOL SWEATER 2 WEEKS AGO. MAN WAS THAT THING HEAVY. I WAS HAPPY THERE WAS NO BODY IN IT. :whazzup:

wak'm&stak'm · 04-23-2005, 07:39 AM

Nice Skien...about 20 years ago we caught a couple Rat fish off Johnson rock. I haven't seen one since. The draggers used to get lots of them offshore, but pretty rare for the sport guys.

SalmonJeff · 04-23-2005, 07:55 AM

I was with a friend of mine on the columbia sturgeon fishing and he caught a fence post!! that thing fought hard for about 15 minutes in the curent. I have not laughed as hard as I did that day in a while it was hillariouse!

I still give him a bad time about the fight on that fence post and sice then every time he hooks a fish I tell him "I just thought I saw a no trespassing sighn.!!"

5-Cents · 04-23-2005, 08:04 AM

Last time out we caught not one, but two, bright orange/pink 10" sea slugs!

StickFish · 04-23-2005, 08:59 AM

Caught a bird while I was fly fishing.

Caught a Seagul casting squid in SF Bay - now that was fun - getting my gear back and setting the bird free wasn't

Hauki · 04-23-2005, 09:09 AM

I was fishing for walleye in the BWCA. We were about 20 ft of water and were only getting large crayfish. Finally got a bite and set the hook. Thought is was a big head shaking walleye as I reeled it up. Finally got it to the surface and saw it was a 8 in flat rock. As I was reeling, the rock must have been flopping back an forth. Other then crayfish that was the only think we caught that trip.

Another time a guy I was fishing with hooked into a snapping turtle.

SeaSparrow · 04-23-2005, 09:12 AM

Several years ago, we were jigging for herring in Yaquina Bay with a sabiki jig when my itty bitty rod bent way over and several minutes later I pulled up a 5 lb starry flounder! We ate it for my birthday dinner!

wak'm&stak'm · 04-23-2005, 09:25 AM

6 years ago, I caught a 35 inch halibut on a plug cut herring in 11ft of water, ABOVE Riverbend moorage.
This happened in early Oct.
First I thought I snagged a sturgeon but i was floored when i saw it come up.

Draggin' Bait · 04-23-2005, 09:29 AM

I was fishing a pond one evening and caught a bat. He dove for the spinner and the line wrapped all around him. Had the dickens of a time getting the line untangled from around his legs and wings. He was [potty mouth] and ready to take me on!

Deepslayer · 04-23-2005, 09:30 AM

Was bottom fishing in about 100' of water a couple of years ago when one of my fishing buddies hooked something. He fought that thing hard all the way up. When it got to the surface it really started fighting harder. Turned out he had hooked a Puffin in the wing. I didn't realize they dove that deep or how vicious their beaks were when you tried to pull a barbed hook out of them. :shocked:

Cliff · 04-23-2005, 09:56 AM

Yesh, ugly little fellas huh?

CLiff

Terry H · 04-23-2005, 09:59 AM

Deepslayer, I also hooked a Puffin. My brother and I were using downrigers at 90 ft. He gets a big hit and fought his "fish" all the way to the surface. We couldn't belive it when his "fish" jumped and then tried to fly. Had no idea they dove that deep.
Terry

Deepslayer · 04-23-2005, 12:35 PM

TerryH, it's amazing how hard those little Puffin's can fight! That's one of the reasons I love the ocean so much. One never knows what is going to come up next!

,Ed

Lucky one · 04-23-2005, 01:50 PM

I've worked on a charter for a while and I've seen people bring up rocks, crabs, halibut over two hundred feet off the bottom, ratfish, shrimp, a glove, sea stars, sponges, sea cucumbers, wolf eels, octopus, and my least favorite catch was a california merr. Those little guys get really ticked off. They have tons of teeth on their beak and peck the crap out of anything that comes near. One time we snagged a dead merr that had been floating for a while. That thing stunk worse than week old fish carcasses.

Mark Mc · 04-23-2005, 02:13 PM

Not sure where to start on this one....30 lb striper that grabbed a 4 lb salmon on the line; all kinds of different diving birds; halibut boiling on the surface; salmon 500 feet down; all the usual critters that grow on rocks; rocks;
worms; ratfish; pacific pomfrets....

But the very weirdest had to be......a girlfriend I had when I was 19

.

Deepslayer · 04-23-2005, 03:21 PM

I think this post was for things you caught in the ocean Mark, not things you caught in the bar!

Mark Mc · 04-23-2005, 07:35 PM

Get your mind out of the gutter Ed!!!!

She was a very nice girl, even though she was the center on her high-school boys football team, and she ate chicken bones (as in, "please pass the unwanted bones here.....crunch, crunch...")

Mr. Fisherman · 04-23-2005, 08:02 PM

I once caught a Monk fish that got tangled in a Jellyfish on the way up. What a mess. Looked like <something live> in prot-o-plasim. yuck!

Threemuch, Baitboy and I caught some nasty fish that excreeted toxic nasty goo out of their skin. I wouldn't allow those to be brought in the boat after the first one. Nasty nasty nasty fish mean, pointy and lockjawed to boot.

My Limit · 04-23-2005, 09:05 PM

I caught a spring chinook salmon once.

On a more serious note, someone told me those Rat Fish are poison. Anyone know about that?

My Limit

flapbreaker · 04-23-2005, 09:08 PM

This isn't really wierd but was kind of a brain teaser. Last summer my buddy and I was trolling for salmon with herring when his rod started acting kind of funny. Nothing too big, we just figured there was seaweed on it or something. He reeled in his bait and low and behold it had come ALIVE! Actaully his bait must of fallen off and a live herring must of bit the hook. We were both confused for a bit to see his herring flopping around on the hook.

My Limit · 04-23-2005, 09:14 PM

I did my own research on the ratfish. They are a member of the shark family. Their spines are full of poison. Don't get poked!

Some guy told me a scary story about ratfish. He said a buddy of his caught one up near Canada and it had red eyes. He said when he held the fish up the fish would look at him as he moved, as if the fish was watching him. I guess he was wearing heavy gloves and nothing happened. He said the fish had the most ungly demonic face it freaked him out!

I'm sure the story was embelished, but never the less it was an interesting story.

My Limit

Zodiac-Fisherman · 04-24-2005, 10:47 AM

Wierdest thing I have ever caught has to be a ....(un-named fish).. I was drifting for fluke off of Cape May, NJ, and i hooked up into a fish that had a checkerboard pattern(5or so lbs), but it was black and white, My uncle being a fishing guide freaked out once it was boat side, "Get that Fu#&in fish off your line!" That fish will electrocute you majorely... So we cut the line and the fish went back down to the depths.

fishingls · 04-24-2005, 02:03 PM

Back trollin for salmon, one of our quick fish snagged the rubber grip of a number 4 golf iron. A number four golf iron in the middle of the Columbia river

-I wish I knew the story of how it found its way into the middle of the river.

Finnlander · 04-24-2005, 04:23 PM

Back in the 60's whrn they had Salmon derbys on the Siletz I netted a rabbit that decided to swim the river.Took it back to the weigh in and got no recognition at all.Released rabbit.......no fish.

Fisherman_Mark · 04-24-2005, 06:18 PM

I was fishing the Salt River in Az with my Pa-In-Law and felt a little jerk on the rod. went to set the hook but missed it. Thought I would check the bait and would you know it here comes a little Zebco combo. I caught the top eye of it. But it gets better. I handed my rod to Pa-In-Law and reeled in the Zebco. It had a 5 pound flathead catfish on it too. Got me a nice shiney rod and reel which I sold for 5 bucks at a yard sale and dinner too.

:grin:

Magnum · 04-24-2005, 07:20 PM

I was fishing with one of my buddies when my pole slowly bent over. I gave good hook set & thought I had the bottom, but it gave a little. After about 5 minutes of handlining my line in (thought I had a stump or something) it came to the surface. A "great white toilet!"

Miss B Haven · 04-25-2005, 07:50 AM

Well..it wasn't exaclty "caught", but seeing the SPike Elk 12 miles out had to be the weirdest thing I've seen while fishing.

Pulling one of those little diving duck up from 75 feet out of Tillamook was pretty interesting as well. :grin:

PIR8 Hook · 04-25-2005, 09:09 AM

I have caught ratfish, wolf eels, giant ocean sunfish, a giant skate over 7' from wingtip to wingtip, a basket starfish,& seacucumbers and a couple of octopus. BUT the best was my own rod and reel after it was pulled over by a salmon. I hooked the line as the salmon towed it away. Got the pole back and landed the salmon.

Fisherman_Mark · 04-25-2005, 10:53 AM

I hope nothing was in it but water..

Quote:

I was fishing with one of my buddies when my pole slowly bent over. I gave good hook set & thought I had the bottom, but it gave a little. After about 5 minutes of handlining my line in (thought I had a stump or something) it came to the surface. A "great white toilet!"