Northwest Fishing Reports

I enjoyed the strand listing species caught. Unfortunately, I can add some unfortunate MIS-hooks to the list:

a seal (Point Defiance spoon hooked the lip of a seal who must have been hunting in the kelp bed), a bald eagle that snatched my herring before I could get the downrigger down while setting lines, and carried it off towards the horizon with my reel screaming, an octopus that stuck to the boat once I got it in, someone else's fishing rod that was laying on the bottom for a while but in relatively good shape (my hook caught it through one of the eyes on the rod), a seagull, a diving bird, an old red tackle box that must have fallen off the dock, and a few pieces of terminal tackle where my gear had hooked through some part of a swivel or split ring.

Anyone else catch anything odd?

I pulled out an 10" white plastic lizard out of a really small lake with nothing big enough to take it. I got a cool jointed jerkbait when I hooked a clump of weeds, same story with a nice crankbait. I've also managed to bring in a small 6' boat to shore with two people in it. They were trolling over my line, and their line and my trusty 8 pound test somehow held up.

In the salt, I caught an almost legal 5 inch Dungeness crab off a worm. Messing around fishing for bullhead.

I'll let you know when I remember some more.

Probably the weirdest thing I have caught...or at least to me would be a sea cucumber off of the pier at Dash Point. Or this ugly fish...I think they are called a "rat fish"...not sure. It had some big @$$ed spines on it and had these huge green eyes. It was rather nasty looking. Caught a huge starfish there once, as well. Once it broke the surface it snapped my line...which at the time I was using 20# test. With the legs folded up I would say it was about the size of a 5 gallon bucket lid.

I don't think any of those are all that uncommon to catch, but for being a Kansas boy and maybe my 2nd or 3rd time fishing the saltwater...I didn't know what the hell they were or what to do with 'em. There was a couple Asian guys who really wanted the cucumber...but I kicked it back in the water.


Chad

Micropterus, have you seen my thread "Strangest Thing in a Fishe's Stomach"? I think it's been bumped down to the second page of the freshwater fishing section. You can post some of those in there.

I didn't hook it, but once a bat flew into my line and managed to get tangled. In the salt I've accidentally snagged into a few starfish, a sea cucumber, and various shellfish.

While fishing the saltwater I snaggeg a old crab trap still use it today.

JimLyons wrote:...and I think everyone just doesn't want to brag about the various propellor "fish" we have caught!

Or sticks!!

I was fishing along the Puyallup river with a buddy of mine...had a hit, or so I thought. Set the hook and my pole doubled over. I started reeling it in and the way my rod acted I thought I had a decent fish. Got it about three feet from the shore and it turned out to be just a stick. The way it was hooked, it was bouncing and tugging with the current of the river. My buddy laughed at me and poked fun of me for a few days...until he did the same thing.

He had what he thought was a huge hit. Set the hook and started reeling it in. Whatever he hooked decided to break the surface of the water...only a bit of it. Looked like a huge dorsal fin, we thought "Oh, man!! This is going to be a great fish!". Of course, I brought in my gear, dropped it and grabbed the net. He was fighting, and fighting. Once he got it to shore...I threw down the net, and began to laugh my @$$ at him. Not only did he catching something other than a fish...it was a small sign about eighteen inches by eighteen inches. Of course, remembering the chastising I received for my Puyallup river fighting stick...I had to remind him of something called charma!! It was great!


Chad

Years ago fishing in Newport Bay in Calif I got a bite and started reeling in something really heavy. I pulled in a big, black work boot. I was laughing because it reminded me of cartoons where the character reels in a boot. Well the line was inside the boot, and when I went to get the line out, there was a small hooked octopus holding on inside. Apparently he had grabbed the anchovie and ducked into his "house", and I reeled it all in.

Years ago fishing the Sammamish Slough I once hooked a burlap bag that had a small animal in it. I think it was a small pig but I didn't look too close.

the wife and i were fishing this area that had some trout in a canal, she hooked what seemed like a whopper in a fairly swift current, when she pulled it up it was a fish skeleton with some flesh still on it. and it was hooked in the mouth????

I caught my ex-wife's brother with a spinnerbait at Silver Lake about twenty years ago. Pierced his ear lobe. I am much more proficient with a casting rod nowadays.

Kids shoes (that creeped me out) and seagulls, blue herons, geese, crab pots, etc.

when i was in the navy back in the 80's i while fishing off the fantail of the aircraft carrier carol vinson and caught a (whale!) a buddy of mine and i were fishing and catching giant stingrays late at nigh. as i made this really long cast this boston whaler security boat comes speeding around the side of the ship to the area i had casted, the hook landed in the boat and MAN!! did i have the line stripped off my reel, took it all and snapped like a gun shot. <'//<

when i was in the navy back in the 80's i while fishing off the fantail of the aircraft carrier carol vinson and caught a (whale!) a buddy of mine and i were fishing and catching giant stingrays late at nigh. as i made this really long cast this boston whaler security boat comes speeding around the side of the ship to the area i had casted, the hook landed in the boat and MAN!! did i have the line stripped off my reel, took it all and snapped like a gun shot. <'//<

Interesting stories . . . enjoying reading that others share the odd miss-hook . I'm reminded of other things I had forgotten about .and I recommend reading ipodrodder's fascinating thread " Strangest Things in a Fishes Stomach!" I added my tapeworm story!!

I wondered if Toni's outlet box was wild or from a hatchery!!! Ha!

At a lake near my home my Grandson was learing to cast. He hooked a bungie cord with the plastic ends, a bundale of fishing line, a pine cone, a little snail, oh ya a ten inch rainbow also. :compress:

caught a diaper in liberty lake while trolling got a few spinners fishing for trout a couple times and my aunt caught a line 1 time started pulling it in feals something pull back so she keeps goin and thur was a 15 inch rainbow on the line must have broke some1s line it was steel healthy and stuff so she kept it

I have caught an anchor rope that came right up. I started bringing it in and it went tight and it had the anchor attached. I got a nice wolly booger that was attached to the anchor rope near the anchor. Not sure how a wolly booger got that deep but I dont do a lot of fly fishing.

Watched a guy at Lake Roesigner catch a trout and then watched a bald eagle come snatch that trout. I dont know if I have ever laughed that hard.

Ive hooked my lab who saw a jig drifting in the wind and took a stab at it. A lot of inbreeding with this one, but he is great with the kids.

Didnt catch her with my hook but I did pull a young girl in a bikini out of the water at Lake McMurray this summer. She was trying to swim across the lake chasing an empty paddle boat and got tired. Just doing my civic duty.