Northwest Fishing Reports

After seeing the cool old can caught on Banks lake. After everyone's great comments about what they caught, I thought a new thread about it would be fun. I will start. Caught this great pair of Swim Goggles last spring on Cavanagh

Caught this nice Olympia Beer can rusted through and filled with sand while trolling on Potholes.

I don't have a picture (how I wish I did!) but I went fishing on Lake Terrell a few years back and my line snapped on the cast. Weight, swivel, leader, hook all goes sailing off into the great beyond. Didn't think much of it, carried on. Next day I'm out again and hand to God I reel in a pile of weeds with my entire rig wrapped up in it. Easily identified my awkward setup and abhorrent knots!

Caught a Lamprey trolling lake Wa for Coho last week, unfortunately it popped off the hook before I could snap a picture. Actually went for the upper hook on a hootchie that had the shrimp on it. First I thought weeds, then snake (but I was 80 feet down), then I saw the sucker mouth. It was about 12-16".

I was fishing in Canada, looking for a 40+ inch pike that would weigh over 25 pounds. Instead, I caught a 215 pounder.

Caught a six pack of beer in the upper Nisqually River (Bald Hills area) in the mid-70s. Had been there a little while as cans had some slime on them, but ice cold, they were quite enjoyable for us underagers.

Ive been looking for the last two hours but cant find the pics.... I caught a sea cucumber once that was really odd looking with very striking colors for a slimy looking slug.

The most "interesting" thing though, was a small octopus that came up with a crab ring one time in the Straights several years ago. It immediately slithered out of the ring and commenced to wander around the boat trying to escape. My two brothers and I had a real three stooges time of it for at least 15 minutes, trying to capture that thing before it got stuck in some small crevice somewhere and died.

My brother started the fun by grabbing a leg as it slithered towards his foot. He immediately began to scream "Get it off! Get it off!!" like the dumb blonde in a horror movie being eating by the monster, as it wrapped itself around his hand and tried to slither up his arm under his rain gear. My other brother and I were laughing so hard we could hardly help, but I finally got a grip on one leg, intending to pull it off, but I almost joined in the screaming part as soon as it grabbed back.

If you've ever been grabbed by an octopus, you know what Im talking about. All those tiny suckers latching on just feels weird and they hurt! Im sure all three of us were visualizing its beak tearing into our flesh while the tenticles held on with a death grip.

The two of us danced around for what felt like forever until it let go of him and climbed onto the outside of my rain coat. By this time my other brother was laughing so hard he was crying and had tripped over something and fallen on his ass in the back of the boat - still laughing like a maniac, so I took off the coat threw it in his lap. He starts scrambling backwards up onto the transom, yelling "eeeeaaahhhh! eeeaaahhh! eeeaahhh!" also in a high pitched voice, and nearly falls over board while he is trying to throw the coat off. He finally managed to get the coat over board, but the octopus was now on his boot and holding onto an ice chest at the same time. Im sure he would have gone into the water if the octopus had started up his leg, but it climbed onto the ice chest instead.

By now all three of us - grown men - are terrified of this tiny little monster, but we are also laughing so hard we can barely stand up. It took several more minutes to finally get that creature over board. Every time you pried it off one thing it would immediately stick to something else - usually a body part - and they are hard to get off!

I of course am the only one who didnt end up screaming like a little girl, so I have been milking that incident ever since. All I have to do is start yelling "Get it off! Eeaaahhh! Get it off!" and we all three bust up.

I can imagine what the octopus told all his friends when he got home.

"There were these three very weird 2 legged monsters all running around this little bath tub..... " "They were so scared they were standing UPRIGHT, not along the bottom."

A week earlier I caught a 5x5 chunk of carpet. This terry cloth wrist band had to have been down there since the 80's being that's about the last time I ever remember seeing these

No picture, but this spring while fishing in 100 feet of water on Lake Stevens with my downrigger set at 50 feet, I got a real nice takedown that popped the clip, but zero fight to whatever was on my line, just dead weight. Perplexed, I reel all the way in and find my hooks buried in a rock. A rock that was somehow floating dead smack in the middle of the water column.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures, but my kid once hooked some XL basketball shorts, and another time the girl fishing next to us got an umbrella...

Last year at Baker after an epic morning we had to call it a day. We were 2 fish short of 10 fish limit when i was trying to release a dolly i hooked my hand.... sometimes I wish baker was a barb-less fishery.

Uuuggg! You guys with the hook-in-hand pics are giving me the willies! Ouch to both of you!

Larry3215 wrote:Uuuggg! You guys with the hook-in-hand pics are giving me the willies! Ouch to both of you!

Just think of those pics of the hooks in our hands as a “friendly reminder” of how sharp and dangerous the hooks are…. I have been fishing my entire life and thank goodness this has only happened one time.. Yes; there have been a few close calls but nothing like this. I’m a lot more cautious when I’m handing fish I plan to release now… I also wear sunglasses all the time or as soon as the sun comes up… Had a few close calls in the that department as well…..

salmonkiller wrote:

Larry3215 wrote:Uuuggg! You guys with the hook-in-hand pics are giving me the willies! Ouch to both of you!

Just think of those pics of the hooks in our hands as a “friendly reminder” of how sharp and dangerous the hooks are…. I have been fishing my entire life and thank goodness this has only happened one time.. Yes; there have been a few close calls but nothing like this. I’m a lot more cautious when I’m handing fish I plan to release now… I also wear sunglasses all the time or as soon as the sun comes up… Had a few close calls in the that department as well…..

Too many times I reach over, grab the lines and start sliding my hand down the line to get to the hook to release the fish, only to have the hook release from the fish right up into my hand. No more of that for me, it's pliers every time now.

Caught a lot of interesting things but I think my favorite is my husband's catch of the day. A spiderman fishing pole. Sad thing is that it looked brand new. I felt really bad for the kid that lost it.

Years ago..........many years ago my brother and I were Bass fishing out of an 8' pram. As he reached back to cast the Big Bass lure it's big treble hook grabbed the bone plate behind my ear. It was embedded so deep that it took a surgeon at Everett General and a pair of pliers with his foot up on the operating table to get it out of my skull. Might not of been so bad but my brother had to set the hook several times before turning around and seeing what he hooked. Fortnightly that bone has little or no feeling.........at least on my head

herefishy wrote:Caught a lot of interesting things but I think my favorite is my husband's catch of the day. A spiderman fishing pole. Sad thing is that it looked brand new. I felt really bad for the kid that lost it.

If this is Pine Lake in Issaquah I am the guilty party. Was out with my stepson and grandson and tried to get it to cast and reel. Slipped right out of my fingers and slowly watched it sink. "Grampa why did you throw my pole in the lake?" So much for having mad fishing skills

I don't have a picture, but I caught a muskrat while fishing a small creek on my 3wt. I thought I had a nice brown on until it got out and started running along the bank

NWrookie wrote:

herefishy wrote:Caught a lot of interesting things but I think my favorite is my husband's catch of the day. A spiderman fishing pole. Sad thing is that it looked brand new. I felt really bad for the kid that lost it.

If this is Pine Lake in Issaquah I am the guilty party. Was out with my stepson and grandson and tried to get it to cast and reel. Slipped right out of my fingers and slowly watched it sink. "Grampa why did you throw my pole in the lake?" So much for having mad fishing skills

I have to 2nd this one....
If this was Green lake, I ‘d claim the Spidey pole as well. 10-12 years ago I had both my kids on the dock. Suddenly a large carp hit my son’s Spider Man pole, and like a rocket it left the dock. He balled his eyes out, and I tried not to laugh my *** off. Told him it would be the best fishing story he’d have for some time.

There’s a lot of lost Spidey poles out there.

Don't have the picture any more but I caught a fairly large cockle jigging for bottom fish in birch bay years ago with my grandpa. Didn't snag it either, it closed on the tail of the jig.