Surprise Fish Stories

[DShock]

I was just wondering how many of you have hooked and maybe landed surprise fish????
Three fish come to my mind. I was dry fly fishing for trout on the Clackamas river and I almost had a heart attack when a 7 lb steelhead came up and ate my orange bucktail caddis. That fish proceeded to peel all the line out of my reel and I chased after it with my wife close behind. She netted the steelhead for me. It is the one and only steelhead that I have caught on a dry fly.
Float tubing East lake with my son and he hooks and lands and releases a 30 inch brown.
The next fish was on the willamette river. I was fishing for crappie and a 10 pound channel cat bit my jig.
Thanks for your stories!
Doug WL OR

[DG]

I once caught the MT state record red-sided shiner on an EHC, in a trout stream. Had to take it home to key it out, since I had never seen one before. Never did get around to submitting it, and now I fear someone else has caught a larger one than that 4" trophy.

[namekagon]

It was the middle of a warm summer afternoon on Wall Lake and I had stumbled
on a school of nice sunnies...hand size..at the edge of a reed bed. About every other cast I was hooking up and having a blast with the 4wt. I had taken about 7 or 8 fish when on the next cast I knew I had a bass and a nice one to boot. With the light rod... I wasn't the one in control so I was surprised when instead of heading for the reeds she opted for deep water. It took maybe 4 to 5 min to coax her to the surface.
A nice one.. 3 1/2 lbs for sure...maybe 4+! Then the little black popper..I think a #12.. let go.
So I didn't land her DShock but... considering the time of day and the little popper..she was a surprise and a thrill just the same.
Thanks for the memories!

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Regards
nam


[This message has been edited by namekagon (edited 11 March 2005).]

[This message has been edited by namekagon (edited 11 March 2005).]

[Philly]

I was fishing the local creek which is a stocked trout stream, but mainly smallmouth and panfish.
It was the middle of July, water temperatures were in the low to mid 70's. I was fishing a gurgler for bass when something started busting minnows across from me. A quick cast brougt an instant hit and I was into what I thought was a nice smallie. Turned out to be a 14 inch rainbow trout.

[chris from canada]

Morn'in ,

Two summers ago, during a spring fishing trip to a local pond, I was fishing a yellow popper for bass, and grass pike.
Managed to catch a catfish on the surface! He was only about 12 inches long, but what a blast!! He also was the darkest cat that I have seen to date; completely dark black.

Wishing you guy more great suprises this season,
chris from canada.

[Jed]

Fishing once, I was false casting and my line touched the water. As I back cast I had to duck to avoid the 6" trout that came flying at me with hook in mouth. Got him back into the water on the next cast and brought him in. Bet he had a story to tell his kids.

jed

[Micropteris]

I caught a 7+ pound bass on a deer hair mouse fly that I thought would never work in a million years. I had it on mostly to practice casting big bulky flies. That was pretty awesome because I had never caught anything over 3 pounds before that, except a couple snapping turtles which were also pretty fun.

Last month I pulled another big bass through the ice but what surprised me most was that he didn't even set off my trap. He ate my shinner and just sat there without taking any line, when I went to go check my trap there was dead weight on the line. I didn't get a weight or measurement on him but he was the same size as my 7lber.

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Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

[Benjo]

I was chugging a big popper for bass in a little pond at night and I caught a 12 pound catfish. Thought I had the biggest bass of my life right up till my friend stuck his hand in it's mouth to land it for me.

[Rich Ward]

While fishing the green I planted a # 2 streamer in the back of the boss's head. Big fish are over rated he came in with no fight at all wanting to be released!!

Rich

[bbrothe1]

2 good surprises:

#1 - I was just learning to fly fish and I was practice casting at a neighbor's pond. I was trying to see how close I could put a popper to a concrete overflow. I put it close and BAM - a nice bass took it. That was my first on a fly rod.

#2 - I was wade fishing the lower Delaware and fishing a streamer. I pitched it into some fast water and it was nailed by something big that ran downstream. I was lucky I had on heavy tippet and I was sure I had lucked into my first good size striper. I pulled it in and it was a giant channel cat! It wasn't a striper, but it made my day.