# Accidental catches - what have you caught?



## GreatWhite4591 (Sep 7, 2005)

Brother and I were out Hall's Lake way castnetting for bait. Accidentally caught this turtle in a ditch running into the bayou. Quick check for injuries and tags (and photo) and sent him on his way.


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## Brady Bunch (Jul 12, 2004)

Neat! Kinda hard to see but looks like a Ridleys


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## Le Grand Orange (Oct 29, 2005)

just goes to show ya...we dont always see whats there but its nice to know turtles are around the bay system...great pic..


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## Belt Sanders (Jun 30, 2004)

That's a beauty.
Speaking of turtles. 3 years ago I caught about a 40 pound Sea Turtle from the jetty at South Padre Island. It was green and light green colored. I don't know for sure what kind of turtle it was. 
Hooked on a rod a and reel, using a Norton Bull Minnow and using a strip of Fish Bites for the first time. I caught him on the channel side and hooked it in the mouth, not foul hooked. You think Redfish have power? This guy was not a happy camper. It took a long time to get him slid up on a granite rock to get my hook out. He burned the drag out on my Garcia 6500, made the reel grind and the handle would hardly turn at the end. Released unharmed but I am sure his pride was hurt.
I have never heard of a turtle mouth hooked with an artificial bait. I am not sure that this is a good testimony for Fish Bites or not. It was strange at the time and I had a big audience on the jetty.


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## ctmullet (Jun 7, 2005)

a couple of years ago i was fishing on the Texas City Dike Pier at night. I had a glow in the dark shad imitation and hooked into a turtle. Needless to say 12lb test line was not enough to swing him overboard (not that i would try) he snapped the rig after about 5 mins of fight.


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## GoingCoastal (May 24, 2004)

Caught a blow fish on a Mirrolure bout 10 years ago .Was real funny when I went to pull him off and he Blew up. 

Dave


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

I caught a lot of seagulls and a very upset cat. I had set the rod down and walked to the truck to get a rag when my reel took off, the cat had come out of the rocks and grabbed my bait. Now seagulls bite, no big deal but let me tell you about that cat, all teeth and claws with attitude. We got him off the hook (was in his paw) and stuck him in a bucket and a short ride to the vet to be checked out. A couple days later, some food, checkup and bath (and 75.00 lighter) we had a new friendly cat. Gave him to a family and has been a great pet ever since. Still don't care for fishing gear, he will hiss if he sees a fishing rod.


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## Mantaray (Aug 29, 2004)

Last year on surfside jetty, I casted my big silver spoon for some king macs, but caught a pelican in midflight. Well, he kept going, my Penn 5600 screamed while releasing 50 lb. test braided line, I knew I was in for a long fight. He finally touched down onto the water and I reeled him in after 45 minutes. He was not a happy camper, took me another 15 minutes to get my spoon off his wing, he even bit me in the process. I had to use my shirt, threw ove his head and jumped on top of him. Wound up with a ripped shirt. Sight-seers were laughing their ars off, while other fishermen were busy hauling king macs. Each fishermen who fished for king macs came home with at least one king mac that day. I came home empty handed.


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## CAPSIZED (Aug 10, 2004)

My wife caught a Stinos Dolphin on a jet head trolling lure in Kona last year. Anyone who says flipper is too smart to eat a lure can come watch the video. He stripped off 900 yards of spectra out of an 80 wide in about 2 minutes. We leadered him up and retrieved the lure. It sucked that the captian didn't have a flipper flag to fly back to port.


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## CAPTAIN KEYSTONE (Jul 2, 2005)

We Caught Two Huge Paddlefish On Back To Back Throws With The Castnet. We Wre Below The Dam At Lake Livingston.


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## BPitcher (Aug 23, 2004)

i caught a seagull on a strech 30 while trolling for wahoo. the stupid thing dove down and grabbed the lure. that same trip i also caught a pelican while chunking for tuna. both birds were released unharmed.


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## CentexPW (Jun 22, 2004)

While drifting the Port A Jetties I caught an Octapus. his head about the size of a mans fist. Tenacles about 16" long. Shook him off at the boat. Dropped my line again and caught another one. Now this couldnt be the same one? Anyway I decided to net this one, big mistake. Tenacles all over the place sticking to the boat and trying to grab me. I didnt want to grab it and get wrapped up with it. Just lowered him back into the water and he came loose.

Mike T


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## coachlaw (Oct 26, 2005)

*Caught a Pampano in the Mississippi River*

When I was a kid growing up near New Orleans, we used to fish the river at Fort Jackson this time of year when the saltwater wedge came upriver. We'd go through the Empire locks from our camp on Bayou Cook. One trip was amazing, over 300 redfish, 200 specks, about 50 flounder, 20-30 striper and hybrids, one baby tarpon (3 lbs), and a PAMPANO. These were the days before limits before anyone goes nuts about our totals. I've never before or since hooked into a spot like that. We finally stopped fishing because we were too tired to cast. We cleaned fish all night long. The bottom of the boat was a foot deep with flopping fish. All the ice chests were full, and the under seat storage. We had to start putting stringers out too. We went back the next day and caught only about 20 mixed bag. Just couldn't believe I caught a pampano in the Mississippi. I've hooked seagulls 2 or 3 times. I always keep a towel in the boat for these cases. I also had a pelican strip my light tackle reel when I was a kid. I was sitting on the dock at our camp and I was catching some white trout and crabbing in between. While I was checking a crab net, a dad-gum pelican swooped down and snatched my freshly baited shad rig from the dock. The rod was wedged in a rotten piling or he would have taken the whole thing. I was about 8 years old and when all the line was gone, all I could do was cry. Dad thought I had gotten bit by a crab when he heard me.

Had a friend hook a Frigate Bird once. Those things are MEAN!!!!!! He had to get stitches. If I ever hook one, I will cut the line.

One more interesting catch if you don't mind reading on:
Growing up as now I was known as a scavenger. I had a knack for finding things, especially after hurricanes. one day I was fishing in my pirogue in the marsh behind our camp. I snagged what I thought was the bottom. I paddled up to get unhooked and saw the outline of a boat about 2 feet below the surface. It turned out to be a 14 foot MonArk jon boat. I used it until our camp blew away in a hurricane and took the boat with it. I was always finding boats, at one point I had what my dad called an armada. 3 flat boats, one lifeboat, 2 pirogues and an old oyster skiff. All found in the marsh, but the Monark was only one I hooked.


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## Red3Fish (Jun 4, 2004)

*Odd Catches*

Once when walking along an isolated shoreline at POC, and nobody within 1/4 mile, I was casting out as I walked. All of a sudden on a back cast, I had a humongous backlash, and turned to see that I had hooked a dog in the butt. My Johnson sprite was firmly embedded near the base of his tail. She started howling and doing about 50 mph away from me. Finally broke her off and all I saw was her hind end as she made tracks to wherever she had come from. This was out on an island that she had to have swam out to from either the airbase or the mainland. I think I was glad she took off, might have got bitten trying to get a hook out of her butt. My buddies did have a little sport at my expense after hearing her yelp and howl from a 1/4 mile away. " What WERE you doing with that poor female dog over there in the bushes?" LOL

Later
R3F


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## Hooked Up (May 23, 2004)

*I caught a pelican on PINS!*

Only I wasn't lucky enough to get stripped or broke off. Good thing, sause I really wanted my Super spook back. After my buddy got my sleeping bag over him a brief struggle insued. Man was he [email protected]#$% off! Long story short, we both parted ways unharmed and I kept my lure. Tight lines, Guy


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## Mustad7731 (May 23, 2004)

*Odd Catches*

I"ve had several in my 40+ years including
1] I hung a 12'-14' wide Manta Ray on my anchor rope at the South Pass [Mississippi R]
back in '76...It towed my 20' mako about 3 miles before we got loose from each other.
2] One of my buddies caught a 6'-7' "King Snake Eel" in East Bay off the SW Pass of
the Missississippi R delta. Man those Suckers have 3 rows of teeth!!!! We just cut
him off!!!
3] I hung a 7'+ Bottle Nose Dolphin off the seawall about 5 years ago...It was a real
screamer of a run until I was fortunate enough to have the line break at the leader...
Jackie
Mustad7731


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## yakfisher (Jul 23, 2005)

Last year I got a call from my wife while at work, in the background I could hear a cat screaming. After cleaning my setups from the prior days fishing, i had left them in the kitchen. One of them still had a two hook king rig on it (that apparently smelled good to eat) and Ruby (the cat) had managed to hook herself through her upper lip. She had been inside all day, who knows how long she had been hooked. Poor thing. When I got home we got Ruby settled down and held down, with much damage to our selves by the way. I clipped the hook at the barb and pulled it back through her lip, she was eating 5 minutes later


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## yakfisher (Jul 23, 2005)

I also hooked (or perhaps snagged) what I think was a 5 footish paddlefish on a topwater plug in Lake Georgetown several years ago. Lets just say 100 yards of 6 pound test left me at a great disadvantage.


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## Rockfish (May 21, 2004)

Last year I caught a 20in flounder by catching someones leader that had broken off. 

As a kid I cought an ice skate.....YES thats correct I said ICE SKATE, in a small pond we used to fish in as a kid. I also caught my first 10 lb bass out of that pond.


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## Brian Castille (May 27, 2004)

About 5 years ago, I was fishing with a guy that snagged a 35 pound jackfish on his trout rod. The jackfish had probably broken someone's line at a pier because it was dragging an 8 oz spiper weight attached to 200# mono. The guys line was tangled all in that stuff and we managed to get it in and cut the weight off and let it go. I bet it was glad to be free of that thing!


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## Snake (Aug 5, 2005)

Speaking of turles and Halls a few years ago we cruised by this guy going into Halls Lake and he had caught a sea turtle. He just look at us and shrugged his shoulders. Really he look scard and asked us what should he do. We helped him but the turtle had swallowed the hook we cut the line as close as we could, let him go. Sure hope he lived.............


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## Snake (Aug 5, 2005)

I have had my share of guls.... One time off shore I had caught this gul. Well I cut the line at the leader and the tried gull just floated away. Well about an hour later we see the gul flying over. Opon further inspection we see a foot of leader hanging out of his mouth as he flys into the sunset. This is pretty mean but it was kinda funny.
As far as cat got on in my bag aswell. I got up one day went outside to hear a cring cat well I go check it out and I find my neighbors cat had got in my boat and fond a rod in the rod holder. Needless to say he was foul hooked, and to this day I havent found any more hair balls in my boat.


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## Sean Hoffmann (May 24, 2004)

Caught a pelican on a bone Ghost. Oddly enough he didn't try to fly or throw a big fit. A buddy was fishing with me at the time and we were able to subdue him and remove the lure from his maw fairly easy.

My bro once caught a sea turtle in squid at the Port A south jetty.


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

*Snake*

Back in the late 80's, I was using a Jitterbug topwater when bass fishing a stock pond close to my home at the time. I noticed that a big snake was chasing the plug. I called a friend over to witness. On the next cast, I stopped the retrieval right in front of the snake. To my amazement, that snake nailed the topwater. It was a big Cottonmouth and he hit the plug like a big bass. Hard to get him off safely, but thanks to a nice sharp knife he lives no more.

Also saw an earlier post on a puffer fish that was caught on a Mirrolure. That also happened to me in Upper Trinity bay a couple of weeks ago. 16" puffer hit my M51 while wading. When I was removing the hooks, he blew up to the size of a volleyball.

-Junkie


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## Ditto (Apr 18, 2005)

I was fishing with a friend of mine on the upper end of Lake Livingston and he caught a small nutria rat on a rattle trap.


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## James Howell (May 21, 2004)

3 sea turtles (offshore), frigate birds, seagulls, pelicans (buddy caught one on a mirrolure off of traylor island, **** thing puked on him while we were releasing it). My idiot lab with a 4 oz snapper jig. Couple of hook ups with flipper. We did find an abandoned crab trap wade fishing the San Jose shoreline that had 4 juvenile ridley's in it, all released unharmed. One very ****** off gator in mad island while redfishing.


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## johnybass (Aug 25, 2005)

5 foot gator in a pond off of nasa rd. 1. It ate a zara spook. Took about 5 minutes to reel in with my calcutta 200 and custom calstar jx8 with 12 lb. I thought for sure those things would fight harder.


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## daparson (Dec 4, 2004)

*buzzzzzzzzzzzz bait*

A few years ago - while bass fishing on a cold winter's morning - my EX-fishing buddy caught my ear with a large buzz bait. Wasn't so bad - till he offered to filet me.


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## Neverenough (May 24, 2004)

Caught a bull frog on a Buzz bait when i was a teen working at world houston golf course. I was working the bait right along the shore line when i jumped in and hit. It was fun to catch when it got on land, but not much of a fight in the water. After that when the bass fishing was slow i would catch bullfrogs by draging a bait across land near them. They would jump all over it like a crack head on 5 bucks

Caught sea turtle this year at HI on cut mullet, it was caught with a circle hook in the cornner of the mouth. It was released safely.


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## backlash (May 29, 2004)

*The other day*

I was fishing behind the house and the neighbors cat would jump up at my lure on the back swing. The wife said look at that stupid cat she's gonna hook her self. I would watch her to make sure I had enough room to keep from hangin her lip. 
Well the next day my neighbor was fishing next door and sure enough on the back swing her line tightens up and the fight was on. It scared my neighbor so bad she didn't know what to do, so she gives the cat some slack and calms her down enough to get the hook out of her upper lip.
You'd think the cat would have learned a lesson. Last night I was fishin the lights and I heard something fartin around behind me and sure enough it's that stupid cat trying to get hooked again. When I hook that cat it's gonna be set the hook tighten the drag and see what happens.:rotfl: I bet a full grown cat with a hook in her lip will put on a heck of a fight.


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## BigBay420 (Jun 20, 2005)

I caught a boot in Jones lake.


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## bobber (May 12, 2005)

I hooked the back of my head fishing on a Pier by myself. Ruined my day.


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## 300X (Aug 21, 2005)

caught a flounder on a topwater in about 12 inches of water.


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## Boatright (Sep 26, 2005)

My mutt dog Mocha ate a treble hook with chicken liver on it while we were fishing for catfish near Llano a few years ago. Set down the hook to help my brother reel one in, turned around and the bait is gone, but I see monofilament coming out of the dog's throat. We cut the line, trying hard not to pull back on it at all. To keep her stomach from collapsing on the hook and puncturing the lining, we decided we had to keep feeding her until she got to the vet. The only thing we had was some deer sausage. So she ate that deer sausage for about 3 hours until we got her back to Fredericksburg. The vet sure wanted to know why the stomach smelled so darn bad when he opened her up to get the hook out.


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## surffan (Oct 5, 2004)

Fishing off Charlies Pasture bulkhead in Port A. Had crabnet out and forgot that big ships wake causes the water to go in and out dramaticaly. Ship wake catches crab net and forces lots of water thru it. Got it pulled in and had one 6in flounder, one 6in redfish, several pinfish and lots of assorted crabs (undersized). All released but still best catch ever with crabnet. Also have pulled in 2 perfect sanddollars with treble hooks from the surf.


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## TylerF (Aug 19, 2005)

5.5 ft. blacktip shark (I think) in about 3 feet of water in Jacks Pocket. Fought it for about 45 minutes until we got it to the boat and cut the line.

Caught a Seagull in Palacios a few years ago.

Softshell turtle in a private lake in South Houston

Caught a cottonmouth on my stringer of catfish in Anahuac. **** thing had half the head of the catfish in his mouth


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## ComeFrom? (May 21, 2004)

Caught this Curado and ugly stick in Key Allegro (Rockport) about four years ago. It's now mounted over the door at Bassfreeks house. CF?


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## BIG Flat Skiff (May 25, 2004)

Just give it to Mike in Friendswood and he will fix it up for ya.


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## BBRYAN (Oct 12, 2004)

When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I was fishing with my cousin in the Intercoastal Canal, near downtown Houma, La. Just about the time that I cast out with my bottom
rig baited with shrimp, a Cesna sea plane came roaring by taking off. My line hooked one of his pontoons and it burned my braided nylon line off of my little Shakesphere reel like nobodys business. Needless to say, I never did turn him and he finally broke off at the reel.


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## dpdogwood (Aug 9, 2005)

Down 146, south of Texas city, there's a bridge, by the old shrimping boats. We were under the bridge and my son-n-law casts a very high arch. I've tried to show him differnt. But he cast and caught the electric wires that run 'above' the bridge.


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## Sponge (Jun 22, 2004)

I caught a 20" ling wade fishing at Dollar Reef!


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## froggy (May 21, 2004)

*Alligator*

I caught a 6' alligator in the tail with a soft plastic in Mitchell's cut in POC. It took about an hour to drag him to the boat, but I hung on long enough to get a few pictures before the hook pulled.


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## Texas T (May 21, 2004)

My nephew and I caught a water mocassion, which then headed straight for our boat with a really PO'd look om his face. I was reeling for all I was worth so as to keep him any closer then the rod's tip and my nephew starting wailing at him with the oar when he got into range. We were about to let him have the boat when the hook got knocked out of his back and we all decided to go different directions.


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## Gutter (May 21, 2004)

*Causeway Seahorse*

Clinging to a rock that was clinging to my kayle.


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## Spotted_Sea_Mullet (Nov 28, 2004)

27" ling from Dollar Reef last summer.


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## Billy S. (May 24, 2004)

*wussies*

On two different occassions in Powderhorn Lake, I've caught 3 foot alligators. They fought about as much as a wet paper bag.


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## fabian31268 (Jul 31, 2005)

Weird fish Gary caught in cast net 3 am. on June 14 2005. 3 or 4 inches Has feet looking things that it walks on. Has a horn that glows blue


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## Swampus (Sep 1, 2005)

I caught a 4' alligator at Sheldens Reso. w/ a 5" red slugo--got him to the bank and he thrashed and cut the line--went back in the water in the lillies and just looked at us--he didn't want that slugo any more! What a trip--I was really "Re-Thinking" my catch as he got on the bank! 20lb Triline-is there anything it can't do! Ha!


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## Wedge (Apr 29, 2005)

*wore me out...*

Was fishing offshore near the Stetson Rock about 20 yrs ago and hooked something large on the bottom. You could tell it was alive because it would move slowly and then stop. Thought maybe a huge sting ray sounding on the bottom until it started coming to the surface. I fought this thing for about thirty minutes and I was wore out to no end. At that time I was an in-shape 18 year old and hay-hauling strong. Every one on the boat came to see what it was....and it was a loggerhead turtle that probably weighed 600 pounds. I had him foul hooked in the flipper. When he got a breath of air he went into a power dive and the Shimano TLD 25 went to losing line again. I begged for a knife and the guys on the boat just laughed. I was one happy camper when the hook pulled through.


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## bobber (May 12, 2005)

fabian31268 said:


> Weird fish Gary caught in cast net 3 am. on June 14 2005. 3 or 4 inches Has feet looking things that it walks on. Has a horn that glows blue


Sargassum fish, http://www.thejump.net/id/sargassum-fish.htm. You must of been casting offshore. Thats "weird" for this critter if found in bay.


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## Avayak (Aug 22, 2005)

*Dogfish*

Last weekend in South Padre, I was fishing at a pier. Was putting the gear away and the fly line was in the water. Started pulling it in and it had something on it. Something ugly. Something really ugly.

Turned out to be a dogfish about 6" long. He was mad and tried to bite anything that got near him.

Chalk up one more type of fish caught on a chartreuse and white clouser minnow.

Threw him back and headed on home.


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## Mrs Backlasher (Dec 19, 2004)

Avayak,

Welcome to 2Cool. Man, what a fish to catch on a flyrod!

Does your board name mean that you are a kayak fisherman? My husband Backlasher and I fish from kayaks.

Blessings,
Mrs. B


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## Melon (Jun 1, 2004)

LOL My son caught a cat once in the front yard many years back on a Cocahoe. He bit his line and tied it to a tree and came on in the house like nothing had happened. The neighbor lady called flipping out. So you know who had to go out and let the cat go. Clawed me up good! Never seen that cat afterwards. Guess it didn't like the taste of arties!



bill said:


> I caught a lot of seagulls and a very upset cat. I had set the rod down and walked to the truck to get a rag when my reel took off, the cat had come out of the rocks and grabbed my bait. Now seagulls bite, no big deal but let me tell you about that cat, all teeth and claws with attitude. We got him off the hook (was in his paw) and stuck him in a bucket and a short ride to the vet to be checked out. A couple days later, some food, checkup and bath (and 75.00 lighter) we had a new friendly cat. Gave him to a family and has been a great pet ever since. Still don't care for fishing gear, he will hiss if he sees a fishing rod.


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## chubri777 (Aug 11, 2005)

Several years ago I got a new Chronarch and was in the front yard practicing casting with it. I had an assassin on and was casting out into the empty lot next to my moms house at the lake. Don't know why I wasn't casting into the lake but anyway, out of a mesquite tree nearby a roadrunner jumps down and runs right up and gobbled up my lure. I tried to yank it away before he got to it but instead ended up setting the hook right in the corner of his mouth. Roadrunners don't fight like pelicans but they do fight better than gulls...especially once you get them in hand. Got the hook out and sent him on his way and I never practiced with hooks anymore because the roadrunner didn't learn a lesson from this and always chased, but never grabbed, my lures.


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## GinMan (Jan 29, 2005)

I've done the seagull/pelican thing too many times on the surf.

Hooked a dolphin at Port Mansfield N. Jetty, dolphin ran straight to the middle of the channel jumped just like Flipper and tail whacked the line........

As kids our family used to stay at Tierra Encantada on the bay side SPI, four story condos. Watched my cousin hook a 14" flounder from the fourth floor balcony, and crank it up from the water!


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## FishFinder (May 25, 2004)

One day while fllounder fishing at the pass I thought I had a good one! Of course, about 20 guys were lined up next to each other only to watch me pull in a pair of womens panties! Man, was that embarrassing!!!


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## anton (Aug 2, 2005)

Oakleys


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## fishbowl365 (Mar 9, 2005)

i've caught air at the end of many a cast!!!!!!!


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

A 100 pound gar while trout fishing with fishbowl365 never would have got it in if he wast there to help land it.


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## Mullet (May 21, 2004)

*Big Cat*

We had been catching a lot of reds in this area and Dave hooked into this big freshwater cat on a tout tail.


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## Zach (May 20, 2004)

Sea gull (with brew jr), a 14" ling at the moses lake flood gate, a sunken porta potty(cut it off at the leader, I think it survived...) and a couple of cat-fish at my fav. red fish spot.


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## robg1 (May 22, 2005)

I caught a sea horse in a cast net in POC last year.


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