What is the strangest thing you've caught while ice fishing?

[mistermom]

About ten pounds of carpet on Mille Lacs. I hooked a thread and I would get some of it up and then the thread would unwind. Thought I had a monster walleye until the lure and carpet thread came through the hole.

mm

[Yellow Dog]

Took our youth pastor fishing on Mille Lac for his first walleye adventure. Jigging on the bottom, he hooked what looked like a whopper. He fought it like a warrior. It would get up a ways off the bottom, then the drag would start screaming. it was back and forth for a few minutes. I tightened his drag and a black wire emerged followed by more black wire--15 feet of it. On the end was a remote control for a minn kota electric motor. He received his "trophy" the next Sunday in church.

[LOWinEYEin]

MUSKRAT-
Almost had 3 grown men jump out of the boat, wish I had a camera!!

[IceJohn]

Lets see clams crabs one steel trap 2 rats up the hole.But the was when I lived in San Diego.went night fishing no lite with me Icaught a ocpopus and it got a hold of my hand.I thought jaws had me.Till I ran around to light and it was a baby.Had to drink a 12 box to calm down.ICE JOHN FISH ON

[can it be luck?]

While pier fishing in Puget Sound (Pacific Ocean) 2 punks kept causing trouble. Throwing rocks, swearing, and dump like that. My Mom hooked a 5' long octopus and we didn't know what to do. One of the troublemakers said "I'll take that off". So we walked the octopus to the shore where he was standing. As soon as he grabbed the octopus, the octopus grabbed back. The problem was the octopus has a lot more arms to grab with!! It had wrapped around his arms, face, and head, and wouldn't let go! Everyone was screaming! My Mom, because she wanted to eat it, and didn't want to lose it! Me, because I was happy the octopus was kicking his a$$, and it was funny! And the punk, who was in fear of this multi-legged monster dragging him into the ocean! It finally let go of him, however it did keep the kid's sunglasses which it pulled off his face. I think of that movie, "The incredible Mr. Limppit" with Don Knotts when I think of the octopus wearing his glasses. The kids were no more trouble after that. It's hard being tough, and have people take you serious when your face is covered with slimey red suction cup marks!! We also caught a Moray eel that day. There were no volunteers to take that baby off.

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http://groups.msn.com/canitbeluck

[juggs]

I caught a carp and a bullhead through the ice--didn't think they were active in the winter. On Winnie once, I talked to a guy who claimed he clamped his depth plumb to his line, dropped it down to test the depth, and caught a perch!

[iffwalleyes]

I snagged into a pillow last year. I tell you what a water logged pillow is really heavy. I knew I didn't have a fish because once I got it off the bottom it got lighter. The next night in the same spot I got about a 10 lbs carp. But the day before I got the pillow a buddy got a 9.5 lbs walleye so there were some very interesting things that were caught when I had my house set in that location.

One of the coolest strange catches for me was a Stugeon at LOW. I didn't know what I had I was hoping for a big walleye but I didn't think it was pulling like that. It was swirling like the old pout do either and it wasn't running fast enough to be a Jack. I fought with if for probably 15 min or better finally got it up the hole and here I had snagged it in the snout. Unfortunatly I didn't have a camera along so the only Sturgeon I have caught to date I didn't get a picture of.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
[email protected]

[marine_man]

Speaking of tying a plumb bob on... On 2 seperate occasions last year at LOTW I've caught nice size saugers while checking the depth with a lead depth finder... the replacement cost of the depth finder was almost worth it for the fish...

marine_man

[WallEYES]

Fishing the Mississippi as a kid I caught a bra. I have been trying for over 20 years to catch the matching pair of panties, but no luck.

[can it be luck?]

Catch crayfish, huh? I guess that's not real strange. When I was stationed in Korea, the guys would go to town and catch crabs. There must've been a lot because they were always catching them.

[wasssit]

About 7 years ago I was jigging for eyes', and with this magic jig, I reeled in a zip-lock bag of weed.

[EBass]

These are some strange stories. Too bad I don't have anything interesting to share. Maybe this year I'll catch/snag something.

[Mr. Pike1]

It was not through the ice but have caught a clam on two differnt occassions on a lindy rig.

[pj4]

lost my pole to a crappie, 1 week later a friend hooked the crappie in the same hole with my rod attatched.

[nunzio]

My first trip up to LOW in the early 80's.
My brother-in-law brought myself and the other brother-in-law up to his brothers place on the lake ( say that 3x real fast). There were supposed to be many fish houses.......... myself and the other brother-in-law spent the day trying to warm up in a 4x6 that had two guys in it already. We drilled many holes and each set a tip-up. Ran around jigging the other holes to help stay warm. Caught a few fish but as the day wore on we were trying to spend more and more time in the small shack. I came out after my turn to find that my jigging rod, that I had left stuck into the snow, was gone!!!! Well after all of the hole hopping, I wasn't sure which hole I was at last!!??!! I got another rig and put on a large spoon. Let the spoon down the hole about 25' down in 32' and started to really ripping that spoon, getting it to dart out as far as I could. The 3rd hole I caught my other lines bobber, got my rig back as well as landed one of those football shaped perch.

[davemeyer]

my cousin told me a story
Him and three guys walked into the fish house after leaving their lines out all night(illegal, i think), what do you know every line has a fish on it. Thay all start pulling in their fish but they all seem to be fighting unbelievable strong fish, none of them can get it in. After a few minutes of fighting finally one guy gets his fish up, only a five pound northern, with four hooks in his mouth.

[davemeyer]

Ive near twenty clams, couple crayfish, turtles, had a duck on my line, not ice fishing but what i want to know is how to catch a bass through the ice?

[AJPeacock]

Nice stories guys. Mine is not ice fishing, but its strange nontheless.

Fishing Lake Havasu in Arizona in a largemouth bass tournament, we kept seeing Stripers chasing shad. I made an offhand comment to my partner that I'd catch one of the Stripers before he did. On the very next cast (using a shallow running jerkbait), I felt a nudge and set the hook. It was immediatly light but felt funny, so I figured I had just bumped a submerged log and broken a piece of it off. When I reeled in the lure, I had the SKELETON of a Striped bass (about 24" long). It was a perfect skeleton and had decomposed enough that the meat was all gone, but the head and bones where still all attached. Interestingly, I had hooked it on the lip. When I lifted it out of the water, it looked pretty strange!

I won the bet, but it was under protest! LOL

Later,

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Don "AJ" Peacock
[email protected]

Lapeer, Michigan

[This message has been edited by AJPeacock (edited 12-02-2003).]

[silveroddo]

"Ive near twenty clams, couple crayfish, turtles, had a duck on my line, not ice fishing but what i want to know is how to catch a bass through the ice? "

Fish for anything but bass. We average 1 or 2 a year accidentaly, ussualy on our northern tip ups.

[Guest]

Caught a buzz..........I guess thats pretty common.

Somebody would have said it

[The Yeti]

Isle bay. Mille Lacs. A few years back. My dad was jigging for walleyes in about 7 feet of water. Snagged and brought up a Bear compound bow that still had the reel on it. Gave the reel to a friend, cleaned up and sold the bow for $50..

[SCCO9803]

My dad tells me of a time he went out to California to visit his brother and they decided to go deep sea fishing. One of the people on their charter hooked into a diving bird. The bird came out of the water and was flying around while still attatched to the fishing pole. He said it was quite a sight. The captain finally cut the line.

[GentleBen]

Was trolling this past summer with a foating rapala and a gull picked up my lure twice. First time it dropped it from about 10 feet heigth. Second time it appeared to be hooked as it tugged on my line for a couple of minutes but finally got lose before I reeled it in.

[Roughfisher]

Fishing through the ice on Mille Lacs, I was jigging a swedish pimple over a rockpile and I caught a deepwater sculpin about 3 inches long.

[NoodleSalad]

A Goby! Mille Lacs- -NS-