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

[mrmillelacs]

many years ago a friend of mine had a small 4x6 permanent fish house on independence. he caught a big muskie and in its thrashing, knocked over his wood stove and burned his house right down to the ice

[Aquaman01]

Great stories - I don't get much time to read 4 page threads these days, but this one kept me in! I hope with this my 1st year on the ice a couple of times I can add something - but until then....

My son & I shore-fishing at a popular Todd Co. Crappie/Sunnie spot and all these small gulls are picking off the perch fry that are everywhere in the channel, when I cast out. Before my bobber hits the water I turn to my son to answer a question or whatever and then look back to see where my cast landed. My bobber isn't visible in the flotilla of bobbers this spot gets in the spring, so I went to set the hook and outta the corner of my eye I notice one of the flock of birds kinda go hirky-jerky from the flock. I check it again and sure enough - got a gull. Nobody else noticed either, so he musta picked it off right after it landed. Thankfully though, he spit the minnow. I could just imagine pulling a gull-kite down into a gauntlet of bobbers! Ugh!

Rob

[Guest]

42" Muskie while walleye fishing on Miltona. Strange for me. I haven't been able to hook one since I started to fish them ligit.

Dishman

[linedropper]

gotta share this one as it happened this summer so not thru the Ice. we often snag small logs and our water is crystal clear off the dock.AS I realed in a snag I said that log looks like a bear. When we jerked it out of the water it was a small teddy bear.Missing one eye.Stranger thing was the back was slit and the bright red foam in side looked just like red meat.My 4 year old grandson had a heard time understanding who would toss the thing in the water.We had great fun laughing about our strange catch.To show my grandson we cared about the scum soaked bear I put it next to a tree to dry out.The last thing I remember was seeing the dog running around with it.

[Riverratpete]

Had to add my experience from last night. long story short, glasses fell off my hat and fell into one of my holes propelled by the magical magnetic force of an open hole. I'm thinking and telling my buddie, fine I was looking to get a diffrent pair anyways and had been looking to get rid of these particular sunglasses. Couple minutes later.I look down and my bobbers gone....great got another fish..set the hook, felt alright, a little movement but kinda wierd...you guessed it.. the glasses had hooked themselves on my little crappie jig with a minnow on it in 12 feet of water. I should have been at the casino with that kinda luck.

[Ron Anlauf]

My son was about seven when I had him out on Mille Lacs ice fishing. He stepped outside for a minute and when he came back in his bobber was down. He set the hook and exclaimed that he had a musky. After a short battle he broke it off. What he broke off was my nice crescent wrench that I had tied to his line while he was outside. It was all pretty funny until that point.

Ron Anlauf

[Azenmstr]

Growing up my dad always took me fishing, being guys it got competitive. One day on Lake Vermillion he says son get the net, and I'm thinking all right pops!! He caught a freaking rock. Literally. I still give him dump about that one.
4 guys sharing a rental house on Winnie, one guy has to leave to take a [PoorWordUsage] and says hey, somebody watch my pole. 3 other guys mumble something affirmative. No sh#t 2 seconds later, did you hear something go in the water? So, the next day with a borrowed pole my buddy hokks a hammer handle with a bonus, yup his own pole.

A ZEN MASTER

[mpotter21]

I was about 12 years old(back in 91) on Serpent Lake in Deerwood right after first ice. There was about 3-4 inches of clear ice and me and a friend were playing out there on da ice. I noticed an old style carved wood jig stick floating under the ice. One probally from the 60's. I ran home and got a chisel, or something comparable and got through the ice. I grapped the line and pulled up a 2 lb northern. Some old timer must had been out fishing and lost his rig. I still have the jig stick today.

Mike

[This message has been edited by mpotter21 (edited 12-21-2003).]

[LocalGuide]

Ya my grandpa once caught a rock while trolling a bottom bouncer and a spinner. And did we think it was a big one LOL. It was hooked good too!
Also saw a rock caught on a bottom bouncer with a Flu-Flu floater. Now that is just down right talent to get one like that, LOL.
Also I have caught a clam. Try to open one of them things up once, WOW they're strong.

Now ice fishing, the strangest I caught is probably a skull of a crawfish while jigging off the bottom.

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AKA PikeEye 300

[eyeballs]

Condom. Wish I wouldn't have gone fishing that day!!!

[Steve Foss]

Strangest thing caught while ice fishing? Hmm, pretty broad field. This is a family site, so I think I'll just say it was really, um, interesting.

Strangest FISH ever caught ice fishing would have to be a pout. It's not oncommon, but is certainly uncommonly STRANGE.

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Fish On! Guide Service]

I caught a 3-eyed walleye today. 2 eyes in their normal location and a third 1" above the left eye. Roughly a 2lb eye. Anyone else ever seen this?

Stephen

[Steve Foss]

Wow, would that make it cross-eyed?

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Mueske]

Fish ON,

Wow! Shades of the Simpsons, huh. Did you get a photo? Were you fishing near a nuclear power plant?

Kevin

[Guest]

It's Blinky!!!

[Matt Breuer]

Two odd stories:
Sucker spearing in ditch 20 near Thief River Falls I saw something flash below me, threw the spear, and yanked up a dead baby calf. Disguisting, disturbing, and the only thing we got all day!
On a guide trip this Fall one of my clients hooked into a young loon. He let the bail go and the loon plucked out the hook and threw it back in the water.

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Matthew J. Breuer
Northcountry Guide Service
[email protected]

[Fish On! Guide Service]

The fish was caught in Annandale. I didn't realize the abnormality until cleaning the fish. Definately a 3rd eye, but not quite as distinquished as the others. Its still in the garage if anyone wants it

Stephen

[gjboomer]

On rainy lake I caught a power cable that was connected from the main land to a cabin on an island. I caught it with the anchor, and let me tell you it was heavy. my dad was impressed that I was able to pull it up to the boat.

I didn't catch this but last summer I was checking my aqua vu while anchored, the camera swung around and I saw a rope that was tight and vertical. I dropped the camera down lower and saw a anchor on the bottom connected to this rope. After about 30 seconds of trying to think of how I was going to hook that rope and pull up an anchor for myself, I realized I was looking at my own anchor.

Two weeks ago I put on a lead depth finder and dropped down my swedish pimple (with minnow attached to hook)to check depth, while pulling up the line it started to pull back, I caught a nice 11" perch. But didn't lose the depth finder. I have also caught smallies in winter (weird, not uncommon)and pout that won't fit thru an eight inch ice hole.

[Guest]

Waubay lake in SD. We were setting tip-ups in 25 feet of water for pike.

Flag goes, I set the hook.........GOT REAL HEAVY and a bit wierd, like jerky feeling.

I screamed to get the gaff and I was really pulling hard, something wasn't right.

Got to the hole (3.5 feet of ice), and this small northern tail pops up. Still, I couldn't pull it up.

I ended up hooking a barb wire fence in 25 feet of water........

[Sheephead Slayer]

I was fishing with a sucker minnow on a tip up. The flag poped and I ran over, and set the hook, holy dump was it big!!! I fought it on light line for 30 minutes, I couldn't beleive how hard it was thrashing, It seemed it never tired. I swore that this would be the biggest northern ever caught.
Finally I got him to the hole and landed him, it was 7lbs.........HUH!!!
Somehow he was hooked by the tail! Apparently they feel a lot bigger when you hook them by tail that they thrash with

[Sheephead Slayer]

The breadbag thing confuses me. I think I know, but a bread bag?????

[WillTravelToFish]

I have caught many strange things ice fishing, from reels and scuba goggles to strange creature and even my own line with crappie included, but the strangest....

St Croix river, last winter (2002-2003) I caught a 15+" mud-puppie. After pulling it through the hole, it crawled around the ice house, made some strange noises and unhooked it'self while my fishing partner and I watched in bewildered amazement.

It was strange alright. Arms, slimy skin, fingers... rivaled the eel pout in beauty.

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Will work for trophies,
Have gear will travel.

[Gus]

After a long day of fishing, a guy in a neighboring portable asked me if he could have an empty bread bag that he saw us toss into our sled after some hotdogs over the mr.heater. Sure thing I said. Twenty minutes later after they had packed up and left my same breadbag popped up into my hole. I won't mention what he had done in it, but it made my partner laugh so hard at me we had to pack up and go home.

[Gus]

I guess my old breadbag was better than using his own bucket.

[loosegoose]

An am/fm radio trolling in Lake Hazel. To find out it was still playing when I got it in the boat.