Anyone have stories about catching an unusual or surprise species while targeting specific fish?
This past weekend I was camping on Sugar Creek in west central Indiana. The creek is managed for smallmouth bass, with regulations allowing 1 fish 20 inches or larger to be kept. With this is mind, I was fishing a #3 Mepps Aglia, gold with bucktail dressed hook, and original Rapalas, smaller, the ones with 2 trebles. I did catch plenty of smallmouth, most between 10 and 13 inches, but what made the trip was the unusual fish I caught.
I had caught all of these before, but never on lures, usually on nightcrawlers or other bait.
I caught 2 channel cats, one one the spinner, and one on the rapala. Both were around 2 to 3 lbs, and pulled the canoe quite easily! I also caught a small freshwater drum, and a larger one probably close to 5 lbs, both on a spinner.
The largest fish of the trip was, I estimate, about 30 inches and close to 10 pounds. It was a big mouth buffalo fish. Looks like a carp, but with a terminal mouth like a bass, as compared to the sucker type mouth on a carp. Lots of fun, and he hit the spinner hard by a log immediately after it hit the water.

Let's hear about your surprise species!

I caught a bowfin on a bass worm a couple years ago. It was the first I had seen. I also got slimed by this thing that was pulled from out of the mud in Uganda - talk about a weird looking fish, it almost had legs!

Fishing the Mississippi up here in the twin cities area, you just never know. I'm always targeting walleye but have come up with gar, red horse sucker, quill back, pike, drum, white bass, channel cats. Seems like something different is always biting on the river!

I was bass fishing and caught a channel cat on a spinner bait. Was fishing with the same guy again bass fishing and caught a large crappie on an 8 inch plastic worm. Never know.

thegildedgopher: "Fishing the Mississippi up here in the twin cities area, you just never know. I'm always targeting walleye but have come up with gar, red horse sucker, quill back, pike, drum, white bass, channel cats. Seems like something different is always biting on the river!"

I was able to sight fish for gar this past weekend, they would hit both the rapala and the spinner, but I was never able to get a hook up.

Many years ago fishing with my father, I had a seagull dive on my Jitterbug, and got the treble hook stuck in it's feathers back behind its' wings.

It was quite interesting reeling that in and getting it free. Had to hold its' head underwater for it to hold still and get the hooks out, eventually released with only its' pride hurt.

I was bass fishing a farm pond with a buzz bait and caught a nice channel cat.

thegildedgopher: "Fishing the Mississippi up here in the twin cities area, you just never know. I'm always targeting walleye but have come up with gar, red horse sucker, quill back, pike, drum, white bass, channel cats. Seems like something different is always biting on the river!"

I've fished the Mississippi river a lot and it wasn't uncommon to catch 6 different species on 6 casts. From one spot alone I know I've caught walleye, smallmouth, large mouth, pike, crappie, blue gill, quilback, white bass, common carp, channel cat, sheapshead, mooneye, and various kinds of sucker. All were caught using a jig and minnow or jig and white or gold plastic swim bait.

gymcoachdon: "

thegildedgopher: "Fishing the Mississippi up here in the twin cities area, you just never know. I'm always targeting walleye but have come up with gar, red horse sucker, quill back, pike, drum, white bass, channel cats. Seems like something different is always biting on the river!"

I was able to sight fish for gar this past weekend, they would hit both the rapala and the spinner, but I was never able to get a hook up."

Hook-up percentage on gar is so tough. Getting them to strike is the east part!

@nofish -- yup, it's a smorgasbord. caught walleye and drum last night.

Ice fishing Lake Superior.... fishing for Walleyes and Perch....

Rock bass mixed in with a school of walleye on Crooked earlier this year.
Catfish on rapalas during the spring walleye run on the Big Sioux river near Brookings, SD. Bowfin in a small lake fishing for bluegills.

When I was in my mid-teens, we went on a canoe trip down the snake, into the upper st. croix. We had two canoes, but only one net, and it was in the other canoe.

My brother and I were dragging crawlers on the bottom, on the opposite side of the river from the other canoe. We got hung up a number of times, and each time would paddle back up stream to see if we could get the snag loose. But this time, it was a little different.

I told my brother I was snagged. He reeled in and grabbed his paddle, and brought us to a stop in the current. I put my pole down and we both turned our momentum back up stream. We slowly made our way north, and I picked up the rod to see where my snag was at. It was still there, we were now on top of it.

As I pulled up, it wouldn't come free. It seemed to have just a little give, so I thought maybe i had a tree branch, or perhaps someone else's old line. We paddled a few feet farther up stream to get a better angle. Still wouldn't budge.

At some point, I put a lot more effort into it, and it seemed to come a bit, and went right back down. "That's odd", I thought to myself. "That starting to feel like it's not a snag at all".

I pulled up real hard again, this time it slowly started to swim off.

OMG!!! I immediately screamed to the other canoe (I was a young teenager, I'm sure I didn't have my adult male voice yet, so it probably wasn't a "yell")...so I screamed, "Bring the net"!!!

I was certain I had the state record, something or other. You never know what you have on your line, when you fish the St.Croix with a crawler. I was hopeful it was a big Walleye, but it felt more like a big Cat, or perhaps a sturgeon.

I wasn't getting anywhere with this fish. I would lift hard, and each time it would only come up a couple inches, before it would slowly go back to the bottom. As many of you know, the upper st. croix is often very shallow, and this spot was no different. To be in 5 or 6 ft of water, and not see the fish for several minutes, had me very excited, and curious.

As I emphatically urged the other canoe to HURRY UP WITH THE NET, my curiosity got the best of me. I tightened up the drag, and beared down on the pole, one more time. This time she started to come up. Very slowly, with no runs, not even much wiggle. Such an odd fight for a fish. As it turned out, it wasn't a fish.

There on the end of my line, about the same size as the opening of the net, was a very large leatherback turtle. I imagine she/he was just gripping the rocks on the bottom. The poor thing had finally given up. While I was very disappointed at the time, it made for a nice story later. I've caught numerous turtles since then. Fortunately it was just a small single hook and came out rather easily.

I always thought they were called "leatherback" turtles, but a quick check of the DNR website says they are called smooth softshell turtles. The females grow to 14" in length, so apparently it wasn't as big as my memory would have it. Although I've caught a couple of them on small rapalas, on the mississippi, by the power plant in Monticello, and they were plenty big.

I was targeting hybrid stripers and walleye this past May in Illinois and landed this Muskie...I don't really want to catch them with the equipment I'm using but it made for a cool photo and memory :)

I've caught channel cats on spinner baits, soft plastic jerk baits and crank baits so far this summer.

Snuck away from my house for an hour of shore fishing one weekday evening to a lake 11 minutes away from me in Central Minnesota. I was at a fishing spot that is known for its decent size largemouth bass and smaller northern pike. I was casting out a Shallow Shad Rap, hoping to catch a nice bass. I wasn't having any luck, and it was almost dark. I decided to cast 10 more times before calling it a night. A fish suddenly struck my line. It felt heavy. I assumed it was a bass. Pulled it in. As I picked it up, something didn't look right in the dark. I looked more closely, and realized it was a huge black crappie. It measured out at 16 inches. The lake is not considered to be a crappie lake. Very unexpected.

Wading the Snake River fishing for smallies with a jointed rapala--If you get it going just the right speed it clacks and stays on top; deadly--I caught a 22" walleye. My only topwater walleye, but I know it happens.

Wallidave: "I was targeting hybrid stripers and walleye this past May in Illinois and landed this Muskie...I don't really want to catch them with the equipment I'm using but it made for a cool photo and memory :) "

Wow. You win the Bonus! Holy cow!!!

I occasionally catch channel catfish and blue catfish on topwaters. Normally when fly fishing, but this hit a whopper plopper like a freight train.

I caught a big eel pout in the BWCA one summer rip-jigging a jigging rap on a deep rock pile. Definitely didn't expect that.

wolfpack21: "I caught a bowfin on a bass worm a couple years ago. It was the first I had seen. I also got slimed by this thing that was pulled from out of the mud in Uganda - talk about a weird looking fish, it almost had legs! "

African lungfish

I was fishing for bass and catfish in a canal west of Wellington in Palm Beach County FL and caught a Walleye. That was a surprise!

47 inch Muskie on a rubber worm.