Surprise fish?

Everyone has had that rare moment where you are fishing for one or more particular species, but end up catching something completely different that totally surprises you, and makes your day.

So, what fish have surprised you, and what were you fishing for originally?

For me there are three that stand out.

1) Fishing for roach on the canal and catching a 3lb eel...specimen, took a hell of a long time to land on my pole with the light elastic, tremendous fight and tremendous eel.

2) Fishing for roach and bream on a local lake, and caught a daddy ruffe, completely shocked me, and to this day remains the only daddy ruffe I have ever caught. Strange, but nice fish.

3) Fishing for brown trout and grayling on the river, caught a salmon parr. Only a tiny fish, but had all the markings and surprised me a lot, remains the only salmon I have caught to this day. A pleasing moment, despite it being so low key.

Over to you.

When dry-fly fishing for trout I have caught (a) a Chubb, I had my suspicions that it was not a trout but it was rising regularly so I had a flick (b) a Dace very late at night fishing in the full moon.

I once caught a mullet when fishing for sea trout in the mouth of a small spate river - its first rush took me completely by surprise since its behaviour was totally different to a sea-trout's.

I have several times caught an eel when worming for sea-trout.

Most surprising of all was on the only trip I have ever taken to west Russia, north of Finland (needless to say the hottest summer since the Revolution so not enough water) and I caught a pacific salmon. It was about 2am so I couldn't see its colour, but by it's hump-backed shape it was a sockeye or a pink samon - ugly brute and not very big, about 3lbs.

Wow, nice one Barry. Bet that was a nice surprise.

I caught a crayfish on one of my buzzers after leaving them in the water on the bottom for a bit, he wouldn't let go.

Ha, brilliant.

I once caught a duck...

Fists of Fury wrote:Ha, brilliant.

I once caught a duck...

yh so did i fists lol. The first time i ever went, was with my grandad, and the only thing i caught then was a duck lol