I was fishing for panfish on a local pond with a 4'6" ultralight pole flipping a crawfish crankbait and landed a 32" tiger muskey, the only one I have ever caught. Awsome fight thought it was going to get away I only had 4lb line on. Saddly the only picture I got was on my cell phone and shortly after lost it.

I was sight fishing for some finicky largemouths and hooked what I thought was a whooper on a crawfish jig- it was a big bowfin (dogfish)! Never caught one before but it was a blast. Would love to tackle another.

That is a nice fish! It is the kind of thing that belongs in Field and Stream.

Not really a fishing post, but what the heck.

The one and only wild turkey I've ever gotten when I was walking the woods for bunnies. Jack (the world's oldest black Lab) wandered away for a drink, and flushed three gobblers on the way back. As they flew over me looking like three B-52's, I went thru the mental checklist that started with, "Holy $^#&! Turkeys!

Are turkeys legal this time of year? Check.

Am I in the right Wildlife Management Unit? Check.

Will a load of #6's knock down a turkey? Only one way to find out.

Pow!

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. That turkey surely tasted good, and I was lucky to have it. -Bob

BTW -- Dieter, we feel your pain. My buddy John thought he hooked the Queen Mother of All Stripers, just downstream of the Upper Black Eddy bridge. Dragged our canoe around for twenty minutes. Turned out to be a carp as long as your leg. Bleah.

Many moons ago, in the unwavering heat, of the dog days of July, I was trolling for bass in a rented 16-foot john boat,with a 9 1/2 hp motor.I really was just trying to get a breeze going ... if you catch my drift.

I was using 15-lb Trilene with a Gold willow-leaf spinner bait. I was trolling the ledge of a drop-off along side the Licking River, which dead-ends into Cave Run Lake in Kentucky.

The john boat was running about 3-miles per hour when I got hung up ... at least that was my first thought. I turned the boat around to retreive my lure, when my lure came swimming straight towards the boat.

I reeled up the slack and set the hook just in case it wasn't imbedded in the fishes mouth securely. When I crossed his eyes, a 4-foot, plus, muskie came flying out of the water trying to loosen his bite on my spinner bait.

He immediately headed straight for the dark bowels of the river channel. I thought I would let him go where he was headed until I thought of loosing him. I pulled back on the pole and turned him as he came out of the water again full-bodied, pure muscle.

He came out of the water a total of 4-times, and the last time I couldn't believe how big this 'ol boy was, as he was within 30-feet of the boat. He headed for depths unknown as I heared the familiar sound of my 15-lb. Trilene singing the blues as he broke my line. It sounded like a crack of a pistol going off.

Since then a steel leader is the order of the day ... most of the time.

To answer your question: Circumstances can be greater ... if we learn from them!

i was fishing for trout at a lake just past carter res. between longmont and loveland CO. when i hooked into something i wasn't prepared for. i had picked a fight with what i found out was a 40 inch pike using a 5 weight fly rod. took awhile but i got him in and proudly released him. going back for more this spring!

My Dad loves to tell this story, we were fishing for crappie in an overflow pond off a reservoir in the early spring and the 6 year old version of me caught a little one. Rather than take it off the hook I threw it back out to fight it again. Damn snapping turtle grabbed the crappie and got stuck with the hook. Once I saw the beast I started screaming bloody murder, but being a fisherman's son I wouldn't quit reeling. I though I hooked the creature from the black lagoon, scared the hell out of me.