Passingbye Loc: Reidsville NC

One morning we went on a fishing trip on Lake Arrowhead in Texas, with friends from our Church. Ray was the lead guitarist of our gospel group. Ray had three teenage son's who came along with my dad, older brother and myself. We went to a nice secluded spot that was suitable for bank fishing and running a trotline. While my older brother and I set out the trotline in about chest deep water and baited with cut shad, my dad, Ray and his children were bank fishing off a point that had a lot of Channel cat, striped bass and crappie. The thing about being on the lake is Dad's booming voice carried across the water. It took my brother and I a couple hours to set the trotline out and get it baited. then we were going to join the others bank fishing trying to catch up a mess for a big two family fish fry and invite the pastor and our other band members to Join us for a nice fish fry dinner. Ray had a civil service job out at Sheppard Air Force Base and was retired military but they were basically poor. While I was running the trotline Ray's son didn't have their own fishing rods, one boy named Steve was using my $160 heavy duty catfish rod, had it laying down fishing with it. When I heard my daddy's booming voice in horror, oh no?! Mark is going to be ticked off, he just bought that yesterday. I wasn't a very happy camper to say the least but I didn't go off on my friend's kid but a fish had yanked my brand new rod and took off with it out in the water and try and try after you tried with heavy weights and treble hooks with a spark plug on it and all so it waited down trying to snag the line I couldn't hook it to get it back. The catfish were biting my trotline like crazy they were in spawn and I was feeling my baskets and baiting most of the day until evening we had more than enough fish for our fish fry. When my older brother and I on the last run of the trotline caught about a 10 lb Flathead and it had another hook in his mouth attacked to a line that turned out to be my brand new rod and reel. What a lucky catch I managed to get my rod and reel and a 10 lb bonus. Once we got home and got the fish fillet up I took the reel apart clean the sand out of it and lubricated it with real lube. What a lucky day that was

Randyhartford Loc: Lawrence, Kansas

WOW! Lucky catch or PTL… 🙏🏻

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

That reminds me of a fishing trip we took off the end of the Mississippi River. I was leaving and this was a district party for us. We were fishing maybe 100 yards off the end of the jetties, and catching quite a few snappers. One of my guys left his rod and reel with the line in the water while he went to get a drink.
While he was gone, something hit the bait, jerked the rod and reel overboard! The captain said "well, that's $100!

But not 10 minutes later, another of our guys catches a snapper and it has the first fellow's hook in its mouth. We pulled it up and recovered the lost rod and reel! What a lucky break! Just Sayin...RJS

1Oldboat42 Loc: Kearney, Nebraska

That's apparently not that uncommon. I too loaned a rod and reel to a friend. He wasn't paying attention and it shot off the boat like a rocket. I was able to fish it out but I couldn't get the fish in successfully.

Chuckay Loc: Central Florida

Well I have a strange fish story my wife and my son (4 year old) was cat fishing and had been catching some nice channel cats, my my wife had just lost a fish which broke her line and our son got a fish on his line and he was pulling it up and when he finally got it to the top of the water it too came off 🥴 well less than ten minutes my wife got another fish on line and she got it in the boat well it had her hook that she lost earlier with about two feet of line AND it had my sons hook in it's mouth 😂 that fish was hungry now 🎣🎣

1Oldboat42 Loc: Kearney, Nebraska

I enjoy fishing stories just like hunting stories, so here's one more quickie. My grown son lost a favorite spinner to a channel cat, then at another park of the lake using cut bait he landed a large cat that had his spinner in its mouth.
I think I could enjoy a thread of nothing but stories like these from all over the country.

Grizzly 17 Loc: South central Pa

Mark that's a great memory to keep.
At times patience n understanding
pays off.

Nothing wrong with a 10lbr in the process 👍🤣🎣

Passingbye Loc: Reidsville NC

If it can be done or happens it's happened to me while fishing hooks deep in the bone, cottonmouth pulling the boat comes off hook and mad as hell, 100 lb Flathead and dang near You Yank me overboard and brand new $100 rods snapped in half like a twig. Just thankful I survived all that.

USAF Major Loc: Sea Bright, NJ

Glad you were fishing in freshwater!