Your best fishing experience?

[Sunburnt]

Mine would have to be when I caught THREE silver lookdowns!

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/12/fish_album/4_proaquatix_com.jpg

They were juvenile, I ended up letting a local saltwater fish store owner attempt to sell them xD

[SubRosa]

Catching my first native Brook Trout.

[carolinyens]

Catchin a long nose gar on a dumb flimsy fiberglass rod and 4lb line. Super intense. It was at least 15 min of epic battle and a lot of oh crap my line is gettin low and a lot of hit the trollin motor. It weighed 13lb 6 oz. I got a nice NC freshwater citation to put up on the wall. Of course, I threw her back just because but I prolly shoulda took her to the taxidermist. That was a good fishing day.

[wesleydnunder]

I was fishing in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 50 miles south of Freeport, Tx. I'd forgotten to check the braided line on my Penn Senator and found it was rotten when we got to our fishing spot. My backup was an Abu Garcia spinning combo with 200yds of 20 lb Ande monofilament on it. My first strike, after I'd cast the cigar minnow on the steel leader, peeled line off the reel at an alarming rate. Luckily, the owner of the 30' Grady White was quick and had the boat fired up and was chasing the fish down before he spooled me. I got 150 yds of line back when Matt stopped. The fish was still green and the spool shrank again. We chased that fish down four times before he sounded and went to the bottom. At that point he turned sideways to me and for every two inches of line I'd get back, he'd take one inch. An hour and a half after I set the hook he flashed green about 25' down. Five minutes later we decked him; a 60lb Wahoo, the biggest SW fish I've caught to date. That day we landed a 50 lb Ling (Cobia), 3 Amberjacks up to 30 lbs, several kings and various snapper (vermillion, lane, red...). I'll never forget that day, or how good that freezer full of fish was over the following months.

Mark

[2rivers]

My first ?mystery? fish a Fallfish over 8lbs. The reason being I had no idea what I was reelin in and had to look him up when I got home. I thought I knew every fish in that river. Semotilus corporalis its a giant purple lookin carp-like minnow.

[tropics007]

Almost winning the money for the biggest fish caught on a deep sea fishing trip. (that stupid barracuda got off the line....)

I love to go deep sea fishing. The best part is being on the ocean from 6:00 in the morning until 6:00 at night. The worst part is having to dock back in. lol

@ Sunburt- Where do you fish at? ( I normally do pier fishing at Johnnie Mercer's, but every now and then I try my hand at surf fishing).

[user_name]

Technically not fishing, but when I was younger a kid at my camp brought up a snapping turtle the size of a car hood. He also felt the need to pull it inside our canoe, it was an "interesting" experience.

Fishing wise, it would be when I went out with my family in the harbor, and I pulled in 7 bluefish in 20-30 minutes, it was crazy. These were some wicked fish too, I caught some monsters.

I can't wait untill I catch my first keeper striper, I've never caught more than a 2 footer. (I also didn't catch a single one last year, fishing from a boat and from a pier.)

[dbosman]

A 45 minute struggle with a Chinook Salmon in Lake Michigan.

[William11]

My first fishing experience down at rehobeth beach was the best fishing experience I ever had. I caught two very big blue crabs on that day. It was in early spring. I really enjoyed fishing from my very first experience. Now fishing has become my passion.

[Fishfiles1]

A 45 minute struggle with a Chinook Salmon in Lake Michigan.
the best lake in the world, i landed 3 nice cohos in the grand at the point this past fall in my kayak

as far as the best fishing trip if my life, that would be back when i was 4 i remember haling in this huge channel cat in on a little cheapy kids rod that was 2 ft. with stock line, i couldn't tell you how big it was, but it was the biggest channel cat caught in Michigan that year, i got the master angler award plaque and certificate for it. and we ate good that night, i couldnt tell you the weight, it was all of 20 lbs, had to be more than 30 in

[DougsGraphics]

The most memorable has to be the time a ring-billed gull grabbed my rapala as I cast it. What a ruckus bringing down a gull all tangled up in my line, and then trying to cut it loose! Also a fond memory of my dad catching a state-record tiger musky and we didn't even have a net in the boat!

[RisiganL.]

Catching a 18lb channel catfish at a small pond. I was at my friends house and it was nice outside, so we decided to go to a nearby pond and catch some small sunfish. First cast, and this catfish rips the line off! I literally had to walk around the pond to stop it from completely unspooling my reel! My favorite experience yet. Another time was when I was at the beach. A much heavier setup with 30lb braid and a good saltwater rod. "Something" took my line and I fought it for about 15min (by FAR my longest fight, haven't been fishing very long...). Then I decided to tighten the drag, hoping that it would tire the fish out some more, BAD idea. My line broke and my rod snapped back so fast I hit myself in the face.

[Vince G.]

Maybe not best, but funniest:
A friend of mine and I were fishing on the side of a stream in Jacksonville, FL where we were both in college. We were also both VERY financially challenged, and to some degree were fishing for dinner. I hooked a beautiful brown trout and after getting him about 2 feet from the bank, he starts to fight and comes free from my line. My friend, in a slow motion scene from an action movie or something, dives toward the water from about 2 feet behind me and while still in the air, slaps the trout onto the bank of the stream and falls face first into the water. I gave him that trout...he earned it that day!!! LOL