What is the weirdest thing you have ever pulled out of the river on hook and line?
Mine – catching this turtle 3 times in one evening (I could tell because it was the same size and the shell had a notch on one side).
On the Whitefish river in Bay De Noc caught a new stcroix rod, shimano reel with a 3 lb.walleye attached ,found the owner though 
Mine always start with Mpls Pug. 
The third time I pull the same turtle out…it would have been soup. 
I’ve pulled up some pretty strange things from the river depths over the years. Probably the strangest one was a bone that appeared to be petrified (turned to stone). I pulled up a padded seat and back rest from a lawn tractor once.
As far as living organisms go I caught a burbout and a brown trout through the ice below lock & dam 11 at Dubuque. I know burbot are common in Minnesota but down this far on the river we don’t see many of them. Trout on the Mississippi are a rarity. I have heard of a few other trout caught in the tailwater areas over the years. I also caught a carp once without any eyes.
Eyehunter
Judging from the reactions I get when people introduce me as “Pug”, you are in good company Brian.
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Mine always start with Mpls Pug.
The third time I pull the same turtle out…it would have been soup.
Soup is delicious, but I think this was a protected turtle..
That would be one expensive bowl of soup!
When I was just a kid we had a muskrat getting into our bag of chips at the city park. So like a kid I poke a hole in a dorito and put it on a hook. Yep the ol muskrat came to eat some more chips and the fight was on. I never did get him all the way in. He just kept taking out line and I was running up and down the bank trying to save what I could. He eventually came to shore and ran across some grassy area and broke the line. I also caught a fishign rod trolling crank baits at Storm lake in Iowa. I hooked the rod in the end eyelet. The reel was corroded and the rod was all weathered. One time bow fishing carp on Mill creek in iowa i hti soemthign with my arrow and had to go and retrieve it. It turned out to be a bison skull. Not exactly line and reel but fishing none the less.
I have seen and caught too many oddball things over time in the river.
The most recent I can think of was last year when fishhead caught a pair of boxer shorts complete with an entire community of some type of freaky looking aquatic bugs!
Lots of *laundry* was caught that day, someone must have dumped a bag in the river.
Maybe Pug upset his wife in the 05′-06′ winter? She dumped his clothes where she knew he would find them come spring?
I pulled a sail that was rolled up in a nice case on a crankbait that I thought for sure was the shirt from an attached dead body.
I caught the same 28″ walleye at my cabin near Longville twice 
. One week apart in July …same spot on a weedline …8:30pm …Knew it was the same fish cause it had 2/3rd’s of a tail. 
Gave it a kiss and said, “If I catch you again, your going on the cabin wall…” Never to be seen again… RR
Part of a shopping cart.
Oh, and one time I caught a walleye…yuch!!!
A black garbage bag full of puppies!
BIRDDOG
Three years ago I caught a car radio on a crank bait. Apparently someone was using it as an anchor for a marker bouy or something becasue it had a piece of rope tied to it. I caught a loaf of bread on the St. Croix, last summer I hooked a Muskrat while fly fishing (they fight pretty good but are tough to unhook) and I caught a 40 pound snapping turtle while Musky fishing. That had my blood pressure going for a while. He turned into soup.
Oh, and last fall on Pool 2 I caugth this thing called a “Walleye” while I was out pitching Ringworms to the Sheepsheads. Some people like those things I guess 
Rootski
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Maybe Pug upset his wife in the 05′-06′ winter? She dumped his clothes where she knew he would find them come spring?
You think there is a girl out there silly enough to marry me? Usually, at about 2 years they have enough.
Did you happen to catch a mesh tank top and pair of chaps too?
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A black garbage bag full of puppies!
BIRDDOG
Wow, that’d be tough.
This is a little off topic, but still slightly on topic.
I witnessed a guy fishing for Elvis(yes, Elvis Presley) at Hidden Falls Park about 10 years ago. The was dressed like a 60’s hippy and had a accoustic guitar tied off to a long section of nylon rope(like recoil rope) and was throwing the guitar into the water as far as he could, and slowly retrieving it.
I asked him if he was “catching anything” as I looked in confusion.. his girlfriend stated they “had a couple bites” in a serious tone of voice. They were completely serious, and thought they were going to be successful.
Uncontrollable loud laughter came out of myself and fishing partners immediately following that statement.
Nope, but I think BK caught your fishnet stockings and he’s been wearing them in the Evert’s bait shop!
i was fishing below the sauk city dam on the wisconsin river.i was using a split shot and minnow on a plain hook.i got a bite set the hook and up she came at 100 mph.it was a sturgeon about six feet long.it porpoised about 2 feet from the boat.the look on my buddies and my face was priceless. needless to say it went down and wasnt coming back.i also once caught a arrowhead uncrusted in zebra mussels while trolling cranks.
Sean, your trailer just became home to 200 dead minnows. 
Rootski meantion fly fishing. I had a skeeter hawk chasing my fly one day when panfishing. To my surprise, I hooked him on a back cast.
Skeeter Hawks don’t fight as good as a walleye. 
I had a buddy that caught a size 16 workboot. It looked brand new and fought really hard. Later that same day same guy caught a tennis shoe out of the same spot. Never caught a shoe before or since.
I was fishing with my cousin one time and caught the intact skeleton of a piglet. The ligaments and cartilage were all still there holding the bones together, but otherwise it was totally clean. We were about 8 at the time, and it kinda freaked us out. Later that year, my dad caught a deer carcass from the same spot. Since then, that spot has been known as the carcass hole.
I’ve caught snappers, painted, and spiny softshell turtles; each species on more than one occasion. I’ve also caught goldfish, mudpuppies, and large pond snails. One of the stranger things I remember catching was a sleighbell attached to a short length of ribbon.
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I was fishing with my cousin one time and caught the intact skeleton of a piglet. The ligaments and cartilage were all still there holding the bones together, but otherwise it was totally clean. We were about 8 at the time, and it kinda freaked us out. Later that year, my dad caught a deer carcass from the same spot. Since then, that spot has been known as the carcass hole.
The real question is; was the fishing better around the carcass hole? Did big cats drag that deer and piglet down there? Do we have another case of the wily Midwestern Crocodile?
Mine was a camo pair of women’s bikini underwear
Mine would have to be a beaver and where else? Down town minneapolis of course! 
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Mine was a camo pair of women’s bikini underwear
Cool! Still got ’em?
I am more interested if they ever found the girl swimming.
Hello lady, need a lift?
No I don’t have them. But I might know whos they are. Had a boat anchor across the river from us one night and they never fish. But they were on the floor for some time, so there was a rod out. 
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But they were on the floor for some time, so there was a rod out.
I saw that from a distance once…I thought they were chasing one of those eels. Dave was saying that once they hit the floor, it’s almost impossable to grab hold of them.
well I really cant remember my oddest thing i have cought, other then a lot of trees and snags, however I will add that my dad cought, landed, unhooked and released a rock wile fishing LOTW last summer
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