What’s the Strangest Thing You Have Reeled In?
By angelamontana

Posted: December 14, 2016

What’s the strangest thing you have ever caught while fishing?

Here are a couple of stories from a few years ago via Outdoor News that you might, or might not, be able to relate to:

Warwick, Rhode Island resident Tom Walason was jigging for fluke on Greenwich Bay when he landed a 10-carat gold ring, which was a fluke of its own.

According to The Warwick Beacon, the man’s class or school-type ring is engraved with the letters SMS, followed by RC, and the date 1919. Walason said he has searched on the Internet, but has yet to determine the background of his bauble.

As for his angling skill, Walason said it was not the first time he hooked something unusual.

“I usually catch weird stuff, not fish,” he said.

Sometimes, the unusual items anglers reel in can be pretty dangerous–much like this Kansas angler’s catch:

A Kansas angler reeled in a 20-pound catch that he’d really rather not have hooked—in fact, it kind of ruined his whole day.

Sean Un was fishing at Mary’s Lake in Olathe, Kansas, a popular fishing hole for local youngsters, when he landed a 16-inch, 20-pound pipe bomb packed with gunpowder.

“I was scared to death,” Un told the Lawrence Journal World newspaper. “It looked like someone was up to no good.”

Un was not carrying a cell phone, so he left the bomb on the ground, warned others who were fishing not to touch it, and walked to a phone to call police.

Authorities couldn’t tell how long the device had been submerged, but noted that the powder was still dry and it posed significant danger.

Capt. Ed Schons, Jr., commander of the Olathe, Kan., bomb squad, said it appeared someone may have ignited the fuse, then tossed it in the water. But the fuse stopped just short of igniting the powder.

“I don’t know if they were just building it to mess around or if it was a prank or what,” he said. “They could have just been experimenting with this thing to see what it would do. I don’t know.”

The bomb was dismantled and destroyed.

We would love to hear your stories.  What strange unplanned items have you reeled in while fishing in Montana and beyond?  Email us by clicking here, and we will feature your story on our website!

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