Strangest Thing in a Fish's Stomach

[iPodrodder]

I remember catching a trout with a mini rubber tire belonging to a Hot Wheels car in its stomach. It got me wondering, What is the weirdest thing you have ever seen in a fish's stomach?

[stanford]

I once caught this fat trout up at Lake Chelan, this trout must have been 28 inches long it was huge. We were fishing with the local mackinaw guide. Anyway when we went to clean this sucker up, we found three different hooks in its throat all baited with power eggs. The hooks were all rusted out, but the bait was perfectly normal. This fish must of made a few angry fisherman It makes me wonder if this power bait egg stuff is biodegradeable. I have never seen so many hooks in one fish's mouth.........

[A9]

Nothing too weird. I do like to always pull out the stomach and cut it up when I keep the fish. Especially with things like salmon out in the saltwater. Figure out what they are eating and what not..

[iPodrodder]

I just remembered this one. I caught a fish with its own eye down its gullet. The socket was freshly bleeding, maybe it scraped bottom while fighting me? I have no real idea how it happened.

[Mossy]

caught a 4lb largemouth out of downs lake a couple years ago, first one I've kept in years but anyway, found a baby duck in his/her stomach. The crazy part was I caught it off a scumfrog, so you know they are gluttens!
Side note, my mom caught a stocked trout one time with corn, gutted it, and the whole entire cavity including the meat was flourescent green--which is why I never use powerbait.

[EastsideRedneck]

One of the secondary reasons I love fishing for catfish is what you find in their bellies...

While fishing at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri I caught a catfish with three keys (one definitely a vehicle)on a key ring in its stomach. Imagine how pissed the guy who lost his car and probably house or cabin keys was when he realized they were gone.

At my family's private pond in Missouri I found one of those tiny Swiss Army knives that I had thrown into the pond a year before out of frustration. Cleaned it off, kept it in my tacklebox, and used it for years after that.

[EdmondsBassMan]

Well I didn't cut this fish open but it was definitely in his belly. Here goes I caught a nice 4lb largemouth once and as I was taking my hook out I noticed something in its mouth. It was about 2" long blackish gray in color and looked like what I thought was the tail of a dragonfly. I was quite curious so I took my pliers and grabbed it. Well it was far to stiff to be a dragonfly. Now I'm tugging on it and the fish's gullet is opening as I tug. As it opens I see that what I'm pulling on is the tail end of a very large mouse!!!! He didn't even have the whole thing in his belly yet and still hit my spinnerbait!!! LOL That is why I love bass they are eating machines! If they can get it in that ole bucket mouth it is done for!!!! LOL

[gpc]

I have found cigarette butts and gravel in a fish's stomach.

At mineral last year the guy next to us caught a 6lb trout trolling a woolly bugger and leaded line. The trout had to have had 10 different power eggs ( all were nitro and not berkely brand ?!?) and 2 hooks. Then 1 time at mineral there was a nice 5lb trout floating/swimming around on the top of the water. 2 kids and there father saw a line hanging out its mouth and netted the fish to let him go. Come to find out the fish had ate and digested a wedding ring and it has hanging out the back end of the fish.

At Mardon last weekend my buddy caught a catfish on herring. We checked the stomach and found 4 other herring. All the previous bites he had were from the same fish. Or someone else was using herring at potholes, which I doubt it.

Sam is right, another good time to check the stomach contents is when bait fishing for trout. This way you can see what color is in there.

[leahcim_dahc]

With the way my luck has been going here lately, the weirdest thing I have found has been my hook and worm...


Chad

[iPodrodder]

One of the secondary reasons I love fishing for catfish is what you find in their bellies...

While fishing at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri I caught a catfish with three keys (one definitely a vehicle)on a key ring in its stomach. Imagine how pissed the guy who lost his car and probably house or cabin keys was when he realized they were gone.

At my family's private pond in Missouri I found one of those tiny Swiss Army knives that I had thrown into the pond a year before out of frustration. Cleaned it off, kept it in my tacklebox, and used it for years after that.

Wow. Talk about dumb luck. Found some more in Ripley's Believe it or Not! One fish was wearing the glasses of a fisherman who had dropped them a few minutes earlier, and one fish had a diamond ring in it's stomach.

[YellowBear]

One day I was fishing the creek out back and caught a nice Rainbow.
The fish weighed in on my scale at 5lbs. Not bad for a creek.
As I prepared the fish for the barbie I was surprised to find a bird in its belly.
The bird was the size of a Swallow or Sparrow.

[jmay]

10 years ago in mid September I was on the upper portion of the Kettle River next to the Canadian boarder. I heard rumors of huge browns fatting up for winter in the late evenings, sure enought I had a big hook up on a wooly bugger, and landed a 20=21" brown with huge girth. The fish was hooked on its tougne when I went to release the fish I found a mouse tail was lodged in its throat and was not fully in its belly. I guess the poor brownie thought he was at a Las Vegas Buffet? The fish was release unharmed but I am pretty sure the mouse didn't make it.

[bob johansen]

While bass fishing with my son several years ago, he caught a 5 pound bass with the tail of a fair sized bullhead catfish sticking out of it's mouth. And, even with that mouthful, the bass hit and was hooked on a jig. The fish was thanked for the memories and released to finish digesting his meal. BT

[panfisher]

found a 3/0 hook sticking out of the rear of a 3 l/b bass, i also found my fingers stuck in the mouth of a big northern pike after i made a grab at it as it tried to slither back into the water while shore fishing, still have the scares and did get it to the dinner table that night. <')//<

[sanfrandan]

I once caught about a 7 inch brook trout with a mouse in its stomach. Bill deal, yes, considering the the mouse was about three times the size of the fishes mouth. I guess brookies can unhindge their jaws like snakes?

[TBear_fishin]

Greeting fellow piscatorians! I am a newbie, but have followed Washington Lakes for many years.
Hmmmmm....strangest fish stomach contents? I have one that has not showed up on the radar yet. Many years ago in the mid-70's I was working summers as a firefighter with California Division of Forestry. We had been out on fires for 2-1/2 weeks straight. My wife and her mother picked me up at the station and we drove to South Shore Lake Tahoe. I borrowed a pole & gear from our host and asked what was good for bait. He said get some live shiners in the boat marina and hook the dorsal.
So, off I walk to the lake shore with 4-5 kids. The wind was blowing directly on our faces, pretty good but not cold. I rigged up and tossed my offering as far as the wind allowed. Now you know, kids always need help with their poles. So I set mine against the dock railing to help, when all of a sudden the tip of the rod snaps down hard! The line had snapped. My heart was beating like it was gonna leap out of my chest. I quickly finished helping the kids and got my line back in the water. Almost immediately I felt the strong tug of a fish on!
That afternoon I reeled in 5 really nice fat rainbows, the largest a 22- incher. Back at the marina while I was cleaning the trout at the shore, one of the fish had a very pronounced stomach. I always check contents and it was fairly obvious what food I would find. I was not however prepared for the tip of a thumb.....THUMB in that one! Because the kids were around and I didn't want to alarm or scare any of them I stashed my find under a rock.
A bit later I reported to my host and others in the party what I had found. Needless to say they claimed I was crazy and had to see this for themselves. Everyone of them offered some reason as to how the thumb could have gotten where it did. From a hapless fisherman slicing it off while cutting bait, to well you know, some person who didn't pay his bookie and ended up fish food. :thumright

[kzoo]

I've caught bass with a frog leg sticking out of it's gullet.

Old friend of my dad said he'd find all sorts of things in north pikes bellies, bobbers and bottle caps.

[shawn]

It was this year I was fly fishing Island lake.I caught 4 bows went to clean em up before I left.In ones stomach I found a few Berkley power balls in the second fish I found the same thing but then I also found a tab from a pop can or beer can.

[EastsideRedneck]

I was not however prepared for the tip of a thumb.....THUMB in that one! Because the kids were around and I didn't want to alarm or scare any of them I stashed my find under a rock.
A bit later I reported to my host and others in the party what I had found. Needless to say they claimed I was crazy and had to see this for themselves. Everyone of them offered some reason as to how the thumb could have gotten where it did. From a hapless fisherman slicing it off while cutting bait, to well you know, some person who didn't pay his bookie and ended up fish food. :thumright

The water temp in tahoe is cold enough year round that bodies that drown are actually preserved and the ones that aren't found (many, many of them) are said to semi-suspend & drift in its depths. Gruesome thought, but I can see how some fish could end up a digit or two in its belly.

[Fish Antics]

I was in Anacortes one fall checking the commercial salmon catch for tagged fish. I encountered an odd shaped silver salmon (coho) in a tote that I had never seen before. This odd salmon was shaped like a sunfish. It's head and tail fin (caudal) was the same size as the rest of the fish but it was VERY short and compressed. Curious, I dissected it, only to discover an incredibly long tape worm, which was still alive. i pulled out about five feet and laid it out on the dock before destroying it. That salmon had been eating like crazy to feed the tape worm.