Bonus Fish!

[Matt_Atkins]

Bonus fish, thats what i call the fish you get when packin up your traps and find a fish that never tripped the flag. What do you all call em. Any great stories? Its how caught my first walleye.

[PsychologicalPerch]

a two pound perch took my pike minnow and never sprung the flag. when reeling the line in to go back home, i find it on the end of my line half dead....sad i couldnt release such a beaut but it was delicious.

[RapShack]

A fish on a tipup with no flag?  I call them Perch.

[fishquick86]

Thats awesome! I had a bonus fish on a rod once? I had a rod tip bobber on and never once say it bounce or the rod...what had happened was a walleye had taken the bait and went up instead of swimming away and I grabbed the rod and forcefully started really up to find a 18" walleye hanging on my hook!! That was an awesome end to a day of fishing right there!!

[J_Edwards]

I had that happen a few trips ago.  My buddy had gotten sick so we were pulling our gear to head home, I had no flags, he had a couple with some good eyes on them, one 8lbs.  I was making my rounds and my last trap had a 3lber on it, no flag tripped, no line pulled out. ..

[minnowdrowner]

Up on Lake of the Woods a couple years ago, about 25 below with wind blowing 50mph. Me and a buddy were in my portable with a couple tip ups out with about 3" fatheads just for fun. Went to pack up at the end of the day, winding up tip ups, and reeled up a sauger about 4" long ... Not entirely sure how he got on there being only about an inch longer than the bait, it was strange 

[buckfordave]

actually I have had that happen 3 times with pike, one was almost 11 pounds it ate my sucker and never moved all day!! I set traps at 7 am picked up the tip up at 3 PM

[fishnmachine]

The biggest walleye I ever iced (9lbs. 12 oz.) never tripped the Champlain jack I caught her on. She just held the flag arm at the balance point without causing it to trip. It was just askew enough to look "out of place" from the rest. I watched that jack for probably 20 minutes before I finally left the shanty to check it. Boy was I surprised when I tried to re-set it! 

[buckfordave]

PsychologicalPerch thats like eating thanksgiving that poor ol perch was hungry but spent all his energy digesting his meal!!!

[reddog11]

Yup, perch on the tip-up.

[pascoag icefisher]

I got a bonus 3 pound largemouth bass! What a great way to end the day!

[Fatfish]

Perch on a tip up,yes,yes,yes. They are such a glutten,they choke to death on a big shiner. I have had this once .Never move after choking down a meal. My son caught one a14in,this weekend with a 4in.minnow in his gullet.He could hardly get the minnow out of his mouth,to un hook the jig he caught him on.  Jerry

[Whopper Stopper]

A fish on a tipup with no flag?  I call them Perch.
[/quot           

    Same here.

      WS

[Matt_Atkins]

Never thought of fishing swimming up, caught a walleye all tangled up like moby dick, must have been what he did.

[george33]

This weekend we were walking by our holes and seen a perch froze in it. the perch grabbed the bait and swam up the hole and froze there. never seen anything like it.

[neveruminda]

when living back in the Midwest, 3lb smallie sucked in the minnow and never triggered a flag  like he was in a comatose; that is til he felt the hook set