When I lived back east, I did quite a bit of bass fishing. One time, the giant "bass" I hooked at 11 am on a sunny day, by a log in 3 foot of water, turned out to be a 12 pound flathead catfish. The things are supposed to be nocturnal, but it hammered my spinnerbait and put up a great fight. Another time, a "bass" turned out to be a 10 pound snapping turtle (with attitude). Caught a watersnake too...all out of the same lake. Yes, there were a few bass around too. Been in Oregon 6 years now. My biggest suprise here was a chinook about 30 pounds I hooked in the Deschutes fishin one September for steelhead with a med-light spinning rod and 8 lb Trilene. Fought it 1 and 1/2 hours before it broke me off. Suppose I should've broke it off when I realized what it was. I'll know better next time.