mr.crappie
Although not quite exotic, a couple of years ago at Elk Creek I got a few of those Humpback (I don't know what the correct name is ) Salmonoids that showed up at Erie. It was different for sure. I threw it back, but was sure that no one would believe me until until more showed up. Now, this was before the internet & I never carried a camera. Was kinda pretty I thought.  sam

Are you referring to Pink Salmon ("Humpies")? They're rare but present, very cool salmonids. There was a really nice ~24" male in trout run back in October, thing was trying to spawn with steelhead.

Funny pictures, Captain.  I find a few deceased gluttons like this every Spring:
 

 
 
Talk about biting off more than you can chew!
 
 

Amazing what you see sometimes. I found a huge Walleye dead up at Pymatuning on the shore years ago same situation . Had a big Yellow Perch jammed in it's mouth .
 
Mr. Crappie , every now and then you hear a few Pink Salmon caught in the Erie Tribs over the years. I think Michigan might of or did stock them, maybe Canada too.  

I caught a water snake as a kid fishing in a pond" unintended " big one to my dad was not happy lol ,and caught a snapping turtle on a rubber worm bass fishing caught a baby pike in a muskrat trap trapping few years back he was realised unharmed lol I felt bad for the lil guy but he pulled through OK tho iv seen some really deformed pellet heads over the years

CAPTAIN HOOK
Amazing what you see sometimes. I found a huge Walleye dead up at Pymatuning on the shore years ago same situation . Had a big Yellow Perch jammed in it's mouth . Mr. Crappie , every now and then you hear a few Pink Salmon caught in the Erie Tribs over the years. I think Michigan might of or did stock them, maybe Canada too.  

They escaped from a hatchery on Lake Superior in Canada (I want to say Thunder Bay Area). The hatchery was originally farming them for a Hudson Bay stocking program which wound up failing miserably. So, they had a few thousand young fish left at the hatchery right on a north shore trib and thought that they couldn't survive or reproduce in superior's conditions so they drained the fry down in to the tribs. A few years later and adults are spawning in tribs quite successfully. Eventually find their way to the south shore of superior, then down to Lake Huron, and from there both Michigan and Erie and ultimately Ontario too. I'd say they're most abundant by far in Lake Superior now though with Huron coming in at second best fishery for them in the Great Lakes.

captain,yes it was a few years back,I think it was when they still stocked Cohos & kings but few Steelhead in the Erie tribs. I actually seen a few but only caught 1 or 2 if my memory serves. It seems like they only spawned every other year or only came in every few years.There was very little info back then & there was no web as we know it now to spread the info. IMO Those were the good ole days.  sam

So that's what a burbot looks like...

That is one ugly fish ! Looks like half bat ! I'd cut the line on that one ! LOL     ?