Stopped at the lake on my way home from work this morning. I was throwing a jig with a Keitech trailer when I hooked up with a 2ish pound largemouth. On the next cast in the same area I got bit again. This time after I set the hook something felt funny. When I reeled it in I saw that I had hooked it in the eye socket and it just sort of laid there not moving. I thought I had hooked its brain and killed it. I unhooked it and put it back in the water. To my surprise it swam off. My guess is that it bumped the jig and I set the hook at the right time to snag it, not sure though. Thoughts?

I've done similar things. Several years ago, I hooked a walleye in the tail on a DT-6. Still have no idea how it happened. I would have loved to be down there watching it go down. 

I have been striper fishing a lot lately and when we use live baits, we jig up blueback herring on sabiki rigs. I have killed 2 of them from the sabiki hook going into their brain when it gets them lol

I had a 30-35 pound flathead catfish swallow a large circle hook and puncture it's heart, it was nearly dead by the time I landed it. It's the only big catfish I've kept in over a decade and I was really surprised to find that hook when I cleaned it. 

A couple weeks ago I was throwing a Spro little John and hooked what I thought was a big largemouth. To my suprise I reeled in a 4 lb. Channel cat by the tail. 

I once skin-hooked a 6 pound bass with
a freakin' #1 size wacky hook of all things!

Man that creature took me for a spin on
my kayak. Crazy! got it in, still not sure
how I managed to set the hook there.

Last year I somehow managed to snag a 45 inch muskie in the tail with a drop shot, it was the craziest fight I have ever had, small foul hooked fish are one thing, but big toothy critters are a whole different story 

18 lb flathead on a wacky rigged senko on smith mountain lake

 

12lb flathead on a dt10 on high rock. Hooked him at base of dorsal fin.I was using an mhx cb 843...amazed I boated him.

 

Lastly 71/2' (wing tip to tip) manta ray with 10/0 circle that got hung in his gill

 That was the worst 11/2 hour fight. ...