But what if that thing that is nibbling on your rod is something bigger and heavier than you?
Well, that's what this one Sarawakian man experienced recently.
A monster of a fish
The man, known only as Rahman, had the luckiest day of his life when he managed to reel in a gigantic grouper during a fishing trip to waters off Kuala Baram last Thursday (15 April).According to The Borneo Post, the grouper weighs a whopping 160kg.
Rahman, who works as a fisherman, told the news portal that the monster grouper was caught in his trawling net, and he had to enlist the help of his friends on the fishing vessel to haul the fish onboard.
Rahman said that in his entire fishing career, he has never caught anything of this size.
"This is unforgettable. Since I started fishing in1982, this is the first time I caught a fish weighing more that 150kg," he was quoted as saying.
You'd think that Rahman would at least bring the fish home to savour it, considering that the catch was so memorable, but according to the news portal, an owner of a restaurant immediately approached Rahman when he was unloading the fish with an offer to buy it.
The restaurant owner reportedly offered Rahman RM12,000 for the fish, but after some haggling, the grouper was sold for an undisclosed price.
We guess Rahman has his lucky stars to thank.
The biggest ever caught
Despite that, Rahman's grouper was not the biggest ever caught in history.That honour belongs to a group of fishermen, who caught a massive goliath grouper weighing 308kg on 20 May 1961.
According to this website, the monster was caught off Fernandina Beach in Florida, USA, using a Spanish mackerel as bait.
The catch was certified by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) as the heaviest grouper ever caught.
This particular grouper species is considered as an endangered species today, and it is protected in the United States and the Carribean.