I’ll be honest, every time I head out to a lake or stream for some fishing, I’ve pretty much decided what species of fish I intend to pursue.

My reason for that approach is to choose the right equipment, lures and presentation to accomplish a successful trip. This approach is especially true when I plan to wade a stream for trout, since what you carry is quite limited.

True, if you are heading out to a lake or river in a boat of some kind, you have a lot more leeway to carry additional equipment, so if you wish, you may change your approach and your equipment and pursue a different species of fish.

Almost every time my wife and I, or I and a fishing buddy, head out on a lake, we’ve already pretty much made up our mind what fish we are after.

However, even though we have already made up our minds as to what particular species or species of fish we intend to target, it’s not at all unusual to catch something you didn’t expect. Quite often, my wife and I will head to a lake with plans to go after panfish, especially crappies, bluegills, and perch. They are fun to catch and make a great meal, but because they are smaller fish with somewhat smaller mouths, it’s important to gear your equipment and lure presentations down to a smaller size.

Last week, in our pursuit of panfish on a lake, my wife, Sheila, and I were fishing with one of our usual lures, using ultralight spinning outfits and 4-pound test line. We were using small one-sixteenth- or one-thirty-second-size jigs with a soft plastic tube.

As usual, when you feel that light tap, and you set the hook, you then begin reeling in that feisty little panfish, but once in a while, you get a surprise when you set that hook. Instead of that jerky little tug, the rod bends a lot more than expected, and it almost feels like you hooked a log on the bottom of the lake.

This past week, my wife surprised us with a pretty nice largemouth bass.

A couple of years ago, we were fishing a different lake for panfish when Sheila set the hook, and again, we thought she might be hooked up on the bottom. When the line began to move and throb, however, she realized she was into something big. As it turned out, she landed a large walleye in the mid-20s range — not only an unexpected hookup but a fortunate battle and successful landing.

I remember fishing the Susquehanna River once years ago, targeting smallmouth bass with a flyrod and surface poppers. Poppers imitate a small frog floating and struggling on the surface, and bass will often attack that surface action. There was a surge under my popper, and it was quickly gobbled up. I set the hook as usual, but I immediately knew I was into something much bigger. After quite an intense battle, I was able to bring the large musky up alongside the boat, where the big-toothed critter snapped off my lure and took off. Hooking that musky was certainly unexpected, but losing it was not.

Obviously, no matter how much we plan to execute a particular fishing outing, the unexpected can happen, but to be honest, those hooked-up surprises can add to the excitement of a fishing outing, so be prepared, it doesn’t always go as planned.