Giving new meaning to the fishing term “catch and release,” a Tennessee angler reeled in something bat shaped that proved to be an undetonated explosive from World War II, officials say.

It happened Wednesday, Aug. 27, and resulted in an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team being dispatched to the Sequoyah Hills boat ramp in Knoxville, according to police.

“A fisherman had hooked onto an object roughly 20 feet from the embankment that was later determined to be a weathered World War II-era explosive device,” the Knoxville Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.

“EOD personnel carefully evaluated the device and safely transported it to (military) personnel in Cookeville, Tennessee.”

Cookeville is home to an Army National Guard Armory. Details of how the facility disposed of the device were not released, but the norm is a controlled detonation.

The name of the angler also was not revealed. However, he came forward on the police department’s Facebook page, and noted still being in the dark about the type of weapon he caught. “I was just fishing for bait, hook caught on just the end of it,” he posted.

The department’s post had more than 6,000 reactions and comments as of Aug. 29, including jokes about the type of bait one uses to catch a bomb.

Many have also tried to identify the weapon, with guesses including an M9A1 anti-tank rifle grenade, an M6A3 bazooka rocket, an M7A3 bazooka training rocket or an M7A3 training rocket. Some suspected it might be a German hand grenade.

“What do you say when people ask ... Any luck? Albert Milliron posted on the department’s Facebook page.

“I would say ‘Yes, I didn’t get blown up today’,” Roni Ann responded.

Knoxville is about a 180-mile drive east from Nashville.

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