The bat pool...

[k7zbob]

Bat pool1.jpg

I was casting in to this pool for trout yesterday, standing at the bottom of the pool letting my back-cast tail out over the stream behind me. I happened to look over my shoulder to watch my Woolly-Bugger as it started accelerating forward and to my surprise an orange colored bat was hard on its heels after it and headed right at me. The Woolly-Bugger sailed on over my head but the bat just kept coming at me - I cringed, he slammed in to my shoulder - POW! I looked around to see where he went and then looked in the water - there he was - knocked out cold, floating head up with his wings stretched out. He didn't move, just drifted down stream on the current, on over a riffle and about 20 feet in to the next pool below me where he fluttered his wings and took off... my first bat hatch!

[huntnmuleys]

wow, what are the odds... lol

[quivira kid]

That's too funny! Also: welcome to FAOL!

[FishnDave]

That's a great story!

[Silver Creek]

The bat was probably texting while flying.

[rainbowchaser]

I have had bats take my fly out of the air on two different occasions. They are very difficult to cast. I happened to get a chance to talk to a bat researcher a while back and she reconmended cutting the leader to release them. They can carry diseases she maintains vacinations for and she didn't thnik that their survival chances were much better if the hook was removed.

[FISHN50]

Good Story...
You have to be careful with bats though. a few years ago a acquaintance was fishing late in the evening in maine & he felt something on the end of his line & stripped it in. He thought it was a bunch of leaves & he grabbed it to get it off his line without really looking at it. It was a bat & it bit him on the thumb. He had to get the Rabies shot series in his hand where he was bitten & he said it was very painful. ........ Just FYI

Neil

[gmac209]

I have had one similar Bat experience.
It took the fly in the air and you are right they don't cast worth a darn.
I was contemplating cutting the leader when it got off by itself , another plus for barbless hooks.
The bat had to be wondering what type of bug bites back.

[tedshuck]

In the 70's I worked at a summer camp on a lake in the Rockies. We'd fish the lake almost every evening after dinner just around sundown. The bats would be swooping around looking for insects hatching off the lake. We'd seem to catch a couple every summer. Good advice to cut the leader and not get close to the bat since they often do carry rabies.

[k7zbob]

This is really interesting hearing about rabid bats. I thought it was kind of weird that he was coming right at me - I was in water up to my waist and he was about three feet off the deck coming straight up the creek and did not juke nor jink - usually bats are all over the place but this guy was locked on tight to me. Thanks for the insight - I will know what to do if I hook one...