I forgot about bats...I've had much luck with them while matching the hatch (they prefer dries).... My friend hooked one solidly and held it in the water until it drowned to save the only fly he had that was working on trout.
In saltwater, seagulls are a real blast...they prefer bait, though... but it is illegal to harm them so you must practice catch and release.
For a real challenge, try ice fishing with dry flies.
Over the years I've run into my share of bears, deer, elk, bobcats, rattle snakes... The most startling was on the Yellowstone. I was working my way along the bank, focused on the river, when I turned around and was face to face with a bison about 10 feet away, staring me down. I backed out of there quickly. I'm just glad I didn't hook him on a back-cast.
Relative to my fly fishing, I came to accept a long time ago that I live where I live and it's not as nice as out west, or the mountains of North Carolina, or even northern Michigan where I sometimes venture to wet a line. Kentucky is Kentucky after all, and while we have some fine fly fishing, I'm never going to find the same experience scenery-wise as I have in all of those other places. I've learned to accept that there will never be sun-drenched canyon walls or snow-capped mountains in the background, and I've even somehow gotten over the fact that on our state's premier trout fishery, a tailwater, that nice break in the current that I wade closer to will once in a great while turn out to be an old car or truck wheel. But on those occasions when I hear a branch breaking and turn around never to see a deer, or an elk, or a bison, or even a bear, but a cow, I still can't help but sigh. Wildlife, yeah buddy.
Once while wade-fishing a river in northern Illinois, a flock of Turkeys (one at a time) flew through the trees on the adjacent river bank, right over my head (could have touched them with my fishing rod), and on across the river into a huge oak tree where they landed to roost for the night.
I have seen wild swans fly over while fishing 3 times now..once in Illinois, twice in Iowa.
While flyfishing after dark one night, a muskrat swam over my line and managed to get hooked. When it felt the hook, it freaked out. Thinking something was in the water trying to get it, it promptly swam to shore and climbed up into the grass, where I was finally able to get close enough to reach down with pliers and pop the hook free.
This past summer, I was fishing a topwater plug with spinning gear while wading a local reservoir. 3 Seagulls took turns going after the plug. I managed to keep it away from the first two, but the 3rd managed to grab it. Not much of a fight, he settled on the water and let me pull him in, where I was able to remove the hook very easily. It was hooked in the hard bill, but not past the barb, thankfully.
While on Spring Break with my family a few years ago in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, I was fishing from a panga (boat)...trolling a large baitfish, hoping to catch a Roosterfish. I watched an Osprey soar over, then dive down and snatch my bait out of the water! He flew off while I tried to fight him with the stout gear. He never even flinched...STRONG BIRDS! I finally managed to put enough pressure on it as the Osprey flew away, that the hook pulled out of the baitfish.
We were fishing in Canada from a boat, and a cow & calf Woodland Caribou came out of the woods and paced nervously along the shoreline just 75'-100' away. They disappeared back into the woods, and within minutes a Black Bear came out, nose to the ground, hurriedly paced exactly where the Caribou had been, and then followed their path back into the woods.
David Merical
St. Louis, MO
Me too Joe...no one said it had to kill ya....Originally Posted by Lotech
I must be off
Brad
"A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her."
-W.C. Fields
Some interesting stories. Thanks all. My tale. I was fishing a very small creek in Oregon. The creek was full of small brookies and fun to fish for them. The creek was so small that I could stand with one foot on the left side and the other foot on the right side at the same time. So there I was straddling this little creek when there was a movement in the water to my rear. I looked up and here came a beaver swimming by. It stopped and looked at me and continued on swimming right between my legs.
Tim
Nothing extraordinary. About 1/2 hour after a rain had stopped I was driving out of the campgrounds and saw something in my rear view mirror. I stopped the car, got out and looked around where I had seen movement. I was about 10 feet away and then a doe kind of bounded away. There was still some movement and I saw this baby deer shaking and awkwardly get up, taking its first steps. I just walked back to my car and slowly drove away. I looked back in the mirror and saw the doe again.
Allan
Standing on the bank and fishing one day I had an otter swim by under my line, saw a mink running around up and down the bank and into and out of the water last summer picking up all the little minnows that had washed down, mergansers are pretty standard they have a tendency to show up on certain parts of the river when you happen to be catching fish. I did see an eagle come down and grab a small trout behind my brother who was fishing upstream of me years ago, he never even knew it was there couldn't hear his wing beats over the current. Seen tons of wildlife on my way into places, there always seems to be grouse hiding near the streams in some places. Did have a deer walk up by me while I was duck hunting one year, I was slowly coaxing in some mallards that were swimming up to my decoys and the deer was coming along the bank above me and I had no idea it was there until it noticed I was there and took off down the bank a ways. Scared the ducks off the water and didn't see anything for the rest of the afternoon. Had a porcupine climb up the tree I had my tree stand in several times while I was sitting in it, get a little nervous when you see that by your face having seen dogs with quills all over them.
While fishing for sunnies I foul hooked a good sized snapping turtle. That battle was longer in duration than any I've ever had.
When beached he challenged me vocally at which time I just cut him loose. He kept the fly as a gift.
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