An interesting experience

I am sure that we have all had our share of interesting experiences in our day, so please, if you wnat to share some of the craziest things that have happened to you while fishing, please do. I’ll start us off.

Yesterday afternoon after I got off of work I decided that I would do a little fishing in the creek down the street from my house. As is turned out I only got one fish but I did get something else. Over the past few days, we have gotten a lot of rain in the D/FW area and so the creek that I normally fish in was a little muddy and swollen. Not being one to give up that easily, I decided that even if I didn’t catch anything that atleast I was outside and away from my wife for a few minutes. The first couple of casts went un-noticed, but the second was hit pretty hard by a LMB that was about 1 pound. That is where the fun ended. After this fun little fight, I decided to move up the creek a bit and try another spot. Finally I found a spot that I like and start my false casts and laid my clouser in the water, which was greeted eagerly but I missed the strike. My second cast accidentilly landed on the bank by about 6 inches or so:x, but even on land you can still catch something as I have found out due to the 2 and a half foot Cotton-mouth that struck my fly when I tried to retrieve it. For those of you who have never foughta snake on a fly-rod, I highly recommend it as it is more exilerating than a strong cup of cappuccino. After a good fight, I had gotten the snake close enough to me that I could see how I had hooked him, but I never could get him out of the water(although I was able to keep him far enough away from me to keep from getting bit, thank God for my 9’ rod), so now I was in a real predicament. Finally it hit me, I could simply false cast him off of my minnow(yeah right). Thankfully there was no-one around to see me because I am sure that they would have died laughing watching this idiot flail a poisonous snake around with a fly-rod. Finally the leader broke with my clouser and the snake still attached. Later on in the night, I lay in bed thinking about what had happened. This raised a very interesteing question. Does anyone else carry a 12 gauge pump shot-gun with them when they go fly-fishing as I do now?

No, but I do carry a .40 Glock.:stuck_out_tongue:

Good to know. I thought maybe I was just crazy or soemthing.

Try being waist deep in a Smokey Mt stream and have a Copperhead swim right toward you. No shot-gun just a fly rod to beat him. BILL

Oh I didn’t have one with me yesterday, but I carry one with me now, haha.

I was fishing by myself on Pennsylvania’s Tionesta Creek around Ross Run when a huge thunderstorm with lightning came over the hill. With me grounded nicely in the water with my “lightning rod” sticking up, I decided to get out of the water onto a small island.

I walked about 10 ft and saw 3 rattlesnakes—so i got back in the water.

I think I’d take my chances with the snakes :smiley:

I do carry a .357 S&W snubbie when I fish anywhere it’s leagal to do so (i.e. not in the national parks). Don’t think I’d shoot a snake but mean dogs are a different matter alltogether.

As for catching strange stuff on the fly rod, I guess a big bull frog would be the most unusual thing I ever hooked on a popper.

Jeff

jeffnles—i wanna go fast:lol:

On the frogs—i dont know why people gig them—they will always take a dangling fly—the fight isnt that spectacular and they only jump AFTER you get them OUT of the water!

the other thing that happened on the Au Sable in Grayling was —3 of us got out of the water and were walking back down Shaw road to Gate’s Lodge when we took a wrong fork in the road and ended up at somebody’s cottage —we turned around and were walking back and there were bear tracks over our bootprints in the sand----yikes!

Its a good thing that you had friends with you that day shorthaul. At least then the bear had a choice and you might have been able to get away, haha.

Bear tracks, now, that’s a different matter.

In July, my son and I were at Yellowstone. We were fishing up Black Tail Deer Creek. About 1/2 mile from the road there’s a willow thicket one has to either go through or around. There’s a good fisherman’s path through the willows so we chose to save some time.

We were making a lot of noise, talking loudly, etc. My son kept saying “Dad, this looks like bear country”. Yes, I answered let’s keep talking and making noise.

About 20 yards farther, he looked on the ground and asked “Dad is that bear poop”. Well, it was some kind of scat and not being a bear expert, all I could say was “something pooped there but I’m not sure if it was a bear.” About 50 or so yards farther, my boy said “Dad isn’t that a bear track in the sand?” Well, I’m no bear expert, but that was the biggest bear track I have ever seen. It looked as big as my head.

We decided to go out of the willows and move on up stream.

Upon returning to the road, we saw two park service volunteers wearing headphones and waving a tracking device antenna around in the air and pointing toward the direction from which we came. They hopped in their suv and moved on up the road.

Jeff

I’ve caught a water moccasin while fishing as well. I was using a spinning outfit on Caddo lake in east Texas. I cut the line.

That would have probably been the intelligent answer to my dilema at thte time but being that I was not born witha fully fuctional brain and that my neck is oh so very red, I felt that an act of severe stupidity was required on some-ones’ part, and that some-one might as well have been me.

I’ve never caught a snake but I’ve caught a bat at dusk at the neighborhood pond. It was not a pleasant experience releasing the flailing varmint. I must have bat-o-phobia because now when the bats come out it’s my cue to leave…

Yellowstone last year 5 of us were fishing on Slough Creek when we happened upon a black mama bear and two cubs. I’m no expert animal tracker but I definitely became more aware of my surroundings when I started noticing the fresh, miniature & full-sized tracks on the trail back out. Then we saw mama and the cubs from about 50 yards and thank goodness she was in a good mood because she went her way and we went ours with no problems. I’ve heard Yellowstone described as a zoo without walls. It’s an amazing place…but you’ve got to stay aware

When I was about 15 four of us used to go on week long camping trips. We Would walk from home to the head of Ellis creek canyon and fish our way up the creek. The creek is about 15 miles long and in a very steep narrow canyon. We always took along our 22s and One of the guys had a 410 over and under shotgun. John, Eddie, and I were packing Nylon Remington 22s with us. The Remingtons would fire as fast as you could pull the trigger. Freddie was packing the shotgun.

About 5 miles up the canyon where it is cliffs on either side and very narrow we ran into a Bobcat. Normally they would just run away from us.
this one gave out an incredibly loud yowl then stood its ground facing us spitting and snarling. It was quite frightening so we all unlimbered our guns aiming them at the cat. I took one knee and aimed at its head uncertain what to do. John said It must have kittens lets go back a little and give it some room. At the point where we all agreed and just started to turn around it gave out a loud screech and charged us. All four guns opened up at the same time. We stopped shooting when it stopped moving. The poor cat was so riddled with holes the pelt was not worth saving. We looked all over for any sign of kittens but found none. We carefully put it in a garbage bag that we had brought along for packing out our garbage. On the way home we dropped it off at the ranger station. Weeks later the ranger phoned John telling him that the cat did not have rabies and that it was a male so there were no kittens which was a relief. I guess it was just in a bad mood when it charged.

My friend swears that this next story is true.

He and his dad were fishing Penask lake when they spotted a Buck swimming from one Island to another island about 1/4 mile away. They slowly trolled closer to the deer when they spotted an otter playing around the deer swimming beside it then up on its back then diving in and then back up on it. The otter did this several times till the deer was able to touch bottom. Then from the deers reaction it looked like the otter gave it a nip because the buck jumped straight up in the air, hit back down snorted then charged up onto the shore. It spun around and stared at the water for a bit before finally disappearing into the brush. The otter calmly swam away.

Many years ago I had taken my nephew Bill out Catfishin’ on the Pit river. He’s about 35 now, but was maybe 10 then. We were usin cane poles, big bobbers and 2/0 catfish hooks baited with chicken liver. After a few near misses, and me gently straightenin’ him out, he did it ! He hooked ol’ Uncle Dan right in the left nostril. He started yankin’ and yardin’ on that cane pole tryin to get ‘er loose, like he was in the brush instead of hung up on my snout. Well, of course, I quckly grabbed his line and stopped his yankin’, blood runnin down my cheek, a big hook in me, and a hunk of stinkin’ chicken liver just over my lower lip. I cut his line off, and started to gettin it outa me, Bill, he gets a good look at me and starts laughin’, an’ says " Uncle Dan, hahaha…Does it hurt ?" Well, I grabbed him up before even I knew it, and chucked him in the river. Then I said, "I don’ know, Bill, …are you wet ? " After he dragged hisself outa the muddy ol river, we both laughed till we cried…then wen’t home and had Grama get the hook out… We still laugh about it to this day…

Wonderful Story. I LMAO you should send that in to readers casts so that it is archived and not lost in the shuffle. Are you wet . hahahahahaha

That reminds of the time my father and I were fishing in Bridgeport lake here in Texas and I hooked a good size crappie. She fought for a good 5 minutes. My dad decided that I needed help, so when he reached down to help, the reel seat broke off and the reel hit him right betwix the eyes. My granddad was with us that day, and after we got the fish in the boat, we had to fish my granddad back in cause he literally fell out of the little boat laughing.

Honest to God true story, me and two brothers, Billy and Crane went bass fishing at their pond one afternoon after school. There was only pond boat so one in the front one in the back and Crane sitting on the fish box. We fished for about two hours and caught a few bass and was paddling back to bank to head home. Billy paddled the boat up on the bank and I jumped out of the front a pulled the boat up on shore, Crane was sitting on the fish box facing forward lighting a cigarette, I head Billy say he was going to make one more cast from the back of the boat. Billy was fishing with 6 ft. bass stick, Ambassador 5000 spooled with 20 lb. test. I looked up and he was going to throw this ole 12" purple worm with huge weedless hook into the next county. I turned around headed to the car and heard a shot like a 22 rifle a splash and scream. Crane was in the water by the boat with both hands over his face and screaming, Billy was standing in the back of the boat with this dumb look on his face and a popped line. I thought My God, Billy done jerked Cranes eye ball out. We grabbed him and could not pry his hands off his face, and Billy is a big boy, so we carried him up to the car, an old push putton valiant and layed him in the back seat and headed to the hospital. We were scared bad and kept trying to talk Crane in to letting us see how bad it was, he finally removed his hands and Billy ran off the road laughing and I about fell out the car. That big ole weedless hook had sunk in one side of his nose gone all the way through the other side with the barb, and the worm dangling off the end of his nose. We finally got to the emergency room and it was full of people, Crane was feeling a little better at that point so he gathered the worm up in his hands and cupped them over his face and started moaning loudly and we entered the emergency room, there were some older ladies sitting on the wall and they said My God what is wrong with that boy, Crane staggered over to them moaning got real close to them and dropped his hands and screamed I Got a Worm up my nose, two of those old ladies about ran over each other getting out of the emergency room. When the Doctor finally quit laughing he cut the barb, and we headed to gas station for a cold one.

That’s a good one, Shack ! I’ll be laughin’ awhile…" I got a worm up my nose"
hahaha!

That part about the push button plymouth brings back some memories, too…I had me one a them…ModocDan

I’ve been waiting for that to happen to me but thankfully it hasn’t. I will let you ‘keep the glory’.

I did however catch an eel one day. Man can those fellas curl up fast!! Yes I cut the line(on a spinning reel) so no need to get too close.