This Kind Of Made Me Mad Today

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Went out from about 9 this morning til about 2.  Didn't catch anything but whatever.  That's not so unusual.  But when I walked back to my car I saw this little guy flopping around in a 5 inch deep mud puddle.

 

 

Now he wasn't there when I left the lake at dark the night before and I didn't notice him there when I first arrived.  The only other people there were 2 guys from DNR inspecting the dam.  I can't imagine the DNR guys would do something like this but I mean, like I said, there wasn't anyone else there.  I thought maybe an osprey got him and dropped him or something but I didn't see any wounds from a beak or talons and what are the odds that with all the dry ground, this fish is gonna land in the 3 foot diameter puddle?  Also it was a good 10 or 12 feet above the creek level so its not like it was flooded out or anything.  I dunno.  It just kind or irked me.  Anyway, I put him back in the creek.  He swam kind of weird at first.  Swimming on this side and jumping out of the water a lot.  I guess maybe his equilibrium was messed up from laying in the puddle for however long he was there.  But after a bit he was swimming right and snuggled his face into a rock at the shoreline to recuperate.

 

 

I also saved a little baby turtle who was baking (not basking.  literally baking) in the noon day sun and probably wouldn't have lasted much longer if I hadn't scooped him up.

 

[Dyerbassman]

Why did this make you mad?!?! You (hopefully) helped those little guys extend their lives for a little bit. Don't be angry; you should feel a sense of pride for helping.

[Darren.]

Good work, mate! I'd have done the same thing, heaven knows my boys and I have rescued enough turtles around here from the morons who swerve out of their way to crush a street-crossing critter.

[ClackerBuzz]

i have a tendency to over re-act to stupidity too. just remember its a speculation stretch here b/c there was no real evidence.

i love comedy b/c it keeps me in check and helps me laugh at myself.

not gonna post it b/c it has some curse words but if you want help being able to laugh at yourself over re-acting go to youtube and check out louise c.k. bit on road rage. hilarious and great perspective.

keywords: "Louis CK and the ridiculousness of Road Rage, "Oh My God" HBO Special"

[mtaag3]

Kudos to you for helping.

[Sam]

I have been known to shoo a black snake out of the road; use one of my fishing rods to get a snapping turtle off the road; and stop the car and pick up a very large box turtle and move him out of the road and into a field.

 

What you did was great. You should be commended for your deeds.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Only suggestion I have is to wash your hands as fast as you can atfer handling wildlife.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Why did this make you mad?!?! You (hopefully) helped those little guys extend their lives for a little bit. Don't be angry; you should feel a sense of pride for helping.

Made me angry cuz the bluegill shouldn't have been in the puddle in the first place.  The only way I see that it could have got there is that someone put it there.

 

 

Thanks for the kudos guys.  I always try and help out local wildlife in distress when I can. 

[Bluebasser86]

Some people do some cruel stuff with fish they catch for some reason. I found a 5lb bass dead in a trash can next to a public pond that had sticks stabbed through both sides of it's head and out it's gills. It wasn't filleted, just mutilated and thrown away. The thing that really irks me about it is that if non fishing people see this kind of thing they tend to seem to think that real fishermen behave the same way. I was raised hunting and fishing and always stressed to me how important it was that if I was going to take an animal that it is to be done the most humane way possible out of respect for the animal so it really makes me sick to see something like that. 

[Sfritr]

There is a very good chance that a bird snatched that little guy from the lake only to drop him accidentally on his way back to the nest.  

[AK-Jax86]

Nice job saving the fish and turtle, most people wouldn't have gone the extra mile to do that

[38 Super Fan]

Odd, I ran into the same thing last year...twice! Two different locations too, I found several sunfish in a tiny puddle someone had damned up with rocks by my local river, and a couple bluegill by a pond, damned in the same fashion. I couldn't figure out why somebody would do something so stupid. I was fortunately there in time to save nearly all of them in both cases.

[RoachDad]

I personally think the fish was chasing a bug and got stuck.  But who knows? 

 

I remember about the first time my dad ever rode in my car, I stopped and got a turtle out of the road.  I was 16.  I was grinning from ear to ear and my dad says "What are you smiling about?".

 

Well, whenever I was a kid and asked you to stop and get a turtle out of the road you would say, "WHen you are driving your car, you can stop and get him out of the road"

 

ha

[tritonguy]

Good job Joe. 

[EvanT123]

Hopefully nature pays you back with a nice fat bass good job.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

I personally think the fish was chasing a bug and got stuck.  But who knows? 

 

I remember about the first time my dad ever rode in my car, I stopped and got a turtle out of the road.  I was 16.  I was grinning from ear to ear and my dad says "What are you smiling about?".

 

Well, whenever I was a kid and asked you to stop and get a turtle out of the road you would say, "WHen you are driving your car, you can stop and get him out of the road"

 

ha

Not possible unless the fish was able to cross about 30 yards of dry land from the lake to the parking lot.  Maybe it was people, maybe it was a bird.  Either way, I did my good deed for the day.

 

 

Hopefully nature pays you back with a nice fat bass good job.

I can only hope.  It would definitely be nice.

[RoachDad]

cross about 30 yards of dry land from the lake to the parking lot. 

Ahh, that is what I get for reading too fast.  I think you are absolutley correct.  Some a**hole did this and I have no repsect for people who do stuff like this. 

 

thanks for taking care of the fish.