While Fishing What Unusual Or Rare Animal Have You Seen ?

[0119]

Ive watched a Florida Panther cross a saltwater creek off Charlotte Harbor about 15 years ago.  Best most unusual animal was while I was in my kayak fishing a old box cut canal. I heard someone laughing and I looked around but did see anyone.  The laughing started again and I figured it was somebody finding me at 350lbs. sitting in a yak, funny.  Finally I saw an otter on my bow with his hands holding the bow handle peeking his head up.  He took off as I was fumbling with my camera.

[DILLY07]

I've seen Blue Harron, Muskrats, Beavers, Water Moccasin, Bald Eagle, Turtles, Deer,  

[Djman72]

DNR. They come around these parts often.....

[Yumf2]

I see eagles all the time. But the coolest thing is when you can watch them swoop down and take a fish out with them. One time I was fishing for walleye in northern Wisconsin and my friend gut hooked a rock bass. We tried releasing in but it wasn't gonna make it so he just pitched it out and all of a sudden there where 3 eagles up circling it and one of them dove down and took it. Caught another one and pitched it out to see if they would do it again and sure enough they where all circling until one dove down to get it. Must have been a guide that would feed them or something, still fun to watch

[Tuckahoe Joe]

I was fishing by a boat ramp when I looked down the trail around the lake and saw what I thought was a stray dog.  It was rolling around playfully in the grass.  I started to walk toward it and then I realized that it wasn't a dog but an otter.  Probably about 3 to 4 feet long.  Tried to get close enough to take a good picture but when I was about 20 feet away it stopped rolling and slid into the lake.

[Catt]

February 1, 2003

Mission STS-107

Space Shuttle Columbia

Anchored on Community Flat outside of Housen' Bayou, Toledo Bend Reservoir. We watched debris

fall hitting land & the lake, didn't know what it was until later that evening.

[kanasbassfisher08]

well nothing to crazy we have armadillos. dont see them much during the day but at night they are very active. but the moose story reminded me of a catfishing trip i had. i was set up on the bank around dusk and started to gather fire wood for the cold night ahead. and saw a wood pile behind me and was like cool easy wood. set up my fire and got all the poles baited and casted out. enjoying the clear sky and the stars when i saw what i thought was drift wood but was going was to straight. made me look even harder when i noticed it was a big a** beaver and it kept getting closer and closer and i looked for something to protect my self with and i grabbed a stick out of the pile. then it hit me it was his dam. and his beaver slide went right under my chair and thats when i knew i was in for a battle. after chucking a couple sticks his was he vanished in the water. so i move down river and had the hebejebes all night. and didnt even get a bite all night

[fadetoblack21]

Felt a tug and some tapping on my beaver bait while swimming it through some brush, but it wasn't enough to set the hook. As I pull the bait out of the water I notice this large brown thing swimming in circles just below where I pulled my lure out. Suddenly, an otter pokes his head out of the water and just looks at me for a few seconds before bolting.

 

Probably doesn't sound too strange to many of you, but this was a land locked lake far from any river. Here in Missouri I was under the impression that otters stayed mainly around rivers, so I was shocked to see this little guy. 

[Janderson45]

I've seen Eagles, osprey, foxes, coyotes, deer, otters... none of which are really rare anymore.  Certain areas I've fished it's rare not to see a bald eagle... although I'm sure I'll never really get used to it.  They are such beautifully majestic birds.  

 

Strangest animal I've seen while fishing would probably be a fisher cat... I'm familiar with their awful screeching but had never actually laid eyes on one until last year while night fishing from a bank.  I would've been more likely to stick around and continue fishing if I had seen a ghost.. show me a fisher cat and I'm OUT.

[tatertester]

I once saw a  Snatchsquatch!  

[Maico1]

Another one for me was coming upon a Red Squirrel swimming across the lake. Now I know that in itself is no big deal however the thing that got me was it was not consumed by a LMB or a Pike. When the Hen Mallards start with a count of 12 to 14 and end up with maybe 4 to 6 it puts the odds not in the Squirrels favor.....

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Some naked Canadian ladies cruising on Champlain.

 

Some did look like they just walked from the Northwest Territories though....

[Superdumper]

One morning I was fishing at my local dam with a spook. Was admiring my surroundings when I saw something splash near my lure thought it was a bass that just missed than a bird comes flying out of the water. I quickly realized it was a king fisher trying to eat my spook so i quickly started reeling in as he hovered about 10 feet up eyeing my spook then Dove back at the spook. Luckily it missed n I got the lure back on shore n watched the bird fly away. Every morning I go I see the same king fisher flying around. Not sure how rare they are but what a Graceful bird to watch when the bite is slow. Hoping to one day see him actually catch a meal.

[Scott F]

 You are concentrating on fishing when suddenly there is a good sized black and white "creature" under water, swimming right next to the boat. It always startles me and I'll never  get used to loons doing that. Anyone who has ever fished up north has seen loons doing this but it is creepy to see.

[lanzbass]

February 1, 2003

Mission STS-107

Space Shuttle Columbia

Anchored on Community Flat outside of Housen' Bayou, Toledo Bend Reservoir. We watched debris

fall hitting land & the lake, didn't know what it was until later that evening.

 

I hear a recovered chunk of that debris is worth a pretty penny !  

[Ratherbfishing]

I hear a recovered chunk of that debris is worth a pretty penny !  

 

It's actually against the law to keep debris from the shuttle.  One can try to sell it but...

[lanzbass]

It's actually against the law to keep debris from the shuttle.  One can try to sell it but...

 

Did not know that...

 

I was watching ," Pawn Star", and some fellow had a chunk (plate) of a space shuttle he sold...

 

It had titanium in it ...

 

I think they gave him over a 1000  dollars ...

 

They must have changed the law since that program... 

 

Not that I would ever find something like that...

 

Still an interesting thing to see... 

 

Thanks for sharing

[Catt]

I hear a recovered chunk of that debris is worth a pretty penny !

Yelp! About 5-10 years in the pen!!

Had a Manager at Northrup Grumman arrested because he had a piece on his desk.

[A-Jay]

 You are concentrating on fishing when suddenly there is a good sized black and white "creature" under water swimming right next to the boat. It always startles me and I'll never  get used to loons doing that. Anyone who has ever fished up north has seen loons doing this but it is creepy to see.

 

I have.

 

A couple of the more secluded lakes we fish, there are a couple of loons that really live up to their name.  One that will swim right up to and under the canoe.  With that crystal clear water, we get a very good look at it.  Very pretty bird but still not something I want hanging around while we fish.  We usually stop fishing for a bit and ( if after some encouragement on our part), it doesn't move, we do.

 

A-Jay

[Fishes in trees]

One of the great things about fishing is that you get to see neat animals from time to time.  Early last fall I got to within 20-30 feet of an eagle that was hanging out on the top of a broken tree at the edge of the lake.

The tree was broke off about 6' above the water line so we were basically eye to eye 30' from each other.

It wasn't scared at all.  I chose to not go any farther into that cut and I backed away.

 

Years ago, I was fishing out of a 10' Water Buster, and bumped into what I thought was a floating log, drifting in  4 or 5 feet of water.  Then a head turned around and I saw the thing I had bumped into was one of the largest snapping turtles I had ever encountered.  It just looked at me, like "Who the hell are you and why did you wake me up and do you know who I am?"  I wasn't in any danger, but I thought that large snapping turtle was an awesome animal.  If you were bank fishing and you happened to trip over that thing in a foot of water or so it would be a different story.

[buzzed bait]

Last time out, I saw a Bald Eagle.  Amazing to watch, especially as he was doing his own fishing fairly close to the boat.

 

seriously saw one out on sunday in georgia, only one i've ever seen.  I stopped fishing for 30 minutes and watched in awe.....  i told my whole family about the experience that day.  Say the thing and it's HUGE nest, then it flew down and snagged what appeared to be a rat and then proceeded to shred that rat to pieces and eat it.  Meanwhile a hawk and 5 crows are staring at it waiting for crumbs.  When the eagle was finished, it jumped down into about a foot of water and spent a solid 5 minutes giving itself a bath.....  it was pretty awesome....

 

on a slightly different note, I almost ALWAYS see a beaver.... no matter what lake, what time of day I seem to call them up!

 

also watched 6 deer swim across about a 100 yard river right as the sun was coming up one morning, that was cool too

[Tartan34]

I had an Opsrey "Buzz the Tower" today....almost gave me a heart attack.  

 

I was reeling in an Air Frog, and when I pulled it out of the water next to the boat, an Osprey game from behind me and tried to grab it.  Feeling the wind generated by the animal's wings, and seeing him right next to me was pretty neat.  He had to have tracked that frog for quite awhile....but I had no idea.

 

They really made a come back around my part of central alabama. Had one that picked up a crippled duck while we were hunting there's a couple that nest on the river where we fish. But I still think ospreys are the coolest bird of prey

[FrogFreak]

I'm glad I've never had to work in a cubicle.  I promise I never will either! 

I work in a freaking cubicle.

[grizzgreen18]

while nightfishing for catfish i had a huge owl fly over head the wind he generated about blew me over and it scared the daylights out of me. 

while not rare or unusual a creek i go wading in to catch smallmouth has a crane living there, he is always in the same spot almost everytime and im starting to believe he is a good luck charm because when he is not there i dont catch one fish but when he is i cant go three cast without pulling a smallmouth in

[iabass8]

We see bald eagles quite often here along the Mississippi in Iowa.  There are a few spots of open water right now where you could go and see a couple of dozen sitting along the edge.  You southerners are welcome to take a few.

 

Probably the coolest thing I have seen wasn't that rare but it was interesting.  I quite often go back up in the creeks in the fall and one of them last year held a very curious beaver.  I see quite of few of them up here but this one seemed especially interested.  I scared him off the bank when I came into the creek and he proceeded to move along with me as I fished.  He'd swim about 20 yards in front then pop up and wait until I got close.  Did that for 20 minutes or so before I turned around to fish out and he followed me for most of the way back out before he finally disappeared.  Not sure if it was a mother with some little ones around or what but she sure didn't seem to scared of me.

Was this particular creek catfish creek? The creek that drains into the river /w the small railroad bridge over top of it. I always seem to see some animal that has "that" look that I shouldn't be back in there.