Strange things that have happened while bass fishing.

[geo g]

Have you ever had a strange thing happen while bass fishing?

 

One of the strangest happened to me years ago, and I will never forget it.  I was bank fishing in Weston Florida in one of the biggest man made lakes in the area.  I had caught a bunch of bass in the 1 to 2 lb, size.  I caught a nice two pound fish and released it at the edge of the bank and it swam several feet and right into a potato chip bag that was in the water for some time.  I don't know if he thought it was a cave to swim into for shelter.  The entire fish was in the bag except the tail that was sticking out.  The bag with the fish raced away into deep water and disappeared for a while and reappeared in the middle of the lake on the surface.  For quite a while I watched the bag motor around the lake changing direction, and diving every once in a while.  This went on for at least 30 minutes.  The bag finally made it back to the shallows and within reach.  I positioned myself to be within rod length.  I finally got my rod tip in the bag and my little friend was free at last.  I don't know who was happier me or him.  It was definitely one of the strangest fishing days I have ever had.

[Darren.]

For me it was my first encounter with an otter in our local
reservoirs. Quite the experience for me as I didn't know we
had them...after the encounter I had to immediately call
the ranger station and make sure I wasn't delusional.

[MassYak85]

18 minutes ago, Darren. said:

For me it was my first encounter with an otter in our local
reservoirs. Quite the experience for me as I didn't know we
had them...after the encounter I had to immediately call
the ranger station and make sure I wasn't delusional.

I had the same thing happen to me haha. I was fishing from shore at my home lake and I look over and see two what I assumed to be muskrats at first swimming. When I looked over again it was quite clear they were not muskrats but I had never seen an otter in the wild in my entire life to that point so I just stared at them for a minute to make sure I wasn't going crazy. 

[wdp]

Dang, you fish long enough like me, and you get quite a few of these stories. 

 

I hooked a big water moccasin once when I was young. I was fishing with a live minnow & a cork right at dusk. Cork went under & I set the hook on the ole Zebco 33. Reeled it in & that snake scared the poo outta me. I dropped the rod & ran back about 30 ft. Luckily, the moccasin got off & slithered back into the water. 

 

Also had a baby gator jump up and snap at a frog I was fishing once. Another time, I had an egret swoop down & pick up the Spro frog I was fishing. It flew up about 20 ft before I kinda snatched back a little and my frog plopped back down into the water. I had to reel it back in real fast as it tried to swoop down & take it again. 

[panfish12]

I had a beaver scare me half to death on a small lake once. I was fishing from a small rowboat and the wind had just pushed me against the shore when a large brown object came flying out of the brush behind me and landed with a loud splash. It gave me a good scare; and the best part was that the beaver kept swimming around the lake for the rest of the evening. That was really cool to watch since I had never seen a beaver before.

[RO_Watkins]

I was wading in a local river crappie fishing with a live minnow on a cork. My brother and I were standing about 5ft apart and a cotton mouth dropped out of a tree top about 20ft high and started swimming towards us. We eventually managed to scare him off and continue fishing.

[N Florida Mike]

We had a long thread on this earlier in the year so Im not sure if I already told this one or not.

I took a friend's teenage son bass fishing.As it began to get dark we started seeing bats.He made the comment that he was really scared of bats.I explained how this kind just ate insects so no big deal etc.

It wasn't 15 minutes later than that,when a bat flew between his line and rod and GOT STUCK ! He didn't notice because he was focusing on fishing.The bat struggled and freed himself just before David turned and would have seen it.I said Hey man ,a bat was stuck on your rod.He just turned and kept fishing.I think he thought I was pulling his chain.

In all my years of fishing he's the only one who said he was scared of bats and it was the only time I ever saw this happen.

[NCbassraider]

The beavers at my place like to sneak up on the boat near or after dark and tail slap us.  Scared the crap out of us the first few times but now we expect it.  It's not fun getting splashed in cooler weather.

 

This past summer had a huge black snake climb into the boat at a buddies pond.  I'm told it's quite common as they are vulnerable in the water and think boats are land.

[CTBassin860]

I used to fish this small pond next to a dam and used to encounter beavers all the time.The strange thing was they would always swim by my line and slap their tails on the water.I was never sure if they were trying to scare the fish away so I couldn't catch their meal or if they were trying to knock out fish on the surface.They used to do it constantly.

[N Florida Mike]

I was walking through a field by the lake I'd been fishing when I was 14 or so and saw this giant rat with a long tail.I mean 3 feet long.Could not believe it.

Found out later it was a nutria,but we always called them swamp rats until we found out there real name.

[flyingmonkie]

One of my friends called this afternoon to tell me he was forced into a tree by two pit bulls at a pond he was fishing.  No cell phone, so he sat up there patiently for 45 minutes until they lost interest. 

[NCbassraider]

13 hours ago, MassBassin508 said:

I used to fish this small pond next to a dam and used to encounter beavers all the time.The strange thing was they would always swim by my line and slap their tails on the water.I was never sure if they were trying to scare the fish away so I couldn't catch their meal or if they were trying to knock out fish on the surface.They used to do it constantly.

 

Beavers are herbivorous so they were not scaring away fish. They are territorial and use tail slapping as a way to tell you they don't want you around.  I've never seen one get more aggressive than the occasional tail splash.

 

In real small ponds they will tail slap if anyone gets near the pond.  In bigger bodies of water they slap near their dams.

[Kyhokie]

No too weird, but saw a blue heron stalk and kill a fairly good size brown water snake while I was about 15 feet away in my canoe. Also watched my buddy put 4 of 6 hooks on a crankbait through his hat and into his scalp on a windy day. No joke...He calmly cut his line and tied on another crank. I thought he might be in shock as blood was starting to flow pretty good down the side of his face. I told him we'd better get him some medical attention and he said, "not till they quit biting." LOL! Took him another 5 min to get dizzy and we called it a day.

[mixel]

Way in the back of a lake in Central California, friend and I were fishing some grass beds. We look up and way high up in the sky are two beautiful bald eagles circling. All of a sudden one of them dives crazy fast towards the water and we're both thinking this is going to be so cool to watch! The eagle dives down about half way and then calls it off and goes back up to join his friend again. Must have been a false alarm for him. Then I reel up my swimbait and make another long cast. As soon as my lure hit the water, here comes Mr. Eagle again diving like a furious banshee. I realized it was my large trout looking swimbait he was after! I had visions of getting my face torn up trying to untangle a bald eagle from my lure and then landing in jail for destroying a national treasure. I reeled it in as fast as I could. This time he came down almost to the waterline before peeling off and heading back up to circle with his friend. My friend reeled up too and we promptly left that spot on the lake. Found out later they nest in one of the trees in that cove.

[wdp]

5 minutes ago, mixel said:

Way in the back of a lake in Central California, friend and I were fishing some grass beds. We look up and way high up in the sky are two beautiful bald eagles circling. All of a sudden one of them dives crazy fast towards the water and we're both thinking this is going to be so cool to watch! The eagle dives down about half way and then calls it off and goes back up to join his friend again. Must have been a false alarm for him. Then I reel up my swimbait and make another long cast. As soon as my lure hit the water, here comes Mr. Eagle again diving like a furious banshee. I realized it was my large trout looking swimbait he was after! I had visions of getting my face torn up trying to untangle a bald eagle from my lure and then landing in jail for destroying a national treasure. I reeled it in as fast as I could. This time he came down almost to the waterline before peeling off and heading back up to circle with his friend. My friend reeled up too and we promptly left that spot on the lake. Found out later they nest in one of the trees in that cove.

Wow. I fish a lake occasionally that has a bald eagle's nest. I've actually seen one swoop down & fly away with about a 2 lb bass in its claw. Pretty amazing sight. 

[Hez]

13 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I was walking through a field by the lake I'd been fishing when I was 14 or so and saw this giant rat with a long tail.I mean 3 feet long.Could not believe it.

Found out later it was a nutria,but we always called them swamp rats until we found out there real name.

 

Seeing a Nutria Rat for the first time while fishing was also one of the more stranger things that's happened to me.

 

Saw an otter yesterday that startled me lol

[Josh Smith]

Last winter I caught a nice smallie while river fishing.

 

When I released it, it refused to leave. Just swam up next to me and stayed put.

 

I picked it up and tried to release it again. Again, it swam back to me.

 

Finally, I picked it up for a third time and released it a ways downriver.

 

Josh

[Josh Smith]

13 hours ago, flyingmonkie said:

One of my friends called this afternoon to tell me he was forced into a tree by two pit bulls at a pond he was fishing.  No cell phone, so he sat up there patiently for 45 minutes until they lost interest. 

 

This is an excellent way for some irresponsible dog owner to get a couple pets shot.

 

My only encounters with dogs have been positive. One place I fish has a Rottweiler that regularly goes seeking pettings from all who pass through his territory. His name is Caesar and he appreciates treats too.

 

Josh

[2tall79]

I was fishing an oxbow off the Columbia River near Kalama on a summer day a few years ago.  It was midday and I hadn't had a bite in a couple hours.  I was half-heartedly throwing a 4" lizard into a row of 4 pilings that stretched all the way across the slough and eating a ham sandwich in between casts.  I noticed out on the main river a huge cargo ship making it's way upriver.  About 5 minutes after the ship had passed, the water in the outer bay rose 2 to 3 feet and water started gushing through the pilings turning the water white.  I caught 4 good fish in the next ten minutes and then the water returned to normal and the bite was off.    It was like those fish knew that was going to happen from time to time and they were ready to take advantage of anything that rush of water would wash out of those pilings.  I've been back a few times but could never duplicate those conditions again.

[geo g]

1 hour ago, Josh Smith said:

 

This is an excellent way for some irresponsible dog owner to get a couple pets shot.

 

My only encounters with dogs have been positive. One place I fish has a Rottweiler that regularly goes seeking pettings from all who pass through his territory. His name is Caesar and he appreciates treats too.

 

Josh

 

I fished with a guy that loved when boats passed close to where we were fishing.  He stated the wave stirred  up the bait fish and bugs around the weed stems and the fish feast!  similar to your story.

["hamma"]

I have "some" stories of strange behavior.

 One is,.... My home lake has alot of homes on it with docks, and there was this one home I liked that was for sale, and I'd dream of buying it, well it sold, and one day after I was flipping the line of docks where its located, and I was moving along quietly and caught a few smaller fish as I was doing so. I got to a few docks away from "my dream home" and noticed a woman sunning herself on it's dock with some earphones on. So I just continued on flipping and when I got to her dock I flipped in next to it's piling and BAM! instant hit, I set the hook on a nice 7 or 8 pounder, as I lipped it I said "YEAH BABY!" as it was the best fish I had caught in a while, and the woman jumped up, as I startled her,.I apologized,.. but she just kept slowly backing up, I said again, "Im sorry, I didnt mean to startle you", before I released the fish,.. and she replied "I didnt know there's fish that big in here", and quickly scurried off the dock and into the house. a few weeks later I was back fishing those docks, and there was a for sale sign back on that lawn again.

 

 One day just after work, I decided to go bait fishing for stripers at the bridge not far from home, before dinner. I grabbed my gear and cooler with some mackeral in it and off I went. I got there and was surprised that there wasnt many people fishing, just a few there. Traffic was heavy as it was about 4 pm, so i figured everyones just getting home from work. I got my tackle ready, when it was all set I cut a large piece of bait, put it on the hook and cast as far out as I could,.. Instantly a seagull dove down on the bait, came up with it in its mouth, and proceeded to swallow it.,..

  so,..., there I was during rush hour traffic, on a busy bridge, battling a seagull with a surf rod, I got hollers, horns beeping, and some people stopping to see whats about to happen. I finally get the bird close to the rods tip and its going frantic by now, I grab the line and pull it close, but not close enough to hurt me or it, and cut the line as close as I could to it, I had no other choice as this thing was flailing about trying everything but attacking me, to get free.

   About a few days later I pulled into the Beverly peirs parking lot (just downstrem) and one of the lobstermen, that I give some of the mackeral I catch off the pier, for him to use as bait, in exchange for a couple lobsters now and then, had the same gull under his arm and was removing,....MY HOOK!,. The gull had landed on his boat and kept following him around till he noticed the hook stuck in its beak..so I had to explain my story. Now thats irony

[burrows]

Seen bigfoot taking a dookie behind some bushes. I got so scared I dropped my brand new tfo fly rod. 

[lonnie g]

when I was a kid me and neighbor boys trying to catch bull frogs by hand.   heard a big splash  I had a old fashion long eared black and tan coon hound.   she caught one!  I guess she was watching us.    sad part, I guess she was smarter. go figure?

[slonezp]

About 20 years ago, I was shore fishing with my son in the Chicago River. A homeless guy covered in prison tats, was talking to himself and obviously hallucinating, acted out a crime scene shoot out with the police. I can guess it was probably something he had witnessed or lived thru. Was quite unsettling as, at times, he was withing 20 feet of us shouting at the top of his lungs. Honestly, I have no idea if he even knew we were there. We were below street level at 5:00am. Had something bad happened, there was no one around to witness or help. Mind you I've had plenty of dealings with the homeless over the years and I can handle myself. This guy was a special kind of scary.  

23 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

We had a long thread on this earlier in the year so Im not sure if I already told this one or not.

I took a friend's teenage son bass fishing.As it began to get dark we started seeing bats.He made the comment that he was really scared of bats.I explained how this kind just ate insects so no big deal etc.

It wasn't 15 minutes later than that,when a bat flew between his line and rod and GOT STUCK ! He didn't notice because he was focusing on fishing.The bat struggled and freed himself just before David turned and would have seen it.I said Hey man ,a bat was stuck on your rod.He just turned and kept fishing.I think he thought I was pulling his chain.

In all my years of fishing he's the only one who said he was scared of bats and it was the only time I ever saw this happen.

I don't know about your experience, but when flocks of bats are feeding together, the fishing is usually phenomenal. 

[bonzai22]

I have 2 really strange stories that come to mind. The first one me and my friend were wading a creek below a spillway. We found a big heron that had gotten caught in fishing line attached to a tree and broke his wing in half. He was still wrapped up in the line so me and my friend worked our way close enough to him. I had a net to hold out just in case he tried to attack us which he didn't. My friend was able to cut him free so at least he had a chance of survival.               The other story me and a friend were at a power plant lake a few hours away. We were fishing when we saw a green snake swimming by our boat. He started freaking out because he doesn't like snakes and tried to get away with the trolling motor. We lost sight of him so we thought he had just disappeared. So hours later we packed up and left and went to cracker barrel on the way home probably an hour in. As we get out of the car he starts freaking out again. I see the green snake's head sticking out of the boat motor. I took the motor cover off and he was coiled around the motor. I have no idea how he stayed in there with the boat running and the hour car ride but it was pretty crazy. I got him out of the motor and let him go luckily green snakes are not at all aggresive.