Coolest thing you've ever witnessed while fishing?

[Boomstick]

Last Sunday while out kayaking with the kids, I made my way inbetween some fallen trees and saw a snapping turtle below my boat, so I decided to fish the other side of that tree. A little while later, we anchored down in the general area to eat and we witnessed a full on snapping turtle fight. I can honestly saw that I've never witnessed anything like that before and probably would not again and to date that has to be the coolest non fishing related thing I've seen on the water.

 

How about you guys?

[RoLo]

 

You were very fortunate, that had to be a fierce competition.

 

In keeping with your story, I'll restrict mine to snapping turtles:

My wife & I were fishing Lawrence Brook, NJ, when we heard splashing near the reeds.

A snapping turtle had just pulled a mallard duck underwater.

Instinctively (overzealous kid), I quickly moved the boat to where I last seen the duck.

I poked a boat ore vertically up-&-down, and sure enough it made contact with a rock-hard object.

Shortly thereafter, a water-soaked mallard appeared, and dragged itself onto land.

Based on the sorry shape that duck was in, I should've minded my own business,

and let the turtle finish his meal.

 

Roger

 

[haggard]

Eagle sightings and fly-bys on the lake probably top the list but other than that, this up close and personal turtle experience is worthy: @jbmaine and I anchored off the NH side of Great East Lake to take a break for lunch and this guy swam right up to his boat, looking for a handout. He wouldn't go away. It was like it was trained or something. Maybe it was interested in the frog lure, or maybe it was the PB&J sammiches. 

 

[slonezp]

Lightning strike a tree about 50 yards from the boat. We were hiding in a channel, trying to make our way underneath a bridge and BAM!

[Log Catcher]

While fishing one day I heard a splash over by the bank. I didn't sound like a fish splash so I kept on fishing. A minute later I heard it again. I looked over and saw a water snake come out on to the bank with a small catfish in its mouth.

[DanielG]

When I was about 15 yrs old my friend and I were fishing with crayfish from a canoe. We must have happened upon a group of bass because after a short while there were sixteen in the bottom of the canoe. They went crazy over the crayfish that were hooked in the tail.

 

One of the bass, the largest one, still only probablyl about 1 1/2 lbs jumped out of the water as the crayfish hung off the end of my pole about 1 foot above the water. I caught that fish while it was in the air. Never forgot it, and it's been 50 yrs that it happened.

[jbmaine]

Some years ago I was up in northern Maine flyfishing for trout. I was on a remote pond in my canoe early in the morning. The mist was heavy coming off the water, and in the distance I heard a splash, and ripples in the water came my way. I waited, expecting a beaver to come swimming by, but out of the mist comes a bull moose, swimming right at my. I just sat there frozen and when he was about fifteen feet away he changed course just enough to miss me. I don't know why I did it but as he swam by I shifted my hand just enough so I could touch his antler. I remember just like it was yesterday, his big eyeball staring at me as he went by.

[scaleface]

Might not be the coolest thing I ever seen while  fishing but yesterday I saw a large channel catfish come completely out of the water and on bank thrashing around , then flopped back in . First time in my life I seen that and dont know why it did it . Was it after something to eat on bank , chasing shad , dropping eggs? I just dont know . 

[Boomstick]

18 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Might not be the coolest thing I ever seen while  fishing but yesterday I saw a large channel catfish come completely out of the water and on bank thrashing around , then flopped back in . First time in my life I seen that and dont know why it did it . Was it after something to eat on bank , chasing shad , dropping eggs? I just dont know . 

I have seen smaller fish swim right out of the water to avoid a bigger fish that has it cornered...

[BigAngus752]

I've been blessed to see a lot of wild animals while fishing.  Just last Friday I was on my boat working a shoreline when a young weasel walked down to the shore right in front of me.  He wasn't full grown, I'd say a "teenager" in weasel years. I've seen a couple weasels while fishing but they usually disappear quickly.  This guy or gal stuck with me for a good ten minutes searching the shoreline in the same direction that I was fishing.  He stayed a couple feet ahead of my casts and I figured I was fishing old water since he was probably a better fisherman that me.  

 

I'd say the two coolest things I've ever seen on the water weren't while I was fishing, but while my wife and I were feeding fish.  We were feeding small fish off a dock at night in Jamaica during stingray mating season.  The big males were chasing the smaller males completely out of the water.  They would leap out of the water and skip across the surface trying to get away.  

 

The best, however, was two years later in the same spot in Jamaica.  My wife and I were on the same dock again which is just about 20 yards from the beginning of the roped-off swimming area.  All of the sudden there was a huge commotion in the swimming area in about four feet of water.  A 7 to 8ft hammerhead had cruised in and found a big stingray buried on the ocean floor.  He gobbled it and slowly cruised back toward deeper water.  I wanted to see it closer and I instinctively took off at a full sprint down the dock trying to intercept him while my wife screamed, "Don't you dare jump in!  Don't you jump in that water!".  The fear in her voice is the only thing that stopped me.  I wasn't the least bit scared and I wanted to see that shark, but I wanted to stay married more. 

 

By the way, if we're voting @jbmaine is definitely winning so far.  His is absolutely epic.  

[Boomstick]

2 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

By the way, if we're voting @jbmaine is definitely winning so far.  His is absolutely epic.  

There are many good ones here. Seeing a moose swim by! I am looking forward to seeing more!

[Bird]

Eagles and loons catching fish " loons never miss ", trolling up to a black bear swimming across river.

 

Craziest though is the amount of fish we had jump in the boat while night fishing in shallow water one night. 

[Boomstick]

3 minutes ago, Bird said:

Eagles and loons catching fish " loons never miss ", trolling up to a black bear swimming across river.

 

Craziest though is the amount of fish we had jump in the boat while night fishing in shallow water one night. 

I saw two eagles this year too when shore fishing before I got my trailer registered. 

[scaleface]

39 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

I have seen smaller fish swim right out of the water to avoid a bigger fish that has it cornered...

This was no little cat fish , well over 5 lbs .So if a big fish scared it , that would be a "big " fish .

[Boomstick]

4 minutes ago, scaleface said:

This was no little cat fish , well over 5 lbs .So if a big fish scared it , that would be a "big " fish .

Yeah, I saw you said it was a large one. But I also see you're in flathead and blue territory as well so it's a possibility.

[CrankFate]

3 hours ago, Boomstick said:

Last Sunday while out kayaking with the kids, I made my way inbetween some fallen trees and saw a snapping turtle below my boat, so I decided to fish the other side of that tree. A little while later, we anchored down in the general area to eat and we witnessed a full on snapping turtle fight. I can honestly saw that I've never witnessed anything like that before and probably would not again and to date that has to be the coolest non fishing related thing I've seen on the water.

 

How about you guys?

Same here. Saw one last year while we were taking a walk. Craziest thing I ever saw. I had no idea they fight like that. 

[soflabasser]

I have seen eagles catch fish from a river, ospreys catch fish from the sea, seen dolphins (mahi mahi) and other deep sea fish attack a school of bait, and other awesome experiences while fishing and diving.

[schplurg]

Nothing too crazy.

 

Me and a friend were surf fishing for perch. We both threw our fish back in the shallow surf and a bird dove for my buddies fish and barely missed it. Second try and he flew off with an easy meal. Poor fish didn't ride the wave back out and got kinda stranded in an inch of water.

 

I wondered if that was the bird's first time doing that. I have video, very funny moment and memory. I'd guess it's common.

 

Bald Eagle diving down and grabbing a fish then flying away to its nest with it. When it hit the water it sounded like a huge rock, and I didn't actually see that part - there were weeds in the way. Darn.

 

As it flew away I could see it adjusting its grip on the fish to make it more aerodynamic during its short flight (facing it forward or back). 

 

I saw a deer punch another deer while paddling by in my kayak last summer. I didn't know they did that I guess. One was standing on a small high spot about 30 feet up shore, and another kicked/punched it with its front leg and took over the spot. Coyote Lake.

 

Saw a cow chase a cat all the way cross the corral on our property recently. That was so cool! I hate cats. Wasn't while fishing though. She ran after it fast, even lowered her head when the cat tried to hide in the weeds.

[JoePhish]

While I was fishing a brackish water pond from a dock in So FL I witnessed a Bull Shark (probably a Bull) take down a seagull swimming on the surface. Then watched the fin tear across the pond and submerge.  Think bass hitting a hollow body frog but magnified a thousand times.

[Mike L]

While working a popping frog a small gator started following it. 
About half way back I noticed a 12-14 footer (you can tell from the nose to the eyes) dart from the bank. 

When it caught up to the little one, he kept coming but the smaller one turned around, dove and got out of the way. 
 

 

 

 

Mike
 

[Oregon Native]

Buddy and I were fishing in a small cove at a local small lake.  Heard some gosh aweful noises and splashing.  Finally we went over and look...two Snappers doing some spring event....gosh....violent.  Have spent a lot of time on water and this was a first.

[Mobasser]

I was night fishing a small lake from the bank years ago. I turned around and flipped on my headlamp, t get a bait from my tacklebox on the bank behind me. When I stood back.up I looked to the left, and there was a large deer standing about 10 ft away. We looked at each other for a few seconds then with one leap, he was gone.

[BassNJake]

I'm throwing my toad down the shoreline and there is a squirrel combing the same shoreline

I make 3 or 4 casts and he is unfazed

I get a big blow up and that squirrel jumped about 2 feet in the air

 

Sure wished I had that on video

[BrianMDTX]

I can’t top the moose, but probably 45 years ago my dad and I were fishing on Loch Raven reservoir near Baltimore in Maryland, in a rental wood rowboat with a single trolling motor. We were up by Schoolhouse Cove and saw something moving in the water, leaving a wake. Turned out to be the head of a whitetail doe swimming across the reservoir. We followed discreetly at a distance. It must have swum a good 1/4 mile to it reached the opposite shore, climbed out of the water and sauntered off like it was out for a Sunday stroll. 
 

Been a deer hunter for decades and I’ve seen many a buck and doe walk up, down and across streams and creeks, but that’s the only deer I’ve ever seen actually swimming. 
 

I’ll add a hunting story just for the heck of it. Early 90’s, hunting opening week of gun season in Wyoming SF in northern PA. It was cold, and after the first two days, pretty quiet. I was perched atop a rock outcropping overlooking a large draw and heard a very faint whooshing sound that got progressively louder. All of a sudden a US Navy or Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk passed directly overhead at less than 1000’ AGL. As soon as it passed the entire forest shuddered from the roar of its Pratt and Whitney J52 turbojet engine. When I say it was loud...it was LOUD! 

[J Francho]

Saw a fox trying to wrestle 30# king salmon of their redds in a creek.  The fish probably weighed more than the fox, but they were easy picking.  Seen a family of deer crossing the lake once.  Lots of weird things, the more I think about it.