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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Have you ever caught a bat by accident?
It's one of the hazards of flyfishing at dusk. Those rascals will target your fly as it's being whipped back and forth. And often they catch up.
It's actually fairly unpleasant. By the time you're aware of it and bring it to the camplight the line, leader, and tippet are wrapped around the rod
and the bat is doing his best to chew his way to freedom. Then you're left with the task of trying to untangle an angry snarling bat. You can't help
but notice how big their canines tend to be.
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
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Yup, hooked a bat on a remote lake in British Columbia and it is not a pretty sight, there is a reason for the term going bat sh..
Gulls can be a real pita too!
Had a Kamloops Trout suicide in my boat once in BC, jumped right in it did!
Saw an Osprey take a nice two pound trout and then two Bald Eagles who were watching swooped down and one hit him high and the other low, the Osprey
dropped the trout and it got away.
I love these fish stories...all true too!
Iflyfish
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
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Mood: good
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Flyfish
My Dad had a thing for Kamloops and lake trout,he hauled me up into BC many times in his quest for these fish.
We trolled streamers for the kams and big spoons for the lakers,he was hell for strong using steel monel line which would take him way
down,we also lived on Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho for three years just outside of Sandpoint.
One time while in BC I was trolling by myself pulling a flatfish,we always trolled with no motor just oars,no noise he said,anyway I was
using his favorite fly-rod just sitting on it while rowing,you quessed it out of the water comes this big Kam and out goes dads rod that big old fish was just hauling ass down the shore with dads rod in tow,caught
alot of hell for that.
Dad had tunnel vision when it came to trout,son he said"if it ain,t a trout it easn,t worth your time" 
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
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Landed a ten pound Kamloops two years ago on my five weight rod, had to chase it with the boat. These are wonderful stories and memories.
One of the biggest thrills was a 68 lb bull dorado that broke the rod off at the holder so I had to fight it with just the reel. That thing faught
better than the 263 lb blue marlin I landed the year before.
These are wonderful stories and I would like to hear more. You baja boys must have some screamers to brag on....let er rip.
Ilfyfish
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by baitcast
Dad had tunnel vision when it came to trout,son he said"if it ain,t a trout it easn,t worth your time" |
As an adoloscent I remember asking my piano teacher who was the greatest composer. He just laughed. He said he couldn't answer that. One day it was
one and another day it was another. Depending on what his mood and what he wanted that day. They don't compare real well.
My friends sometimes press me to decide whether I like the northern forests or the arid deserts more. The only way to answer is to just say 'yes'. Yes
to both.
And finally there's a scene from Oklahoma where one of the characters is asked who she likes more Will Parker or the 'peddler man'. She admits 'Why
sure, there ain't nobody like Will Parker'. The peddler man, on the other hand, has introduced her to the pleasures of the flesh. Her final response:
she likes most "whomever I'm with".
 Your dad
was right - the rainbow is a splendid gamefish, but "There ain't nobody like Will Parker".
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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This isn't a very exciting story but it has it's charm to a fishermen.
A sedge hatch would start at our BC lake every day at around 4 and increase in intensity until dark. It was the most anticipated event of the day and
our schedule was set up around it.
A couple of loons lived across the lake, usually in a small baylet. We sometimes watched them through our binos. It was a good 45 minute paddle to
productive shallows on the western shore of the lake. The minute we got into our float tubes and kicked off we could see both loons start their
journey accross the lake as well. No, they didn't swim towards us. They knew where we were going and were not about to waste time just following us.
Upon arrival each bird would take up it's station about 50 feet away and watch. Periodically they would duck their heads under water just past the
eyes and we assumed they were looking for an easy meal while they waited.
As soon as you hooked the first fish both birds were gone, nowhere to be seen. If you looked down between your legs at the swimfins below you would
see their wide black and white bodies agressively rowing like mad all around you. They were ready for action and knew it would soon arrive.
At some point in time the fish on the end of your line would run out like crazy. Your trout transformed into a bonefish. No, the loon hadn't gotten
hold of your fish yet. But it was closing in him. You knew that no amount of shouting, cursing, or jamming your rod into the water was going to have
any effect on the outcome. 'Your' fish would soon not be yours. Eventually a black head would pop up close by and you would sit and watch your silver
trout slither down it's gullet with backward snaps of the head.
There were two bright notes about these episodes. First, each loon would take two of our fish and then just leave. And second, a fish over say 18
inches was left alone as it was just too much to handle.
And then one fine day things changed. A bald eagle had witnessed these events and decided to partake in the feast. We saw him perched on a dead branch
just over my right shoulder watching us intently. Eventually we hooked our fish, but this time the loons did nothing. I watched the mighty bird push
off and descend toward us. At about 10 to 15 feet from us it spread those broad wings and out came the talons. The first pass was a miss as the
hapless fish dived for the bottom. Alex and I just sat there spellbound. It slowly climbed up and circled for a very short time before it came down
again. This time he was on the mark and my line shot our from my reel for a split second before breaking.
We never saw him again.
I quit early that evening and kicked back to the camper by myself. Alex showed up a bit later. We talked about the eagle that evening and Alex told me
that he had made mental plans as he worked his way back across the lake. In case of an attack he was going to release his float tube belt and sink
into the center of the tube thus shielding himself from the bird with the float tube. I tried to supress a smile. It's great to have a young companion
along.
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
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Mood: good
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Getting back to Lake Pend O Reille,Dad bought 180 acres right on the lake,2100' of shore-line a old two story house,couple of cows,couple of
pigs,chickens you name it for 18000$ in 1946
In those days the fishing was out of sight,two world records 37# kamloop and 32# Dolly Varden,I think the dolly record still stands,and
monster lakers,also had millons of silvers "kokanee" which were the fodder for thr huge trout in there,Dads best fish was a 12# kam and mine was a 7#
dolly both fish were taken right in front of our place trolling.
Our dock was a old tree that washed down during a run-off,huge thing,we anchored the thing on the beach and sawed off the roots to make a
minnie platform to fish off,I caught alot of cuttthroats an dollys off that thing
I haven,t thought about these things for many years,Dads idea of light tackle was heavy white cuttyhunk line and a heavy metal rod,thats
great country,but its my understanding that they had 6' of snow this year,I just could not handle that anymore.
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Ken Bondy
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3326
Registered: 12-13-2002
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Mood: Mellow
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Wonderful story Igor!!! Loved every word. You are a magnificent observer and describer of nature!
++Ken++
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Thanks Ken. Speaking of observing nature, have you ever read any of Ernest Thompson Seton? I'll bet you have.
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Natalie Ann
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2819
Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
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Gotta tell you guys, I'm really enjoying these stories.
Thank each of you for the excellent entertainment.
Nena
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Fishing central coast of CA. Lopez Lake south of San Luis Obispo. Slow action so decided to dig a big worm and stuck it on my tattered old worn out
fly. Tossed it into a 2' round drainage culvert along the shore.
Biggest fight I ever had on my light action Fenwick w/ 3lb tippet. 8.5 lb Rainbow(landlocked)
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
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Great stories, so a combination of fly and bait is the ultimate weapon eh?
I am landlocked now with pneumonia so reading these stories is a great tonic to my itchin arm.
I recall one day on a remote BC lake in our float tube a huge hail storm caught us off guard, there we were, center of the lake, hail coming down in a
deluge....We watched in awe as huge trout came to the surface and slurped down these natural snow cones...never knew they did that...well my brother
was not having much luck before storm, which frequently come and go in minutes in the spring, so I told him to put on the biggest, baddest fly he
could find, in this case a big double humpie, f...ing humpy we used to call them...I told him to watch the slurping and just after the hail stopped to
see if he could toss it close to the slurping trout. Just after the last few hail stones hit the water, so did his flie and Kwammm! off went the fly
and the biggest trout he landed on that trip....the thing towed him in his float tube... man that was satisfying.
Iflyfsih
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
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Mood: good
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Bait and fly combo,got to be careful using that mix in Montana,we were fishing a river and things were slow,Dad with a fly and me spinners,things were
getting ugly so he breaks out a jar of salmon eggs and puts just one on his fly lo and behold catches a trout,smiling he puts on another,up walks a
game warden and asks "hows the fishing" well the old man says "just one a few minutes ago" " well sir you aware there,s a law in Montana that says no salmon eggs will be used in Montana"
Don,t know if that law is still in effect,he could have just flipped that egg off and everything would have been fine,don,t know how much it
cost him.
No fish was safe with him around,even took one out of a hatchery outside of Seattle but thats another story.
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