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3. And then I hooked the friggin bat, Page 4

What's the weirdest thing you've ever hooked -- on the stream, of course. Let's keep it clean...heh, heh...

a dead squirrel.....seriously

Hi everyone. New here. I live in southeastern CT. Grew up in Pleasant Gap, Pa. Visited the Pl. Gap fish hatchery many many times growing up. Hatchery was a short walk from where I lived. Knew a few of the PA. Fish Commission workers there. Coming down again in May to see family and try some fly fishing there.

My mom & pops still live there. My father told me that years ago when he was doing alittle fly fishing on Logan Branch he had a bat take his fly also. Quite interesting to say the least.

Hey, BrownTrout8. I live in Pleasant Gap, a short walk from the hatchery. If you get to do any fishing when you visit, I'd be happy to join you.

As for the strangest thing I've ever hooked, one time I hooked someone else's fly from a submerged rock (why don't I ever hook my own after I lose them?). The weirdest thing I've seen caught, though, was on the Salmon River. I saw a guy hook a stringer with a large salmon swimming on the other end of it.

-Shawn

Hi Shawn

I once hooked a length of monofilament and when I reeled it in and started to pull on it, I found it hooked to a large brown trout with a plastic bait in its mouth. I had hoped to get the hook and bait out, but as I pulled the fish close to me the mono broke. But, I thought, at least it won't be dragging a mile of line now.

I've never hooked any of these odd things, but I do remember one time when I was trying to fish a dry on a gorgeous looking run I had a bird that was just driving me nuts. He'd sit in a tree next to the stream, and as soon as my fly would hit the water, he'd swoop down and try to take if off the surface - or course, I'd have to yank it away from him. We must have played this game for 10 or 12 straight casts, me never getting more than about a 2' drift on any of them - I finally tipped my cap to him and moved on.

Oh, and on the muskrat thing - I've never hooked one, but one day I saw this brown thing drifting down Spring Creek toward me; I couldn't tell what it was, but it wasn't moving, just drifting - so I figured it was a piece of wood or something. I don't know if he was just conserving energy or what, but when that muskrat bumped into my leg he looked up at me and we both got animated in a hurry.

i don't know if this counts, 'cause the bird never got hooked, but one evening when i was lawn casting a white fluffy, a mockingbird got really interested. she would hop out of her low bush and head for the fluff when it landed, and when i stripped it back, she'd hop back into the bush. we kept at it for about 15 minutes, but she never did quite take it in her beak. if she had, no damage, but much surprise, i'm sure!

Hi Shawnny3! Glad to hear from someone from my home area. I'll keep it in mind. Feel free to message me.

RE recent reports of bat hookings, here's a classic thread on the topic, along with some other tales for new folks on the site. I've learned to keep my line speed up when bats are about and try to time casts to avoid them, but the backcast is still problematic. I have a love/hate relationship with evening fishing. Mostly I do it from dusk to about an hour after it gets dark, often fishing spinners, then am happy to get back to the car and head home. I've only fished well into the night a time or two, and despite the promise of big fish, don't plan night trips per se. Hexes and big fish might change my mind, if I lived where the combination is endemic.

hello guys,MartinLF I could'nt resist,after reading your post on tiny flys eg Tricos.I'm on that thing also,just,"bang" like that.Sooo I'm leaning towards at least a 1wt. But I'm getting off the subject.One evening on Van Campens brook abouve the Water Gap area I decided to stay late,just so many of those night monster stories to a point of no return. Waited till "round midnight" tied on a #6 long shank full dress grey ghost eased it out into the pool towards the backwash on the oppisite undercut bank and under the huge boulder at the head of the pool.One of those moments you know you are in kharma. Wham! A tru monster grabed it and everything went fast forward to the end of the skinny water and stopped for seconds,limp line,micro thots,comprehend,and the beast runs full on into my right forleg, bounced off my left leg,bulldoged thru both legs and went north in the skinny water in back of me.Sounded like a pig. I'm certain one could hear the yell out of me 11 miles south of me at the Gap.MarinLF, I'm interested in further chat about your Trico flys.Maybe some input here in the forum.

I didn't read through the entire post, so maybe this was already mentioned. I was casting to a small pool in a small brook trout stream and couldn't locate where my fly landed and then I saw my line going up and circling around above me. It was a dragonfly. Not a bat yet, but it's not surprising that it happens.

I just ran across this thread, really weird reading...but entirely believable.

I hooked and landed a water snake some years back, bass-bugging on Highbanks Lake in northern Newaygo County here in MI. Maybe 18-20" long but the thing had teeth and was thrashing around like crazy...it finally fell off the hook, disappeared back into the water pronto.

No bats, no ducks, looks like I gotta' get out more!

Roguerat

I wish that there were still bats around Central PA. I miss them and messing with them during spinnerfalls.
You never know what you have until you don't have it anymore.

Why is it there are no longer bats around? I remember when I used to fish the East Branch of the Delaware back in the 1960's - late 1990's and also right in front of my cabin on the West Branch the bats would literally drive me out of the river at dark because they kept diving at me and trying to pick my fly out of the air. I've not seen a bat at my place for about ten years. Did they some sort of disease that wiped them out for central PA and the southern tier of NYS?

Sadly, yes.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/05/blood-and-spore-how-a-bat-killing-fungus-is-threatening-us-agriculture/275596/

What's sad is that it's only scientists, and diehard fisherman, that notice such things.

Well folks, it is the WNS. White - nose syndrome is a. disease affecting hibernating bats. Named for the white fungus that appears on the muzzle and other parts of hibernating bats.
First documented in New York in the winter of 2006-2007,WNS has spread rapidly across the eastern United States & Canada, and the fungus that causes WNS has been detected as far south as Mississppi.
I can add, most bat caves in my area, lost, almost all bats. One big heavy pop; of 7000, I hear may have 2 doz. now. Mass counts of dead in spring at opening to cave. Alot of people notice bats gone, I sure do. Maybe I shall never have them, in my area, as once was. -M.R.P.

I think the uptick in mosquitoes the past few years has a lot to do with the decline in bat population. Some blamed this on really wet spring weather which made for excellent mosquito breeding conditions, can't be the only reason though.
I used to sit in my backyard on summer evenings, watch the bats circling and diving- no more.

Well back when I was a 20 year old youngster I was standing in Junction Pool on the Beaverkill in NYS and I buried a #6 Mickey Finn streamer right in the very top of my skull. The funny part was I was pretty shook up about it and drove to a local clinic with my waders still on and the doctor smiled and said "Don't tell me you have a hook stuck in you somewhere". Well I told him right off that I only had enough money for gas on the way home and I promised to send him payment when I got home. He removed the streamer, gave he a tetanus shot, and sent me on my way.