Bats and flies aren't just for baseball anymore!

[Chappy]

While fishing the upper reaches of the Housey w/ a couple of buddies a strange thing happened. We were fishing in Lee, Ma and I managed to get a rainbow and a few smallies on a bugger copper john rig. My pals got a couple of smallies also before dark. We were fishing under this bridge at sunset when my friend was checking his fly out against the reflection of the quickly fading sun on the water when a bat swooped down and grabbed his fly. We had to cut his line in order not to rupture the thin wing membrane where the fly found home. The bat was very successful at flying away with the little cdc momento attached to it's wing. Has anyone had a bat experience before?

[h.ridley]

:D Chappy:

Last summer while fishing the Farmy one evening, I was casting a small spinner. just before the fly landed on the water a bat swooped down and nailed the fly in mid air. It scared the xxxx out of me as it screamed while flopping on the water. That face on the bat was so ugly I still shake when thinking about it. I also cut the leader to release it. That was one experience on the river I could have done without.

Howie

[Chappy]

Yeah it is a good thing that bats are not huge (the ones we have here at least) the accuracy at which they can snag a size 20 fly in mid cast using sonar is insane.

[Hot Tuna]

I knocked one right out of the air after dark in Church Pool one night...it was coming straight at me and I swiped it right into the water with my Sage 490LL. The bugger swam to shore....LOL

[spike]

While fishing Ovation friday night, about 5 or 6 bats were working the area I was fishing. I do not know if it if me but they seemed alot bigger then the bats normally around and they flew much too close for comfort. They actually took bugs off the surface of the water and kept hitting my line floating on the water. It was so un-nerving for me that I had to leave - besides it was difficult fishing with my hands inside my jacket, my collar pulled up to my ears and my hat so low on my head that I could not see. Get nailed by one and it is a given for the rabies shot. :?

[Z Fisher]

I've had bats near me, but never on the line.

Something similar happened Saturday night. I was walking up the river bank approaching a hole. I had my leader in my hand an a a small tan caddis dangled below my hand. When I got to where I was going to cast I dropped the leader and prepared to backcast.

Just as I began to move my fly zoomed straight up past my head. I glanced up and there was the biggest dragon fly I've ever seen with my caddis in its jaws. I grabbed the leader and gave it a light tug. The dragonfly would not let go. I have it another light tug and after a brief tussle it let go.

That was one tough dragonfly.

[steve]

Last year, I was fishing near dark on the Farmington, when my casting went to heck, you know, like when a big leaf is on your hook. Turns out a bat had snagged my fly in mid-air. My buddy insisted on unhooking the bat, I told him he was nuts, that bats can carry rabies, but he still held the bat in his bare hand and unhooked it.

It happened to me again this spring; I was fishing at dark, lots of bats flying around, before I hooked the bat, I had a nice fish on, and the bats kept flying into my line or my rod. When I hooked the bat, I cut the leader and figured it was time to call it quits. The sad thing was the trout were really rising.

One evening this weekend, on the Housy, the same thing, bats were flying into my rod, but at least I didn't hook one.

I've also had them try to pick my fly off the water; I don't know if they spit it out, or missed it, but I did not hook them.

I also had a bird, you know the ones that are always swooping over the river chasing bugs during a hatch, try to take my dry off the water.

I guess the bats and birds are not as picky about patterns and sizes as the trout!

[Klinkhamer]

Early this June I was way up north in the Adirondacks fishing during some pretty foul weather. There were lots of caddis coming off even though the wind and rain was pretty heavy. Amazingly, all sorts of birds were swooping down and picking these bugs off the water along with my #14 Elk hair I was using. The fish were in a feeding frenzy as were the birds, so it was very exciting. My fly got picked up easily 20 or more times and each time I prayed it wouldn't get hooked in the beak or feet of each of these birds. Fortunately each bird dropped it quickly and this often drew strikes from fish after it landed again. I would've had a difficult time trying to get one of these birds off otherwise. I've never encountered anything like it before.
Had an amazing day, but I'm glad I didn't catch any of these feathered friends.
Bats, well, I get the creeps just looking at these things. Flying mice with tiny fangs....ugh!

[neweyesofold]

those darn bats. yeah chappy that was pretty crazy. so whats the story with bats in the area? are they rabid or is that just a myth?