Best Big-Fish-Eats-Little-Fish Story

[ditz2 0]

Many years ago shortly after starting to flyfish I had a few minutes till dark to fish a small gravel pit. I was catching small gills. I had moved spots and the new spot was quite narrow and the bank was steep and slippery so I stayed a few feet from the waters edge. I had hooked another small gill and as the gill slid out of the water onto the gravel bank a bull frog came up out of the water and challenged me for control of that gill. I was kinda taken aback at the frog's aggressiveness. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was the most powerful individual in the contest and I maintained control the gill and release it as I had all the others. I have always had a laugh at myself as that bull frog had tried to bluff me and I actually had to think about such a silly situation.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Okay, not exactly a big fish - little fish story, but the stories about bullfrogs and turtles reminded me of an incident that occurred in a "nature center" type place in the suburb of Cleveland where my ex-sister-in-law and her family live. We had taken our four kids, who at that time ranged from 4-6 years old, to the nature center place for a rainy-day outing. There were quite a few sizable aquariums in there, one of which was full of little minnows (generic term) and a couple of small turtles. As we're sitting there watching the "fishies" go about their business, one of the turtles suddently swims up behind one of them and -- gulp!-- sucks him down in one great inhalation. The in-laws' kids, who were raised to believe that all animals wore clothes and hats and talked and sang funny songs like the ones on t.v., began screaming and crying. My two, who were raised to understand that animals were animals and ate other animals, thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen. They whooped and ran off to tell their mom. They may have high-fived. It definitely made their day, and mine.

[captkenroy 0]

Dang Byron, I loved your tale. Kinda makes you wonder what kind of kids are being raised and indoctrinated with pure BS. Really sad if you ask me, kinda like the woman that asked a hunter

why he killed animals for meat when he could go to the store and buy meat that didn't have to be killed.

 

I love Jewfish/Goliath Grouper. I always have but, back in the early days of LORAN C I killed hundreds of them for the market. It was too easy and they mature slowly and the species was darn near extinct when their harvest was banned. I had quit takeing them several years earlier when I noticed their drastic decline. Anyhow, one of my clients was fighting a 30# or so Cobia when a Jewfish sucked it down like a Bass eating a popping bug--right on the surface as I was reaching out with my gaff. . A nearby boat caught the splash in a photo. That's me in the plaid shirt and floppy hat.

 

I have no clue how many Wahoo, Tuna and Dolphin I have lost to Barracudas and Sharks. My biggest single handed Blue Marlin weighed 396 after loosing several 5 gallon bucket size chunks of flesh. Honestly, I felt like Thd Old Man and the Sea by myself 40 miles offshore in a 16' Whaler. Of course I was in my twenties at the time. Holy Smoke, that was dang near 50 years ago!

[Stevester 0]

Bryon and CapnKen,

 

I occasionally teach intro to biology at one of local universities and the total lack of understanding of how nature works is appalling. Well it was originally, I am becoming a little more resigned to it now. It is not as if there aren't a load of shows on tv that give at least a basis of how predator and play relate to each other. Still it gives my wife and some laughs at the answers to some of the exam questions.

 

Steve

[mikechell 0]

Stevester,

Can you start a thread with some of those? I teach mechanical/technical classes, and I get a few doozies here and there, too. Since they won't actually be about fly fishing, start a thread in "The Lodge".

[Stevester 0]

Mike,

 

I normally give the exams back to the kids so I don't have any examples laying around. I did teach the class recently but the text book had changed to a human biology based course. I will ask my wife if she has some examples, she likes to keep tests so she can reuse the questions. She may have some old exams around.

 

Steve

[vicrider 0]

Bats...When I used to do a lot of night fishing for walleyes I regularly had them running into my line. Kind of figured their radar read the mono as if it were a mosquito and got a surprise. Set the hook because of the dang things a few times.

 

One time I was casting a Little Cleo off the mouth of the Two Island River north of Tofte on Lake Superior. I had just made a long cast and was reeling in with my line well above the water where I stood on a rock. I watched two ducks flying low to the water at about 100mph. As they crossed in front of me my rod was almost yanked out of my hand and one of the ducks did a couple of cartwheels and landed in the water. He paddled for bit, shook his head, and flew off none the worse for wear.

[deeky 0]

I had a 5"-6" gill on the line while fishing from a dock. About 10' off the dock I watched as a northern flew up from the bottom and took a swing at my fish. Missing the first time, he circled for a second time before I soaked in what was happening. We fought over the fish for a minute or so before the northern finally let go. But he wasn't done. He came around and grabbed that poor gill a second time. We fought each other for another half a minute or so before my fly finally popped out of the gill's mouth. I got my fly back and the northern got his meal. Worked out well for both of us.