Attacked on the Cedar!!!

[Tim Allen]

Finally picking up a few fish last night but it was getting dark, around 9:30. Another cast along a nice seam and I felt a take, set the hook and my line comes flying past my ear. I thought I had corn-rowed a tiny guy and turned downstream to bring him in. Then this bat comes right for me. It seemed he was going after my 3 weight and I started swatting at him as he kept buzzing me. Why was this bat attacking me? As I’m fencing with this guy he lands on the water next to me and I watch as he floats by. Never saw a bat land on the water to get a drink, I’ll have to look that one up on the internet. He floats harmlessly away and seemed to take off so I proceed to untangle myself from my line. I’ve got line all over me from the swashbuckling. I’m feeling down the leader towards my tippet, but it’s wrapped around my back. I reached behind me and followed the tippet around to the front of my vest and thought the fly must be pinned on my vest somewhere. As I felt along towards the fly and pulled the tippet away, I peeled the bat I thought had flown away off my vest pocket and saw he was hooked to my #16 parachute Adams! He starts flying around at the end of the tippet and started to get wrapped around my arm. I’m freaking out at this point and can’t believe I caught a bat and was swinging him and my arm around wildly. I mini-roll casted him into the water so he couldn’t fly and knew I needed to break this thing off. I wanted to make the tag on the fly as short as possible, but when I got to within a foot of him I popped him out of the water and he came after me again. I didn’t care at this point how much line was on him, so I broke him off, lifted him off the water a bit and the little bastard flew away. As my heart rate is decreasing, I realized what I thought was a take was actually the bat taking my fly and he was hooked the whole time. I must have flicked him into the water the first time, he wasn’t getting a drink at all (less internet research now). When I thought I was fighting him off I was actually winding him in closer to me and he somehow grabbed on to the front of my vest to save himself. Creepy little bugger. And contrary to the movies, he didn’t shriek or squeal or make and scary noises, that was all me! Tight lines, Tim Allen

[Brett Angel]

LOLOLOL...best report I think I've ever read! Thanks Tim!

[Ed Call]

Toolman bullying the poor bat. I've heard a few stories of bats taking cast flies out of the air before, but none have been as fun to read. I hope you recover quickly from the swashbuckling adventure on the Cedar.

[herl]

Great story Tim!

You hear about this sort of thing from time to time. It is always in the back of my mind when I find myself fishing dries at last light - I keep my fly moving fast, but have no idea if that would make any difference. I have zero desire to stick one of those things. All teeth and wings.. no thanks.

[Chad Lewis]

I've had bats pick up my fly from the water on lakes, but they drop it right away. Actually catching one is beyond my current skill level. I am in awe.

[ReelFlyBro]

That is a funny funny story. Nice one Tim

I've had bats eerily close to me when fishing late evenings. Last year on a small creek I set the hook on a fish(no hook up) and my fly got tangled up in a tree behind me. looked up to see a few flies tangled in the tree with a dead bat hooked to one of them. must of been a slow painful death. poor guy

[wadin' boot]

Call your physician, get lined up for a Rabies shot. You don't need to be bit by a bat to get rabies, the virus can be aerosilized in feces and other stuff. It may seem like overkill, but bat-borne rabies is seen in Washington State. To date there is one patient, worldwide, that survived rabies without a post-exposure vaccination. The rest have died. If it were me I'd be getting the shots, nothing to screw around with there.

[jimmyjoe]

Damn, all I got was a big fat rainbow. Next time bring a racket and play bat-mitton

[Wayne Kohan]

I'm not sure I would post this without reading the regs first. I believe that any hooked bat without a marked dorsal wing is supposed to be kept in the water while releasing it. I don't think the Cedar is open to bats this time of year, and may not even have a season this year due to the low numbers predicted to return to their home waters this year, probably due to the 4 lower Snake River Dams.

Nice read. I'm not sure my heart would have taken that type of excitement.


Wayne

[johnnyrockfish]

Great story but the sad ending is the rabies shots you probably need. Boot is right. At the very least you should talk to your doctor ASAP. The weird behavior of the bat stands out as a reason to take the threat of rabies seriously. If the bat had been caught and brought in it could be tested. Might be worth a read

Good luck,

JR

[Mark Walker]

Man! That's enough to drive a guy batty!
(I'd follow boots' advice)

[1morecast]

Twilight on the Cedar....Your river will be invaded by teenage girls and their moms..

[funfisher]

I worked in Yellowstone Park a LONG time ago and had a similar experience while fishing the Firehole River near Old Faithful. I had a bat chasing my Royal Coachman but being fairly new to flyfishing, I was never able to get that flying mouse to take the fly.

[Bonefish Jack]

I checked the regs, and I couldn't find any rules about fly fishing for mammals in WA. With the imagination and creativity of the folks on here, I would like to create the mammal fly fishing rules for WA. I will start with these:

1. Selective gear rules for flying mammals;
2. Fly fishing only for walking omnivore mammals;
3. Any gear allowed for carnivore mammals

OK guys, take the ball and run with it ...

[Dan Cuomo]

Too funny! I caught one on a parachute adams as well. It happened on the St Joe last summer. He hooked himself on my backcast - picked it out of the air - and landed in the water just behind me. I almost jumped out of my waders as he floated past. Thank God he broke off when I began to flail my flyrod about. Had he wound up on my vest, my girlish screams might still be echoing down the canyons of the Joe. I commend you for your grace under pressure.