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They are out there...

2K views 32 replies 28 participants last post by  Old Man 
#1 ·
Saw this guy yesterday. Damn if he didn't take the same game trail through thick cover that I needed to follow to get back to my car...

 
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#6 ·
That is pretty damn cool!
 
#8 ·
Great shot! I was once told by a group of park rangers that you'd be lucky to get four seconds to take a picture of a cat in the wild. In forty years of hiking several times a week, one had only seen the swish of a tail disappear into the woods. How long did it remain visible?
 
#9 ·
It was there at least two full minutes. I was down wind so it didn't notice me for a bit while it shook off and licked a paw. I froze for a while thinking "WTF do I do?" then it took me another 30 sec of so to get the phone out of my wader pocket. The cat noticed the movement and just stared at me another minute or so. He was probably thinking "Food?"... When I tried to get my big camera out of my pack, he didn't like it and slowly sauntered off into the woods. Never seemed scared of me in the least.

I usually fish 'til dusk then walk back in the dark but I left a little early this time. Gave him about 45min and then was very noisy walking out.
 
#31 ·
Bu, bu, bu, bu, butttttt, what kind of gun were you carrying? Ya' know, it's dangerous out there in dem woods, and a guy's gotta' carry a respectable piece, ya' know, just in case, to fend off them there big cats.

Sg
No need for a gun. All you really need is one of these. It will confuse the hell out of any cougar that you encounter. : )

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#18 ·
I came face to face with Black Bear on Pilchuck Creek one time. That was the day I learned to walk on water. I never turned around and ran back down stream so fast in my life. I also noticed that the Bear went the other way.

I can still see it in my minds eye. Ugh.
 
#20 ·
I've seen two in my life. Once when I was about 10 walking outside of Eatonville along the train tracks with a friend of mine. We both froze and so did the cat about 50 yards in front of us. It seemed like an eternity before the cat walked off the side of the tracks and down toward a river. My friend and I walked home quickly and never again walked that way again. The second time happened about 12 or 13 years ago driving out of Chopaka, I rolled around a corner and the cat was in the road. On one side of the road was me and my truck and the on the other side the grade was basically a cliff. The cat was taken off guard and ran with me at 20 MPH for a bit right at my open window on the drivers side before finding a little less of cliff like area to careen off into. That thing was all predator and full of muscle. My heart didn't slow down for awhile after that.

Now on a river with say a 14 wt, I'm thinking a good bunny strip pattern where you just use the whole bunny. Should work great.
 
#24 ·
Saw this guy yesterday. Damn if he didn't take the same game trail through thick cover that I needed to follow to get back to my car...

You are indeed a very lucky person to have seen a very reclusive and wonderful creature! Cherish it forever.
 
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