03-10-2006, 07:02 PM
About eight years ago I decided to pick up fly fishing. I had a fourteen year old KMart special I had received as a kid and off to the Uinta mountains I went. I had some flies I had been told about but no real idea how to fish them. Didn't know anything about fly fishing or that some flies go under the water like a Muddler Minnow. Was fishing a small lake where the stream came in for several days with limited success.
There was a beaver who wasn't too happy that I was there and would come up behind me or just in front of me and slap it's tail to let me know I wasn't welcome. Scared me to death every time as I never would see it coming.
On the third day I was fishing a Muddler Minnow as a dry fly when it just disappeared in a large splash. I knew I was in trouble as I knew that splash by now. I had hoped that maybe it had just hit my fly but as the line started running out I knew I wasn't that lucky. Sure enough the beaver came back up out in the lake and my line went straight into its mouth. The beaver was slapping at the line with its front paws but that fly wasn't going to go that easy. The beaver took off again out into the lake.
I was all but out of line and there was no way I was going to try and talk that beaver into holding still while I got my fly back. I just grabbed my line real tight and let the beaver break the line. It came up grabbing at it's mouth and then was gone again for the night. Must have been alright because next morning and for the last two days it was back to sneaking up on me and slapping its tail.
I have fished there every year since and the number of beavers have gone up but never had the sneak attacks again like I did the year of the beaver.
[signature]
There was a beaver who wasn't too happy that I was there and would come up behind me or just in front of me and slap it's tail to let me know I wasn't welcome. Scared me to death every time as I never would see it coming.
On the third day I was fishing a Muddler Minnow as a dry fly when it just disappeared in a large splash. I knew I was in trouble as I knew that splash by now. I had hoped that maybe it had just hit my fly but as the line started running out I knew I wasn't that lucky. Sure enough the beaver came back up out in the lake and my line went straight into its mouth. The beaver was slapping at the line with its front paws but that fly wasn't going to go that easy. The beaver took off again out into the lake.
I was all but out of line and there was no way I was going to try and talk that beaver into holding still while I got my fly back. I just grabbed my line real tight and let the beaver break the line. It came up grabbing at it's mouth and then was gone again for the night. Must have been alright because next morning and for the last two days it was back to sneaking up on me and slapping its tail.
I have fished there every year since and the number of beavers have gone up but never had the sneak attacks again like I did the year of the beaver.
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