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[Rosco P. COHOtrane]

I recently purchased a 7m fishing pole and tonight I met up with Otto to try it out for the first time at Rice Lake. I tied 10 ' of 6lb Maxima Ultra Green to the end of the pole, blood knotted  7' of 2lb Maxima and tied a #10 hook to the business end. No float, no reel...super simple.
After about an hour on the docks, we decided to try our luck on the island so we packed up our things and headed there. A kid with a minnow net caught a dragonfly nymph and asked if I wanted it for bait so I said sure and put it on my hook.
It was a little akward at first trying to "flick" my line out and not get tangled with the tree branches but after a couple "casts" I figured it out.
Otto was getting all kinds of hits and he commented on how sensitive his rod was.
After about 20 minutes I felt a couple sharp tugs. I immediately raised the tip of my pole, felt a quick headshake and...line went slack.  I continued lifting the tip and saw that my dragonfly nymph was gone! What amazed me the most was how sensitive the 7m pole was. It is made of graphite so I could "feel" the bottom of the lake as I pulled my offering along the bottom.
I re-baited and this time put a small split shot 4" from my hook and extended my line into the water.  After a few hits and misses and re-baiting, I realised how quick on the draw I had to be with this new fishing technique.  The sun was setting and the trouts were starting to get active!
Around 21:00 hrs I quickly set my hook in response to the little jerk at the end of my pole. I played the fish quick and was worried that my 2lb test would snap because of the fight it gave. The fight seemed to have been multiplied by the sensitiveness of my graphite pole. I got it close to shore and scooped it out of the water with my trout net.  This fish was the biggest I have ever caught in that lake! I quickly dispatched it with my brass trout priest and put it away in a plastic bag.
As Otto and I continued to fish, Otto went to the dock side of the island to try his luck. A few minutes later Otto says," We've got a bear." " Where?" I replied. Otto said something to the effect that it was getting close so I put my rod down to have a look. Then I saw it. It was heading for our island along the bank in between the docks and our isalnd. It was coming and it was coming FAST! We tried making noise but it still kept coming towards our island. Otto threw a rock at it and it disappeared into the bush. It was probably 30' from us when it went in. We quickly packed up our gear amidst the sound of twigs and leaves being treaded on by a large creature coming towrds us. In my haste to quickly collapse my 7m pole, I inadvertently jammed the sections. The bear was getting nearer again. It must've smelled my fish and he was coming for it. It made another appearance near the entrance to the island so Otto threw a huge rock into the water near it and it again disappeared into the bushes. " I should leave the fish here so it doesn't follow us," I said and Otto's response was something to the effect like it' ll make geting out of here more fun. So I took the fish with us as we hiked our way back to our trucks. I figured I could always use it like a fighter jet pilot uses chaffing flares to throw off SAMs.
Well, we made it back safely to our trucks and here is a photo of my fish:

http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showphoto.php?photo=24713&size=big&password=&sort=1&thecat=502

Thanks Otto. That was fun!        

 
 

[Fish Assassin]

That's quite an adventure. Your photo needs to be resized though.

[spring_killer]

must have been enjoyable until you saw the bear...were u frightened in some way..considering tat you were on an island with no where to run ..?

[SC]

Hey Rosco nice fish sounds like fun, I'm working like mad right now. I have a meeting in NewWes Wednesday now at 10 a.m. I also need to get gear as well but I'm free in the early afternoon. Email me if your still into bar fishing, I can meet you somewere and we'll go. Try calling you Tuesday at some point. Great story, you should of got the bear though I always wanted a bear rug.

[Hiker]

That bear is most likely very accustomated to people. It can be dangerous. I would recommend to you or to anybody else who goes fishing later at night in that area to be very aware of the bear, not to go alone and to have paper spray handy (not small dog's version, full size bear spray). In case of any incident notify authorities as well.

I hike a lot, and have seen many bears but behaviour of that bear is concerning. Please follow all bear precautions (do not wipe fishy hands of your clothes, do not run away from it, be aware of your surrounding, do not have smelly foods on you, pretend dead or fight back - depends on situation - black bears eat garbage so they will eat corpses, ... find a good book or internet site about bear awareness and read it.) Bears are no monsters but you have to know what you are doing.

[_Ivan_]

wow   wat a day hey. that bear must off scared you?

[otto]

there is a little bridge on the island, connecting it and the shore.......made things interesting as we frantically coiled up our lines and broke down the fishing poles.....that bear (a young black bear) had absolutely no fear of us....we were making noise, banging rocks etc....nothing fazed it. when the bear got onto the wooden bridge, we had about 15 feet between it and us (and ROSCO's trout   ) when i chucked a softball sized rock at the water beside the bear. he grunted and took off, only to reapear 20 feet  down the trail. next time i'm bringing my (illegal and no longer produced) 95% capsium grizzly spray when i go fishing.

all in all a very fun night.  

[THE_ROE_SLINGER]

how big was the trout.

[Rosco P. COHOtrane]

The trout was 14.5".

I have in my home library, "Bear Encounter Survival Guide"  and "Bear Attacks II " by James Gary SHELTON. Great books. After reading the books a few years ago, I summarized this...12 gauge, plug removed and w/slugs. Pepper spray is nice if the bear isn't too motivated.

QUESTION: Why is it a good idea to file the front sight of your pistol in bear country?

ANSWER IN MY NEXT POST  

[Rosco P. COHOtrane]

ANSWER to Previous Post:

!$$A ruoy pu lotsip ruoy sevohs RAEB eht nehw hcum sa truh t'nseod ti oS

       

(Does not apply if you're packing a .454 Casull!!!!)

[FishKid]

That must have been frightening, seeing the bear.  When I had an encounter with a black bear at capilano my heart was pumping like crazy due to the adrenaline rush, but with my encounter I had an escape route and you guys didn't so you guys must have been frightened and shocked in a way.

[Rosco P. COHOtrane]

I wasn't scared. All I had to do was run or swim faster than Otto!        

[otto]

um Rosco...i was the long distance runner champion in the kootenays.....the day you outrun me is the day i grow back the hair on my noggin............

[Rosco P. COHOtrane]

Otto, I was just teasing. I'm not much of a runner. Last time I ran, I think was across the street.
I think if worse came to worse,  the two of us could've hctib slapped the bear with our long poles.
 

[otto]

  i must refrain from answering..........   (falls off the chair laughing.........)

but in all seriousness, having dealt with grizzly's, brown/black bears, cubs and angry mother bear, and the larger Kodiak grizzlies all my life, and having dispatched a attacking cougar by myself with a hunting knife, i was not concerned about this one. there are ways of dispatching an aggressive bear when you are alone. besides....my idea of fun is dropping into a warzone and sprinting through the chaos with the bagpipes blaring.........