scariest anaimal u have come upon during outdoors?

[anabolic12]

Ever heard of ticklin for catfish? This is a stupid old southern redneck tradition that I don't recommend trying. Anyway the point is to go to a swamp or river and use one of your fingers in the surface of the water like a worm and try to lure a catfish to the surface then grab it with your bear hands. Or wade into the water and start feeling around the bottom under logs rocks, etc somewhere where catfish may be. Problem is in the swamps of LA there are also lots of snapping turtles and or gators or crocs. One time out and seeing a gator or croc up close and personal is enough.

I live in the southeast and I visited a relative (2nd cousin) down in Mississippi last year for some fishing. I flew in and had all my fishing equipment with me and such. Well, when I got off the plane of course they were there waiting for me. They were dressed like something you would see on Saturday night live or a Jeff Foxworthy comedy show. They were the perfection of a Redneck stereotype. (I mean, backwoods looking, just slept with my hog, type). Anyway, I went to baggage to get my gear (fishing equipment) and clothes. My cousin said, (and this was the funniest thing I had ever heard) “What’s all that?” I said, “My fishing equipment and clothes”. He said, “Shiiiiiiit boy, you aint gonna need none that shiiiiiit.” I just laughed… See I have a little red neck in me so I just thought he was kidding around.
So, we hung out that night and got trashed to the point of passing out. They woke me up at around 5am and said lets go. I was still drunk and said, ok, where we going? They said fishing. I was like, ok let me get my stuff. They said, “We aint doin your kind of fishing” So off through the woods we go, keep in mind it is still dark out. So after about 30 minutes of walking we come to what I would call a huge pond, but to my error, this is referred to as the water hole. I had about a 15 minute lesson on noddling. This is the word that describes fishing with your hands. First off, you get a thin stick and find hole along the banks of the water hole or river/creek. Once you find a hole with your stick you then, stick your leg down the hole to see if you hit anything. And of course if you hit the catfish (these were flathead cats) then you start nodding. I will be honest with you, I have never been soooooo damn scared in my life, and First off, they had me walk through woods that were just shy of a rain forest. I was just waiting for the gator to come get us. Its just getting day light, I am waist deep in a water hole and I know for a fact that at least two snakes had already swam over my arms. Now, for the first time in my life, I am about to perform a flash Gordon on this hole. Right before I go under, my cousin’s dad says “when he bites your arm, if you can’t pull him out, tap my leg and we will pull you up”. At that very point and time, I shit my pants. I go under the water stick my arm in this hole up to my shoulder and “SNAP” fish grabbed me up to the elbow. (Didn’t hurt, but again, I shit on my self..hahaha) I got so scared that I pull my arm out of its mouth and came back up for air. Of course, they were like, “where’s breakfast?” I said, I am not going back, of course I did. And by the way, once you have tried for the fish the first time, if you have to come back up, you have to block the hole with your foot. So needless to say, I know he is still there. So I go for my second attempt. Same thing, I get under up to my shoulder and what do I feel, a tail… I was thinking, oh, this is going to be much easier.. About that time, SNAP something grabbed me up to my elbow.. (What happened was two fish were backed up in the hole and I didn’t know it) So I start pulling, this one hurt I knew that I couldn’t get him out so I started the hardest damn leg tap on my cousins dad you have ever seen. He comes under and grabs me by the under arms a pull me up and the monster wrapped around my arm. Now, I had never seen a flathead before, so when I pop up I see this thing and scream like a 5th grade girl and start punching it with my left hand. All the while they are trying to rope this thing. After every thing, it turns out to be 38 ¼ pounds. No I never did it again, but to this day.. Although I was scared to death.. I would recommend everyone try it.

There’s a lot of in between stuff that I left out of the story, was getting to long.. I have a better one about a shark, I post that later.

 

[heatherrae]

Swimming in the homasasee river when I was 13 --my dad was on a pontoon. He yelled at me, "GET ON THE BOAT FAST!" I swam like crazy and when I got close enough he pulled me up on the boat by my ponytail. I looked in the water and saw the tail of a BIG alligator swish its tail hard as it dove under the boat. My dad said it had been coming right at me.

 

[musclee]

I've stepped on a lot of snakes, rattlers mainly. Gotta love early bow season in Mississippi. When I was in NC, I saw a black bear with her cub, which was a little scary because that maternal instinct can be enough to make them charge you. I don't think I could have put enough Easton 2213's in her to stop her from doing me in if that's what she would have decided she wanted to.

hey, i'm into hunting and fitness too. if intersting, write me to [email protected]

 

[musclee]

I've heard that a wild hog can wreck your day. I'd like to put an arrow in one.

how many of them have u killed? love to use a bow to do it.

 

[Sassy69]

Diving w/ this idiot who just HAD to go spearfishing on the deep wrecks off Ft. Lauderdale beach a few years ago. He hired me as a dive master (read: gear bitch). We jump in this wreck called the Qualman Tugs - its sort of two halves of a small wreck with a squashed round little submarine - literally like a cartoon sub. But this is where is an occassional Goliath Grouper (protected giganticmuthafuckin grouper - like a Volkswagon) and, of course, Bubba the Bullshark. So first we do actually see the Goliath Grouper -- like 6 ft long, 350 lb. Holy crap. Pretty cool tho. At least my idiot dive buddy had the sense to not try to shoot it.

Then we're drifting off the wreck area and across the reef at around 45-50 ft depth. He shoots some fish, strings it up on his stringer. I'm keeping an eye out for sharks. Yep. They know what a spear gun sounds like. I see one on the other side of this little mound of reef just swimming along. Then I see another one. Great. Bubba brought a date. Dipshit over here has now shot another fish and has 2 bleeding fish on his stringer. Then he notices that he's running low on air cuz he's a tubby guy who smokes. I still have plenty of air so I send him up the line and I"m gonna run my tank a little lower for a couple minute. Brilliant. This guy has followed the "good spearfisherman tips" and put his stringer on a 10 ' line so he doesn't have bleeding fish hanging off his belt where a shark can snap him. However he's at his 20' safety stop for 5 minutes. Guess where his friggen stringer is hanging? Right next to my head. And yes I see Bubba and date cruising the reef below as we are drifting along. They are about 20 ft down and just staying low.

I think that was the longest 3 minute safety stop I've ever sat thru. I wanted to cut that guy's stringer off his line so bad just get the dead fish away from me.


Not a real close encounter, but definitely one of the dumber situations I've been in my life.



Another sort of freaky underwater experience, again w/ the spear fishing. Diving off Key Largo I was out w/ my bf at the time. He shot a big grouper, but while he was pulling it off the spear, I guess he decided that it was wormy or something so left it on the spear. In the meantime he's facing me with his back to this little coral head. And he's watching me watching him with this grouper. And then he sees my eyes start getting huge as I see this 6 ft long big thick green moray eel come out of the reef, swim up over the reef and out across teh sand towards him and the grouper. Normally you dont' see eels come out of the reef and free swim, so I was a bit freaked. The bf turned around and held out the tip of his spear w/ the grouper still on it and we sat and watched that eel unluck his jaw and snap that poor grouper up so fast there was nothing but a cloud of sediment a second later.

And that, children, is why you don't stick your hand in a hole in the reef when you are lobstering....

 

[Trojan Horse]

Great White Shark Cage Diving off the San Francisco coast. Aside from humans, I guess that would constitute as the most predatory evolved creature I have encountered.