Bat rescue at Resica Falls

[Mark Griffin]

This afternoon I was fishing the lower end of the Boy Scout Reservation and saw something flopping around below a branch over the water on the far bank. When I got over there I saw it was a radar-guided, flying mouse tangled in some fishing line. There was no way I could reach the branch.

I had to get the tip of my flyrod twisted around the line above the bat to pull it out of the branch. It took me about ten minutes. The bat kept clinging to the rod. When I finally got everything to shore, I saw he was not really tangled, but actually hooked in the corner of the mouth on a small nymph. Oh, boy!

This guy had an incredible set of teeth, and was not happy and was fighting me all the way. It took me about ten minutes using my forceps to hold the nymph and a small stick to push him off the hook. What an ordeal!

He's gonna have some damage to the side of his mouth, but I hope he'll be OK. After flopping around on that line for who knows how long, and fighting me the whole time, he still had plenty of strength to fly away easily.

BTW, Big Bushkill Creek was looking great at 61°. There were lots bugs, but not a single rise. I dredged up two browns with a beadhead nymph and splitshot. I'm not sure what areas got stocked or what happened after the flooding. I'll try again after the next stocking.

 

[catskilljohn]

I have caught a few of those fishing on the Delaware at dusk,they are pretty good at grabbing things in the air. Glad to hear you saved him,they probably eat 5 thousand mosquitos a week!.

 

[cingras53]

Nice rescue! Just make sure to douse that nymph in alcohol (if you kept it) because if there is a remote chance the bat had rabies the hook may have his saliva on it. I know it may be a long shot but rabies is 100% fatal if contracted.

 

[EB WADER]

Nice going Mark. Respect for nature and all of Gods' creatures is a big part of our flyfishing ethic. Kudos to you for taking time out of your day to do the right thing. It's hard to tell from the photos, but that looks like a big bat.

 

[davethetrout]

awesome rescue brother..for every life you save the good luck will come to you..catch any trout after the ordeal?

 

[Mark Griffin]

..catch any trout after the ordeal?

Yep, check out the bottom of my post.

I'm guessing that was a little brown bat based on this website-
http://www.batmanagement.com/Batcentral/batspecs.html

That's what I love about fishin'. Ya just never know what's gonna happen out there. A few years back I rescued a bird on the Delaware that tried to fly from a tree and nose dived into the river. I guess it was the little guy's first flight and he was doomed if I wasn't right there to see it and pluck him from the swollen river.

 

[serotonin]

Nicely done Mark!

Judging only by your previous posts, and your avatar... you are the guy who 'talks to the wind'; and the wind does hear!