I talked with a friend of mine who fished Blue Creek Tuesday morning. Told me that a cougar spotted him about halfway down the trail and followed him until he hit the crossing point on the creek. When the cat saw all the people it bolted like a bat out of hell. SCARY! Is this a typical occurance?

Whoa dude, don't say sh^t like that. You'll scare the freakin' crap outta me!!!

I fish a lot of remote places by MYSELF on many different rivers around the state, especially on the OP. Off the bank. Without heat. How many of you think this is a bad idea?? If so, what should I be packing?? Suggestions anyone. I'm already looking over my shoulder. Dunno what the hell I'd do if I was 4 miles from the truck, in thick tundra, down a canyon and came face to face, eyeball to eyeball with a big cat, all by my lonesome. I'm not worried about bear. My Vancouver Island summer-run adventures on the upper Gold has taught me that, but them damn cats.. Every time I think about it... gives me the f'n creeps.

James

that is scary! my friends and i had a similar encounter with a bear. we kind of stumbeled upon his fishing hole. i'd say carry a big rifle on a shoulder harness.
tyler

I never leave home without a S.A.M. or scud so no worrys here

If they are coming at you don't run! Same with bears. Especially if you make a good sized profile. There are much worse 2 legged varmit out there worth carrying heat for.

Sounds like a pretty tall "Cougar" story to me!!! Did he get a look at the cat or just here something. I wouldn't think a cougar would hang out around a high "human" traffic area like blue creek. But, maybe this one has developed a taste for BLOOD.

Everyone knows that cats don't like water, right?
My recomendation on what to pack for protection is......Super soaker 2000 I would think anything less than a full one quart capacity might be a little iffy.

I have spent the last 15 years fishing the back country,taught survival to young troubled kids in tha cascades, Hiked cross country up on some of the headwaters of the oly pen and have seen one cougar,running from me!I have seen plenty of sign and fresh kills around a week old but I do not feel threatened!If god wants to feed me to a cougar so be it but I think I stand a better chance of being eaten by Ike!

that happened to me once where the north and south fork sky meet by index , just had that feeling that something was watching me made the hair on my neck stand up, kept lookin over my shoulder but didnt see anything finally spotted him sitting on a log in the brush watching me, he didnt bother me but i did head out....creepy feeling

i saw the bear in startup it was about 75yards away when we first spotted it then it went around a bend and we thought we were ok but we started fishing again and it came out of the bushes about 50 yards away. man that was scary!
tyler
p.s. we were about 2 miles down river from the car.

Looks like someone wanted to fish blue creek without the crowd...........

~ Dr Pepper

Perfect Drift - all you gotta do is out run Keith! Shouldn't be too hard!

I was fishing Pilchuck Creek one time up by the head waters. I came around a bend in the creek and came up on a black bear. I turned around and ran. I think that I even walked on water that day. I don't know what he did because I didn't stick around. Jim S.

Did the cat have HOOFS?


FJ...out.

Fishing is my religion dammit!

Why is it that I have been hunting cats and bears for years and with alot of effort cannot sneak up on a bear or walk down a cougar, but all of you guys get them walking up to you? It doesn't make any sense

I saw the Cougar you are talking about at blue creek. He went to WSU, I know him


Cats sometimes follow you and you rarely can see them. They are just curious. They don't attack. Sometimes they attack if you are 2 ft tall (little kids). I have been in their area many times, they avoid you.

[ 01-19-2002: Message edited by: UltimateFeashKacher ]

The best advice I can give is to make sure that you can outrun your fishing buddy!

Well if it isn't the a holes you are packing heat for at Blue Creek, it's cougars. Say, what's next, Bigfoot sightings? I fished BC one time since getting in W WA in August of 2000, never again. The crowds at that place don't even make the sport fun. If it is your bag, then have fun, I would rather catch nothing fishing all by myself on the upper Green than fight the crowds at BC. Good luck to anyone who does, and don't forget the catnip.

Paranoid, my fishing partner (Randy) who with bad knees and only capable of short bursts of speed makes him the perfect fishing partner. Just one of the many aspects that makes him a good one!

Actually I would go to battle for my brother and friends

FJ...out.

Fishing is my religion dammit!

Here in oregon they banned hunting cougars and bears with dogs. Now the population of those damn cats are increasing by alot in some counties. Myself i have had a runnin with a paticular cougar 2 days in a row. On the 3 day, i decided to go somewhere else.