Last Saturday took a friend and dad to cover some miles in search of some steel. Made it down the first few runs with nothing to show but did come across a set of good-sized kitty tracks. They looked to be a couple of days old but didn't think too much of it (fourth set I've seen this season).

Fished downstream a couple more hours and decided to sit down along a high bank hole for some lunch. Two minutes into my sandwich we look upstream and 60 yards where we just waded through a cougar jumps in and starts crossing towards our side. We fumbled for our cameras and managed this short clip:

Cougar

I've had two other run ins before but this was a first on film.

With a little adrenaline going we pushed downstream to find some elk on the hillside making an odd grunting noise. A couple of minutes later the small herd of elk were sprinting full tilt around the bend in the river where we couldn't quite see. Obviously the cat was in full stalk mode. Pretty cool to witness a full on predator-prey scenario play out.

Cool stuff right there.

love that shnit-very cool

Awesome.Good luck,

SZ

Nice, have yet to see one. About 7-8 yrs ago on the upper Sauk I did a long walk into a good run, on the walk back there where tracks flowing mine!! HAIRS WENT STRAIT UP!!!! Never saw it but was on high alert as there was some easy ambush spots along the walk. Called it Couger flats after that.

That is pretty awesome.

Same thing happened to us on the upper Sultan. When we found the tracks, the cat had to have been within 20 - 30 feet. We never saw a thing. Buddy and I walked back-to-back all the way to the truck.

Way cool, Brad!

Cool stuff brad! On the hoh@ cottonwood a few years ago we noticed we had fresh tracks following ours up river on our way back down..crazy how elusive they are never seen one but I know they seen me.

Same for me.

Brad, I saw that on FB yesterday(?) and thought that was one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. I would really like to see one someday... from a distance.

Very cool that you were able to get it on film.
I've never seen one with but I've seen tracks.

My buddy was hiking up a trail out of a river in the southern Olympics and encounter a cougar carrying a deer fawn down the trail.
SF

awesome! My heart would have been pounding for sure.

I forgot another encounter, about 2yrs ago I was up skating some dries up on the south fork at dusk. Walking out I in near dark(no lamp) my hairs started to raise and got all freaked out. Thought I heard something following me, I kept going and crossed the rr tracks and was by my car when I heard some thing cross the rr. I got the f×#k outta there. The next year I was talking to a good friend that has a hound and dose some cougar hunting, he told me about a dead deer that was right off the trail and he had been spooking out a cougar when hes gone to that run. When I'm fishing alone I think I should carry!!

+1. FYI - you don't need a carry permit when in the field. Just make sure you transport it correctly "to and from the field".

Cougars are harmless. Its the Sasquatch you need to worry about

Still waiting for that too, ever since a great uncle in central Oregon scared the chit out of me with bigfoot stories when I was little.

That's awesome!!!!! I love this state!!!!! I've only seen one over the last 50+ years. I wish I could see more as long as my head isn't in it's mouth!