Fishing The Fly Scotland Forum

Iain Cameron

bats
« on: 29/07/2011 at 00:17 »
ugh, hooked a bat out on the river tonight, poor wee guy flapping on my shoulder, fair gave me the creeps though.
was it just a coincidence, or are they actually quick enough to grab a fly mid-cast?

catch & release... to my relief as much as the bat's!

manxman22

Re: bats
« Reply #1 on: 29/07/2011 at 08:34 »
They sure are quick enough - have had it myself. Scares the bejeesus out of you!

Swallows are also no fun when hooked... :cry

Oscar

Noel Kelly

Re: bats
« Reply #2 on: 29/07/2011 at 10:41 »
Have never hooked a bat. Did once hook a bullock, had a right struggle landing it 2. Released to graze another day :z16

gunner100

Re: bats
« Reply #3 on: 29/07/2011 at 23:00 »
The only bat that I have hooked was not a result of the bat taking the fly, if so I would claimed it as a catch, but the nylon wrapping itself round the bat's wing. i suspect that is also what happens when an angler gets a hookup with a swallow . The line has gone over the body and the bird has got snagged. The swallow has not necessarily attempted to take the fly. I fish my local water at Stonehaven and see swallows regularly when fishing but have never seen them attempt to take my fly when it is aerialised or on the surface of the water.

Noel Kelly

Re: bats
« Reply #4 on: 29/07/2011 at 23:56 »
Often had sand martins nip at my dry fly on the river when they are mopping up upwings. They only nip though, have never seen one even lift the artificial off the water.   

Iain Cameron

Re: bats
« Reply #5 on: 30/07/2011 at 07:44 »
ha, noel,  a bullock would be some catch.... i've once had a swallow lift my f-fly from the surface, lifting the fly line; the bird quickly dropped the fly upon feeling the tension, then off. quite common for the birds to swoop close to my dries, look at at how poorly they are tied, then fly off in disgust! :-)


Jim Eddie

Re: bats
« Reply #6 on: 30/07/2011 at 08:24 »
Month or so ago at Fedderate, I successfully caught and released a swan. Same day walking along the bank with my rod in the air, I felt some resitance, though I had caught some vegitation, when I turned round a swallow had taken the dropper. It mamaged to relaese itself as I was pulling it in.

 :z18

Jim

Hamish Young

Re: bats
« Reply #7 on: 30/07/2011 at 10:00 »
On the fly I've had a couple of bats, one swallow when dapping and..... are you ready for this..... a seagull (not the outboard motor, the bird....).
The seagull was an odd one.
I was experimenting with shallow depth trolling rigs on Loch Shiel when Jimmy Wood, in another boat about 100yds away, started waving at me and pointing behind my boat. A seagull was diving at one of my experimental devon minnows, unfortunately for me (and it) the gull successfully grabbed the lure before I could recover my lines and an interesting aerial battle ensued.
I believe I might have sworn a fair bit.
Took me a few minutes to get the rather angry bird into my boat which is where the issue of unhooking it came around. Trust me, it was no fun and was very loud.
Successfully unhooked and released the frankly ungrateful seagull proceeded to dive bomb my boat with guano for ten minutes.
I may have had some very uncharitable thoughts about that bird.
Eventually it gave up and thereafter, when using my shallow water rig, I kept a wary eye for low flying seagulls.
I still don't like seagulls.

H  :z3


Euan Innes

Re: bats
« Reply #8 on: 30/07/2011 at 15:42 »
"I believe I might have sworn a fair bit."
Surely not....

I hooked a shetland pony at Mill of Strachan one night fishing in the dark. No questions about why I was there in the dark or why I was very, very drunk at the time, please.  :z18

Anyhoo, I'm glad I use barbless. I've never seen backing disappear so fast with anything else on the end of my line, but eventually she came to the net. It was in the days before digital cameras so no photos of the release. That and we were trying to be really quiet at the time....

And probably failing...

 :z1

jimmy r

Re: bats
« Reply #9 on: 30/07/2011 at 16:46 »
hi guys
ace topic, while fishing at fourgue a few years ago with a friend. he decided to change flies a couple of faulse casts and a  large splash, my friend is a very good fly tier but he should know its only the feathers to tie with and not one of bobs chickens, chicken got a little bath released and wandered back to the coup, the joys of fishing ,never a dull moment  :z4

jimmy r

Peter Rawlinson

Re: bats
« Reply #10 on: 30/07/2011 at 22:15 »
Had the odd bat rattle my fly and small birds show interest , but sea fishing brings the biggest surprises .

Feathering for mackerel in the sound of Mull I hooked into what I thought was a decent fish in about 100 ft of water. Not mackerel , but a razorbill came up . I could not understand what he was doing at that depth but apparently they can dive very deep in search of food . Think he was more surprised than me when came to the boat . And yes , when you try and release any bird it will squack loudly and try to attack you

A few years later in the same area lines and hooks went down and I kid you not , up came a scuba diver . He had been swept too far away from his dive boat and we had to radio them to come and collect him . Not hooked but very close .
Now that would have been some catch .

Barry Robertson

Re: bats
« Reply #11 on: 30/07/2011 at 22:30 »
I havent hooked any birds but i once hooked a chubby guy with white hair in the ear with a traffic light buzzer!
He pulled some funky moves and later had to go to hospital to have the fly removed , some people will do anything to get there hands on a decent fly  :wink
:z4 :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4 :z4

Matt Henderson

Re: bats
« Reply #12 on: 03/08/2011 at 14:34 »
That's no way to speak about Iain Baz!

Malcolm Copland

Re: bats
« Reply #13 on: 04/08/2011 at 09:18 »
Word of warning - this is from the Scotsman several years ago.



By JIM MCBETH
A DISTURBING insight into the final days of the first Briton to die from rabies in 100 years was revealed yesterday by the doctor who fought for more than a week to save David McRae.
Driven to despair by the disease, caused by a bite from a bat, the dying man injured two nurses by biting and scratching them.

"It was not his fault, but there was concern for the staff," said Dr Dilip Nathwani, a consultant in infectious disease at Ninewells hospital, Dundee.

Speaking for the first time since the death of the renowned artist, climber and scientist in November last year, Dr Nathwani told a meeting of colleagues at Ninewells of his desperate, and vain, race against time to identify the illness.

Later, he said: "I have asked myself if we could have done more, but we did all we could. It is unlikely we will ever see another such case."

Mr McRae, 55, who lived in Guthrie, Angus, contracted European bat lyssavirus Type 2a rabies after being bitten by a Daubenton bat.

The Englishman, with an international reputation in his fields, had travelled to the world’s most dangerous places.

But, in Guthrie, he indulged his love of bats and monitored the local population for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

Months before his death, he was bitten on the ring finger of his left hand, but was unaware of the danger because the UK is free of terrestrial rabies.

It is also the reason why he was not vaccinated against bat bites, which at the time was the recommendation of SNH. Vaccination is now obligatory.

And unknown to Mr McRae, the rabies infection was the cause of painful stiffness in his arm for which a GP prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs.

But later he was admitted to hospital, where doctors were baffled by his "unexplained neurological illness".

According to Dr Nathwani, they were forced to go on a "fishing expedition" and administer "a whole bunch of tests" in order to uncover the cause of Mr McRae’s symptoms.

Brain scans revealed nothing and he was tested for encephalitis-related illnesses.

It was on his fourth day in hospital that Mr McRae attacked the nurses, spitting blood and saliva on them.

The uncharacteristic behaviour made doctors realise they were dealing with a rare condition.

Dr Nathwani said: "There was concern for the risk to staff, even before the rabies diagnosis.

"The scratches and bites were worrying. If we waited [for a positive diagnosis] and in three months’ time two members of staff became unwell, when potentially we could have prevented it, I think we would have done the wrong thing."

However, the nurses did receive treatment, which prevented infection, and they suffered no ill effects.

But the attack had proved Mr McRae’s personality was changing.

Dr Nathwani added: "The problem was Mr McRae’s belief that there had never been rabies among Scottish bats and he had not handled bats outside Scotland.

"It is like how a sewerage worker would not expect to get typhoid.

"That probably gave him that extra reassurance, and also explains why he did not seek treatment after the bite."

However, eventually, there was the realisation that a bat may have caused the disease.

A young doctor spotted the healed bite wound, which flagged up the possibility of rabies, but by that time Mr McRae was in a coma.

Dr Nathwani said the bite mark, coupled with the news that the patient had recreational and occupational exposure to bats, but had not opted for protective vaccination, led them to rabies.

In his lecture yesterday in the hospital, Dr Nathwani said it was important at the time to avoid public panic.

He said he had backed a decision by his director of public health to reveal the case despite "phenomenal public and media interest".

He added there was an "hysterical" response from the public and among some of his own staff after it was confirmed Mr McRae was suffering from a paralytic form of the disease, which affects the body from the feet up and manifests symptoms of fever, hallucinations and fear of water.

Rabies is an infection of the nervous system caused by a virus, usually transmitted by an animal bite.

It was a tragically unlikely end for a man who had lived with danger, travelling to Patagonia, Papua New Guinea and Nepal to paint "lost" tribes.

In Guthrie, he was a "loveable eccentric", known as the "batman".

Dr Nathwani said: "We have learned, and the chances of it happening again are rare. When a patient presents with these symptoms, doctors must explore the bat connection.

"It is now obligatory for all workers to be vaccinated, so that reduces risk.

"If bitten, they should be immediately vaccinated. And if the public see a bat they should leave it alone."

He added: "I could work for the rest of my life and never see a repeat of this tragic case."



Derek 365

Re: bats
« Reply #14 on: 13/08/2011 at 12:50 »
Hi there,

4 weeks ago i thought i saw a swallow swooping and take water/flies off the surface before climbing back up higher while i was fishing . After a couple of passes by i realised i was watching a bat :shock,



as it was 10.30 in the morning and having never seen a bat this late i thought it was very strange and then i remember there's some connection between rabies and water . So i stepped back a little and watched for 30 minutes while this bat swooped down and taking water off the surface(i think) and then climb back up to the tree tops about 25ft.



Later google :z14 put my mind at rest about the rabies and that this occurence isn't that unusual especially amongest Daubenton bats.

Ewan Lindsay

Re: bats
« Reply #15 on: 14/08/2011 at 09:51 »
Derek,

I saw a similar thing last year whilst visiting a bird sanctuary in Sussex last year. there was a small pond surrounded by overhanging trees and swooping down back and forth was what I first thought was a swift. It was mid-afternoon and hot. I soon realised that it was a bat and thought this very unusual.  when I got back to the visitor centre I mentioned this to one of rhe volounteers and the got the &big book of bats' and identified it as a Duabenton (?). It looked like it was either drinking or taking flies off the surface.

Excellent photos, those things can really move...!

Ewan

Derek 365

Re: bats
« Reply #16 on: 14/08/2011 at 13:15 »

Excellent photos, those things can really move...!



Just a case of point and shoot , no skill at all :z4 pure luck

Iain Goolager

Re: bats
« Reply #17 on: 14/08/2011 at 19:34 »
Yeah, good effort at snapping the bat  :z16

Iain

 




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