What have you seen while fishing that wasn't bass, but still wicked cool?

 

I saw a small flock of geese banking last night and they were white, as I could see their bellies, but then they rotated and turned black, as I could see their backs.

 

Earlier this year, I saw an eagle turn, bank and descend, and grab a bass. It then flew into a white pine nest and there was a great screeching. I wondered if that was its young or mate. 

One day at my normal shore spot, we got visited by a pair of pelicans. Was interesting watching them catch some fish

I use to see pelicans in northwestern Ontario. I never quite adjusted to seeing those birds so far north.

Here’s a couple of muskies spawning right underneath my boat.

No pictures but while fishing in a rental jon boat, in the Indian River, FL had a manatee come up right beside the boat. This was in the early 90’s. I reached out and petted him or her. 
 

I know that’s a common site for you Floridians but for an East Tennessean that had never seen a manatee it was pretty neat

I would have petted the manatee too!

I got to watch a school of spinner sharks "displaying".  We were just off the coast a couple of miles by Port Aransas, TX.   It was a least a couple of acres or more and had to be several hundred sharks.  They were about 6-7' long sharks.  They would come shooting up completely out of the water.  Full body length and more, spinning and twisting the entire time they were air born then come crashing back down with a huge splash.  We must have seen at least fifty jumps.  It was amazing!

FM

Wow, Mickey! I don't think I've ever seen anything that spectacular. 

Eagles grabbing a fish out of the water a couple of times, Ospreys, Kingfishers, hawks, falcons, herons, egrets, Rails, Woodcock, Loons, various birds that I couldn't recognize.

Otters, Beavers, Muskrat, Foxes, Black Bear, deer (wild, not the pets we have around my neighborhood) .

Seen Muskys swim by my kayak giving me the hairy eyeball.

Pods of Dolphins in ocean inlets, you don't realize just how big these are until their right next to you.

Every time I'm out there's always something to witness besides the fish.

"Wicked cool." You're a Mainer, all right.

 

I once had a red tailed hawk swoop down and grab my Whopper Plopper and take off with it. Luckily it dropped it before it started pulling drag.

A few weeks ago I saw a bald eagle attempt to grab a Canada goose out of the air. Goose was flying high over the lake when the eagle swooped out of its nest and went for the goose’s neck with its talons. The goose evaded and the eagle didn’t make another attempt. 
 

A couple years ago I saw a snapping turtle so large that I’m convinced it was a non-native alligator snapper that somebody had a pet and released, and not the 12” common snapping turtles that I see all the time. This one was over 3.5’ from nose to tail, and the shell was the size of a d**n sea turtle. I noticed it floating a couple dozens yards away, and thinking it was driftwood I took my boat over to it. When I got to it and saw the size of the creature I couldn’t believe my eyes. I got out of there pretty quickly. Never saw it again despite fishing the lake many many times. 

I’ve seen sturgeon that had to be over 100lb breach and fly 6’ into the air. They look remarkably like sharks when they do that. 

I’m forgetting some stuff im sure. 
 

 

 

Jesse, I've seen a LOT of snappers in my life and this summer, I also saw a snapper that astonished me. 

 

When I saw it, I thought, "That's a monster."

Well, just last week, I had a dog swim up to my boat. 
 

I was fishing for  Black Sea bass at Neah Bay and had a small, 28 foot blue whale swim right under the boat.  I love watching birds when fishing. There are egrets, bald eagles, ducks, geese, gulls, osprey and my favorite, red wing black birds.  Seeing wild life is frosting on the cake!

7 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

Well, just last week, I had a dog swim up to my boat. 
 

looks like Pennywise.

 

 

Scariest was some sort of snake trying to get in the canoe, hard to run if it gets in.

 

2 mink playing on the waters edge about 10’ away.

 

4 otters at one time, in a small pond.

 

A log that I pushed away with my hand to find out it was the biggest snapper I’ve seen.

About 10 years ago I watched a fisher take on a porcupine while I was sitting in my deer stand. The porky would constantly try to keep it’s rear towards the fisher, and the fisher kept circling trying to get at the only exposed part of the porky, its face.

 

Finally the fisher prevailed. The noise that porcupine made when the fisher bit into its face I’ll never forget.

I've been blessed to see so many cool things in my life, here are a few. I was fly fishing a remote pond in way northern Maine and had a moose swim past my canoe so close I touched the tip of it's antler. Twice now I've watched a pair of brown trout do their fall mating dance, splashing and rubbing up to each other on a shallow gravel point, once on the back part of the Saco river in North Conway and once in Berry brook in Rye NH ( these were sea run browns). On the salt water I've seen whales just past my boat, I saw a ocean sunfish and once a basking shark. 

An ocean sunfish and a basking shark are two, huge, and strange creatures. I would have loved to see them and that up-close moose. 

Another cool thing that is always a bit spooky to see is when a loon swims under water near you, especially if you didn’t know one was around. The large, black and white shape moving past you can really make you jump!

 

 

Scott, that is so cool!

Last week my son and I were fishing in a lake, and as we stood on shore a huge orange goldfish swam by in water less than 18 inches deep so we could see it clearly.

 

Someone must have put it in there since they are not naturally occurring. Looked between 5 to 7 pounds in size.

Those giant goldfish are cool to see. I saw some in the tailwater of a dam, great golden beasts flashing in the roiling current. 

Got a lot of cool things, but I'll list just two here.

 

1) Might have been 1990, not quite sure, but visited family

in Virginia (I was in TX). Dentist friend at my sis's church 

invited several of us out deep sea fishing. While about 

45 miles out we saw a huge sea turtle. Then a little later

we saw a nuclear sub breach the surface. Was sooo cool.

 

2) Had a beaver scare the living crap out of me while I was

kayak fishing years ago. I was alone on the water and saw 

something out in the distance, a beaver. Cool. Next thing

you know, but unknown to me, he surfaced close to me 

and smacked his tail on the water feet from my yak. Was 

so quiet out there which is why it scared the crap outta me.

On 9/19/2025 at 12:26 PM, Fishingmickey said:

I got to watch a school of spinner sharks "displaying".  We were just off the coast a couple of miles by Port Aransas, TX.   It was a least a couple of acres or more and had to be several hundred sharks.  They were about 6-7' long sharks.  They would come shooting up completely out of the water.  Full body length and more, spinning and twisting the entire time they were air born then come crashing back down with a huge splash.  We must have seen at least fifty jumps.  It was amazing!

FM

Interesting that you told this story. Last night my brother described seeing this on his trip down to TX. He was watching what he thought were dolphins jumping very close to some surfers. When one of them paddled in for a break my brother remarked that it must've been so cool to be so close to them. The surfer looked perplexed and told him they were spinner sharks, not dolphins. My brother had never heard of them before. After googling them he swore to never be in the water when they're around. Lots of calves and arms with bites marks, etc. Surfers are nuts.