Beavers and tubes

[tlspyder13]

Has anyone ever tubed at night in a lake with beavers? This may sound bumb but will they attack or just splash their tail and leave you alone like they do in the day time? I tubed a small lake last summer where the beaver would do that every morning to me. Had a small beaver do it to me again at Strawberry last week and started thinking about it again. I am really starting to like night tubing but just don't want to go up against a beaver in the dark.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I had a couple of beaver experiences in Colorado where the beavers would come out and circle around me, smacking their tails on the water. Totally put the rising brookies down two mornings in a row.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have never heard of anyone being attacked by beavers. They are basically shy rodents that live in fear of attack by predators. Their tail smacking is as much a warning to other beavers as it is a threatening gesture to intruders.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]On the other hand, I have heard that when cornered on dry land they can be very defensive and will chomp a big hole in any creature that comes close enough to get in range of the teeth.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As long as you don't have a wooden leg for them to gnaw on, you are probably safe.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[zonker]

And not a bit more comforting when I log on either! [#ff0000](snicker snicker)[/#ff0000]

z~
[signature]

[tlspyder13]

I don't have a wooden leg but I did make one of them really mad afew years ago when I caught it on a fly. If I get attacked and live maybe I could be in TubeDude's book in the chapter of things not to do in a tube.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]There's gotta be a good joke in there somewhere...beaver on a fly. Nah, this is a family forum.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One of my potentially most dangerous wildlife encounters while tubing involved a skunk. I had been tubing along the shoreline of a little lake down in Arizona early one morning, casting small jigs almost right up onto the shore, catching big sunfish. A big old skunk came waddling down to the shoreline a few yards away and began working in my direction, looking for bugs or anything else edible that might have washed up on the shore.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I was a kid, I used to tease my sister's cat when I practiced casting in my back yard. I used a hookless casting weight and made the cat go crazy chasing it. I saw the skunk and thought "Why not?". I did not bother to remove the jig with a hook in it, not planning to hook the stinky kitty. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I made a cast a few feet ahead of the skunk and it looked up briefly, but then went back to concentrating on the ground at its feet. When he was within a foot or so, I twitched the jig, just like I would for a fish...and the results were the same. Before I could jerk the jig away the skunk pounced on it with both paws. Hookup. Oh nooooooooo![/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I was using 4# line so I jerked hard to snap it and just leave the jig with the skunk. The hard jerk DID snap the line, but it also rolled the skunk into the water. After regaining its footing in the shallow water, it looked in my direction and finally recognized me as the source of the problem. It immediately launched an amphibious attack, swimming strongly right toward me. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I was only about forty feet from the shore and the mad skunk was coming fast. I laid back in my old donut tube and put my big fins and well conditioned legs to work. I all but threw up a roostertail getting out of there. That mad skunk kept up the pursuit for many yards out into the lake before recognizing that it could not catch me. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have often wondered what my "punishment" would have been if the skunk had caught me. I know they bite and that some of them carry rabies. I doubt I would have been sprayed, because they have to be on solid ground to position themselves for the "blast".[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I really was sorry. Sorry to lose my jig and sorry to have hurt the little feller. Although, I have also done my share to eradicate skunks in areas where they constitute a nuisance to residents and a hazard to the public during rabies outbreaks. They are still cute animals and make good pets.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[kevinkay]

Sorry to hear about the near skunk experience TD. The last thing any fisherman (or fisherwoman) wants is to get skunked on an outing. Ha Ha. Anyway, last weekend I was out in my ODC and had a rather close encounter with a swiming racoon who did not seem to be too intimidated by my yelling or loud splashing. Ultimately, I just had to kick away. So, you may want to add racoons to the list of creatures to avoid in your tube. [crazy]
[signature]

[pleasantmisery]

You know, I was having a rather down and rather crappy day until I read about your skunk encounter. I needed the laugh and now I feel better.
Thanks.
TubeDude to the rescue again.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Raccoons are definitely up there on the list of what to avoid while tubing. They are fearless in the water and are nasty fighters. Guys that chase coons with hounds all have stories about dogs that were killed or badly wounded after following a big boar coon into the water.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Although a lot less common, otters are a special treat to see while on the water. I used to watch them along creeks as a kid in Idaho. I have only seen one while tubing and it was in a big slack water area below a dam down in Arizona. I heard a wierd noise and looked around to see the head of a young otter just a few feet away from my tube. I tried communicating by sucking on the back of my hand, to make a squeeking noise. The otter then made about three or four trips around my tube, porpoising and watching me out of the corner of its eye.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]It finally had enough of the wierd human in the donut and headed off downstream to do some fishing of its own. Fun experience.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In Salt Water I have had up close and personal encounters with sea lions and once with a giant sea turtle. Ever tried telling a lovesick sea turtle that you have a headache?[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Never any sharks, though, unless you count the ones I have hooked while fishing for other species. Usually small ones. Not dangerous and fun to play with.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[Fishhound]

[black][size 3]I grew up chasing racoons with hounds. [shocked][/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]Coons might be fearless when it comes to some things(like with your trach can), but if you know people whose dogs were terrorized by a coon, your friends really must have had some sissy K9s - must have been toy terriers or some other such aberation. [/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]All of the hounds I've had have always been able to shred coons at will - in or out of water - it's a physics thing. OK, granted, I have had hounds that would tend to be considered on the "large-ish" side of the dog spectrum.[/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]To be sure, Racoons are clever and cunning, but I have seen my house cat(and a couple of other domestic felines as well) kick the crude out of a coon. Coons are not predators - they're rodent sized vandals and varmits - and some times cute but not really dangerous unless a person tries to cuddle with one. [/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3][crazy] It would be hard imagine one(not infected with rabies) being brave enough to attack a person if it had any option to escape. [/size][/black]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I have had a bit of experience with coons too. They are cute and cuddly when small but the males start to get nasty as they mature. You can't keep male coons as pets unless they are neutered. And, coons are predators...living on fish, frogs, crawdads and small rodents. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Of course, when they live near human habitation they are smart enough to learn where the free handouts might be...and if they are not free, they just take them anyway. When I lived in Tucson, AZ, I had a friend who lived in a ritzy country club neighborhood. All of the residents that had ponds, some with expensive fish in them, began losing their fish. Herons were suspected but never seen. Surveilance cameras showed a group of coons that systematically roamed the neighborhood at night, dining on the costly fish dinners.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And, I have witnessed firsthand a large male raccoon standing off three dogs whlle positioned in the middle of a small stream. All of those dogs ran off bloodied while the coon ambled out the other side of the creek apparently no worse for wear.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Now, having seen "Da boyz" that allow you to stay in their yard and house, I would not question their ability to "take care of business" with anything up to the size of a Kodiak bear.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Maybe some of the coons you have dealt with were raised on Brokeback Mountain.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[Fishhound]

[black][size 3]Brokeback Mountain ? That movie reference should be more like "Deliverance"(queue up the Banjo music here) - Don't you remember ... I come from the land of the Hill Billies. Most of my "acqauintances" allowed their dogs to take care of those varmits when or if they ever caught up with them - actually, if the dogs got there first, without human intervention, and had the chance, there was no stopping them and there was usually nothing left but body parts being shared the very happy and completely unscathed dogs.[/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]I guess that would be a sight to see - a Raccoon giving the business to three Yorkies/Shitzus. I personally would be routing for the coon in that encounter.[/size][/black]

Politically correct Disclaimer: No offense intended to those folks that consider rodent sized toy dogs as representative of the real K9 world.

[black][size 3]BTW - The actuall average weight of the adult male(Procyon lotor) is about 15/20 lbs with rare very lethargic exceptions in the fat hording winter months of upwards of 35/40 lbs. Some of the smaller predators that often consider raccoons as a viable food source are OWLS(and other Raptors), FOXES, BOBCATS, and COYOTES(all of which are much smaller than those godzilla/dinosaur sized hounds that allow me to share their living space). Raccoons are mostly omnivorous or scavengers with most of their diet being veggies augmented by portions of living or dead critters(mostly aquatic invertabrets or poultry where available) that they find or capture. I guess they could be considered a predator if you are the size of what most anglers would consider fish bait.[/size][/black]

Warning to those that may not have had any experience with Racoons - do not corner or attempt or handle one as they can deliver a very nasty(read diseased) bite - like any other rodent with teeth.

[url "http://www2.biology.ualberta.ca/uamz.hp/coon.html"]Procyon Info[/url]

[url "http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Raccoon.asp"]More Info[/url]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Come to think of it, those "hounds" weren't really all that big. They barked with a Spanish accent and I think they were called "chew-wawas", or something like that.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Hey, Bro, I have some tear sheets from the paper, as you requested. Will keep them until we get a chance to share a piece of water somewhere.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[Fishhound]

Thanx Bro ! I'm still way out in the wet and wild east(it's that 4 letter "work" word) - but, I should be back pretty soon. Let's have our people contact each other and set up a catfish round up or something. I just got me some Silver Thread Excaliber for the occasion - thankfully, Cabellas does not have a store in this state so, no sales tax.

Hey, aren't you supposed to be at a Wiper tourney - or is that not this weekend ?
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Keeerect on the wiper tourney. It is underway, even as I type. "Blast off" began an hour ago. I elected not to fish in it, and have maintained a pretty low profile on the whole thing. It has been taken over by the publicity "hounds" (sorry boys, no disrespect intended).[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I will be going up about noon and we are taking some chile cornbread as our contribution to the post weigh-in glut.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I quit competitive fishing many years ago. When the stress level exceeds the fun level it is time to adjust your priorities.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I will account for my share of wipers this year. I choose not to do so in a circus environment.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The kitties are awaitin'.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[roadkillmac]

In the suburban waters of the NY metropoltitan area your biggest adversary out on the water tend to be big white SWANS. They will attack you un-provoked. I call them "White Death"
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, most large waterfowl can be aggressive and protective of their nesting area...or just plain territorial. I have heard of runins with Canada geese before, and also your big white swans. They pack a powerful whallop with their forewings.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I think the most dangerous and exciteable water bird I have ever encountered was a big black swan from Australia. Quite a few community ponds and parks in California and Arizona have "enhanced" their waters with these big imports. They seem to have an especially nasty temperament. In addition to attacking boaters, canoers and float tubers on the water, they will come right up out of the water and chase people and pets.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Must be the Aussie beer.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[Bluegillman]

[size 1][#0000ff]Must be the Aussie beer.[/#0000ff] [/size]
[black]More than one bottle.....[angelic][/black]
[signature]

[Fishhound]

Swans can be ruthlessly brutal when if you so much as look at them - I try to avoid them unless I'm escorted by my entourage of hounds or a 10 gauge - even then I'd like to leave a good buffer zone of a hundred yards or so. That could be a scary prospect to face some irritated swans off while trapped in a float tube.
[signature]