Bear Sighting and Pig Sign

[Rancocas]

I was in the backwoods yesterday morning. I pushed through the underbrush and made it down to the river side. I fished a long, very deep pool, but only got some nibbles from small sunfish. I went downstream, jumping from rock to rock and bulling my way through tall weeds and brush.
There is no path along the shore, so I'm sure this is a place not often visited by people. However, hog sign was everywhere. Big tracks. Little tracks. The ground all tore up by the pig's rooting about. Fresh stuff. The smell of pigs mingled in the air with the sweet scent of honeysuckle and wild privet.
I went on down past a small rapids and came to another, longer and wider pool. I moved down the shoreline, stopping to fish wherever I found casting room between the trees and brush.
I was at the lower end of this pool, looking back upstream. At the head of the pool, some 200 yards upstream, I saw something black moving through the brush. It came out on the shoreline rocks and without the slightest hesitation it jumped off a rock and into the river with a big splash. Bear! It quickly swam across to the north shore and disappeared into the woods. Even from that distance I could tell that it was a large bear.
I just smiled at the wonder of it all, and continued, without luck, to try and catch a fish.

 

[Roy]

:thumbsup: About the neatest thing I had seen while fishing was a bobcat that crossed a log over the stream about 30yds away. The cool thing was that it stopped at the end of the log before the brush and took a few looks around.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Of course it stopped, Roy. It had already cased the river, and the tree it crossed before coming out of its hiding, and crossing the river on the tree. When it got to the other side, and before it jumped down to the ground, it would stop to scope the place from this new angle, hoping to see any prey that might make a quick lunch, and also to check for Predators that might resent it coming into their territory. He would pay little or no attention to you, having already checked you out, and deciding that you were not a threat to it from that distance. That bit of feline arrogance has been the downfall of more than one cat.

 

[huntertrapper]

big medicine there my elder... black bears can be some neat things, im only 16 but have had many encounters, charged by one, one being pushed to me by my dad had 3 run out ahead of me seen one on the side of the rode in a hollow on 30 yards down,, lol some big medicine animals they are

 

[David G]

I'll bet you will never forget that! I was out trout fishing one day and was slowly working my way upsteam when a bar crossed only 20 yds or so ahead of me. Things began to get interesting after it crossed and then began to walk on the bank back down towards me. It finally made me at the distance of around 10 yds and then bolted into the woods. Glad of that because I had nowhere to go. :thumbsup: