Bad Vibes on remote waters ?

[Swattie87]

One of my favorite streams has a pretty good, but very much “rhodo tunnel” lined trail, along it for much of its length. I definitely get what you’re saying. In the few spots it opens up into a grove of hemlocks for fifty yards or so you relax a little bit. Even if mostly subconsciously, it’s still enough to notice.

I’ve identified this stream in a couple YT videos in the last year or two, so it may get fished more than I thought it did. There’s a couple fellow PAFF guys I know that fish it. Maybe a good pass time for me will be hiding amongst the rhodo and spooking off other potential anglers!

 

[wildtrout2]

Matt, I saw that one YT video of the stream you mentioned. Hats off to young buck for at least once NOT mentioning the stream name. I still believe it doesn't get much pressure.

 

[JasonC]

Never had anything "supernatural" happen to me but I think country folk are way more sketchy than the city folk. Maybe cause I'm a city kid born and raised so I'm used to the antics? Seems like it's almost always attention seeking and harmless. But out in the country is a whole other story in my opinion. Speaking of carrying while fishing, what type of holster do you guys prefer? I wear chest waders so anything waistband related is out of the question for me.

 

[pcray1231]

I find it interesting that city folk think country folk are dangerous, and vice versa.

Culture wars.

I grew up hillbillyish, with plenty of redneck infuence (hillbilly and redneck are NOT the same culture). Have had plenty, too much, time around city folk too. Grew up blue collar and kinda got white collar, I consider myself an interpreter! Lived in SW, NC, central, and SE PA, with a cabin in NW PA and plenty of time in the Poconos under my belt.

I don't know what culture I am anymore.

 

[Dave_W]

pcray1231 wrote:
I find it interesting that city folk think country folk are dangerous, and vice versa.

Culture wars.

I grew up hillbillyish, with plenty of redneck infuence (hillbilly and redneck are NOT the same culture). Have had plenty, too much, time around city folk too. Grew up blue collar and kinda got white collar, I consider myself an interpreter! Lived in SW, NC, central, and SE PA, with a cabin in NW PA and plenty of time in the Poconos under my belt.

I don't know what culture I am anymore.

Cmon Pcray, everyone knows you're hillredbillneckblitecollar.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

The reason Appalachians are wary of "outsiders" has nothin' to do w/ the mountain lore. It has everything to do with the fact that for about 150 years, outsiders have come in, took advantage of their resources, then would leave them in absolute poverty. Deal with carpetbagging for that long, you'll be wary of outsiders too.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

If your going to make prejudice comments about country folk, perhaps you should just stay at home in your urban environment.

There are bad people everywhere, in all walks of life and of all races. My experience has been the more people your around the higher liklihood of encountering a bad actor. I have spent enough time in and around large cities and suburbia to know its not for me.

Regardless of where you are or what you're doing, it is always good to be aware or your surroundings.

 

[jifigz]

I will likely never leave Appalachia as I feel a strong cultural connection to the mtns I grew up in and the people that live here.

Honestly, people used to poke fun at WV and Kentucky, but before modern roads and transportation we were all isolated pretty good. My part of central PA would have been no better. Less than 100 years ago a woman that I knew (now deceased) had to take a boat across the Juniata River from the little lumber town of Hawstone just to get to school (that's in the Lewistown Narrows across on the mtn from 322.) These mountains have historically isolated groups and towns from one another and made people have to be much more resilient, independent, and resourceful. That spirit is still alive and well, something plenty of city folk I've spent time with just don't seem to have much of..

 

[troutbert]

The most dangerous part of a fishing trip is the driving.

 

[JasonC]

Not being prejudice, but it's hard to explain. Maybe this example will help: If there is a man walking around Philadelphia with a shotgun in his hands, I can confidently say he has bad intentions. Whereas, if this were in the woods in a rural setting, a man holding a shotgun is not such a rare occurrence. Now, I have to make an extremely fast, critical decision as to his intentions which I believe puts me in danger. No? I should probably just shutup now.

 

[FarmerDave]

pcray1231 wrote:
I find it interesting that city folk think country folk are dangerous, and vice versa.

Culture wars.

I grew up hillbillyish, with plenty of redneck infuence (hillbilly and redneck are NOT the same culture). Have had plenty, too much, time around city folk too. Grew up blue collar and kinda got white collar, I consider myself an interpreter! Lived in SW, NC, central, and SE PA, with a cabin in NW PA and plenty of time in the Poconos under my belt.

I don't know what culture I am anymore.

Pat and I have similar backgrounds, only I probably grew up slightly more hillbillyish and am not quite as book learned as him. Pat is one of the smartest guys I know.

That said, I don't fine it interesting. Just don't call me an FOB without smiling first. ;-)

Inside joke.

 

[Bamboozle]

My willies didn’t come in the hinterlands, but rather when fishing McMichaels Creek in Stroudsburg back in the 1990’s.

At the time there were a few homeless men living under the Park Avenue Bridge in town. Of course, in those days, all aberrant behavior was attributed to the Vietnam War so these guys were described as affected vets although I doubt it was the case.

Besides coming upon one guy taking bath behind the Post Office one day, I had about three of them come walking out of the woods in the dark to talk to me one night as I was finishing up.

Quite frankly, bats flying around my head during a Sulphur hatch freaks me out more, but that was a hair rising experience.

However, as an X-New Yorker, I know exactly how to deal with this sort of crap and in those days, I wouldn’t have messed with me.

These days I carry… ;-)

Nothing came of the encounter and they were pretty nice guys despite their sad lot in life. Regardless, I was always looking over my shoulder when fishing there...

 

[jifigz]

JasonC wrote:
Not being prejudice, but it's hard to explain. Maybe this example will help: If there is a man walking around Philadelphia with a shotgun in his hands, I can confidently say he has bad intentions. Whereas, if this were in the woods in a rural setting, a man holding a shotgun is not such a rare occurrence. Now, I have to make an extremely fast, critical decision as to his intentions which I believe puts me in danger. No? I should probably just shutup now.

Right, it isn't an odd occurrence, and that's why you should feel more at ease. I doubt a man with a shotgun who didn't plan on running into another man, especially a man he doesn't know, has any interest in harming that fella. He's just looking for squirrels, grouse, etc to maybe have for dinner, something else some city folk probably don't get.

True story. For those of you who have been to where I live, you're somewhat familiar with the land. The train tracks (mainline, Pitt to Philly) separate our 100 acres in half. One morning a few years back I walked above the railroad into the cornfield for a morning of dove shooting. I was working along hoping to kick up some doves and I stumble upon a tent on our property. There is some food trash and stuff littered about. There is a black gentleman there and I talk to him a few minutes in a very cordial manner, all while holding a 12 gauge, and just tell him I don't care that he's there but he is on private land, etc. I decide that's enough weirdness for the day so I go back home and in a few hours go back up.. The guy is gone.. He left a pair of jeans and some trash but he was gone.

He was a train hopper, no doubt. That culture is still hanging on, too.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

FarmerDave wrote:

pcray1231 wrote:
I find it interesting that city folk think country folk are dangerous, and vice versa.

Culture wars.

I grew up hillbillyish, with plenty of redneck infuence (hillbilly and redneck are NOT the same culture). Have had plenty, too much, time around city folk too. Grew up blue collar and kinda got white collar, I consider myself an interpreter! Lived in SW, NC, central, and SE PA, with a cabin in NW PA and plenty of time in the Poconos under my belt.

I don't know what culture I am anymore.

Pat and I have similar backgrounds, only I probably grew up slightly more hillbillyish and am not quite as book learned as him. Pat is one of the smartest guys I know.

That said, I don't fine it interesting. Just don't call me an FOB without smiling first. ;-)

Inside joke.

It's easy for me. In WV, we're all hillbilies. Though, since I am still an "outsider" (probably will be for as long as I live here), I have to earn my "hillbilly" creds. My willingness to try 'shine whenever offered has helped.

I do get the willies at times fishing alone in WV. Not because of mountain lore, but because meth is so wide spread here, there are times when it IS genuinely dangerous. But most folk I run across out in the wild are other folks fishin' or huntin'. The hollars can be "dark" places, but the folks are overall very nice and love the opportunity to talk about fishin'

 

[Canoetripper]

I am more worried about and annoyed by ticks the most followed by biting and stinging insects. I've never been afraid of snakes. I just leave them alone.

I used to live in, and have a lot of canoe trip experience in West Virginia with no problems other than disgraceful littering in the Trough Section of the South Branch of the Potomac River, but who knows who left all of that "I don't give a $h!t" litter.

I was canoeing the James River in Virginia from Wingina to Hadden's Ferry, which is hardly remote since there are train tracks there. It was getting late so we decided to camp on a sand bar in the river close to river right(south side).

Next thing I know is a man came up on horse back telling me that I was trespassing on private property and had to leave immediately or he was going to call the Sheriff and have me arrested.

I could clearly see a Ruger Redhawk on his hip and knew better than to argue with him. I politely apologized for being ignorant about not knowing the distinction between sand bars and landowner property rights in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but thought that with the rapidly declining sunlight that it would be too dangerous to pack up to pack up and paddle downstream in the dark on unfamiliar river water, which is always the case.

I politely said that I would rather have him call the Sheriff and arrest me for ignorance than do something dangerous, and that I didn't want to leave my canoe and property just sitting there to potentially be stolen.

Nothing ever happened after that confrontation. I am guessing that he was a frustrated land owner who had inconsiderate people litter on his property before, which I have never done, or ever will.

Once I saw that big revolver on his hip, I knew I wasn't going to win an argument.

 

[FarmerDave]

The_Sasquatch wrote:

FarmerDave wrote:

pcray1231 wrote:
I find it interesting that city folk think country folk are dangerous, and vice versa.

Culture wars.

I grew up hillbillyish, with plenty of redneck infuence (hillbilly and redneck are NOT the same culture). Have had plenty, too much, time around city folk too. Grew up blue collar and kinda got white collar, I consider myself an interpreter! Lived in SW, NC, central, and SE PA, with a cabin in NW PA and plenty of time in the Poconos under my belt.

I don't know what culture I am anymore.

Pat and I have similar backgrounds, only I probably grew up slightly more hillbillyish and am not quite as book learned as him. Pat is one of the smartest guys I know.

That said, I don't fine it interesting. Just don't call me an FOB without smiling first. ;-)

Inside joke.

It's easy for me. In WV, we're all hillbilies. Though, since I am still an "outsider" (probably will be for as long as I live here), I have to earn my "hillbilly" creds. My willingness to try 'shine whenever offered has helped.

I do get the willies at times fishing alone in WV. Not because of mountain lore, but because meth is so wide spread here, there are times when it IS genuinely dangerous. But most folk I run across out in the wild are other folks fishin' or huntin'. The hollars can be "dark" places, but the folks are overall very nice and love the opportunity to talk about fishin'

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Never in the woods, but on the beach at night for sure. I guess the ocean is the biggest mass grave in the world, so that has something to do with it. Plus, surf fishing in the dark (no moon to speak of best conditions) and so windy a bus could sneak up on you. Ghosty AF.

 

[JeffP]

I know my first couple times going through the tunnel on Penns at night was creepy. There's also something about that blast of cool air that hits you as you approach it. Another time I was on the other side of Penns pretty far upstream of the parking lot. It was late, but the fish were rising. My friend finally caught a beautiful 19 incher. By the time we started to leave it was pitch black and we were on the wrong side of the stream and had to fight through bad brush with only his small light. I suddenly worried about snakes with my every step. It seemed forever to get out of there but the beer and chili sure tasted great when we got back!

 

[hooker-of-men]

Nymph-wristed wrote:
Never in the woods, but on the beach at night for sure. I guess the ocean is the biggest mass grave in the world, so that has something to do with it. Plus, surf fishing in the dark (no moon to speak of best conditions) and so windy a bus could sneak up on you. Ghosty AF.

This sounds terrifying.

I hadn't thought about larger bodies of water in regards to this thread. I wade large lakes up here in the spring and fall for LL and lakers. By far the eeriest vibes I have had in the past year of fishing was in the shallows of Lake George one night around 10 pm when it was windy, waves were crashing, and some kind of nature decided to start cannonballing the water LOUD about 10 feet from me - not fish sounds, animal sounds. It sounded like someone throwing a brick at me, but no one was around and it was too dark to see the mink or whatever it was. Then every wave after that made me jump. Had to leave.

 

[FarmerDave]

hooker-of-men wrote:

Nymph-wristed wrote:
Never in the woods, but on the beach at night for sure. I guess the ocean is the biggest mass grave in the world, so that has something to do with it. Plus, surf fishing in the dark (no moon to speak of best conditions) and so windy a bus could sneak up on you. Ghosty AF.

This sounds terrifying.

I hadn't thought about larger bodies of water in regards to this thread. I wade large lakes up here in the spring and fall for LL and lakers. By far the eeriest vibes I have had in the past year of fishing was in the shallows of Lake George one night around 10 pm when it was windy, waves were crashing, and some kind of nature decided to start cannonballing the water LOUD about 10 feet from me - not fish sounds, animal sounds. It sounded like someone throwing a brick at me, but no one was around and it was too dark to see the mink or whatever it was. Then every wave after that made me jump. Had to leave.

It was likely a beaver. It can be unnerving when they slap their tail on the water if you are not familiar with it. And yes, they will get that close.