Rats..............

[paddie]

So, yesrterday, I finally get a chane to fish this part of the river that I like best. I had my gear all set, the tides were right, weather, no wind, gonna be a good day. I get down there, set my taclke box and fleece down on a rock, and proceed to climb on the rocks close to the rivers edge. I'm casting, enjoying myself. As I reached back to make a cast I notice a rat under the rock where my box and jacket are. Now, next to flying I am scared Shirtless by rats. Too the point of, if I close my eyes and think about being around them I freak out. Maybe that movie Ben freaked me out as a kid.

 

Anyway I ignore as best I can and keep fishing. I look over now I see 3 scurrying around the rocks about 10 ft from where I'm fishing. Now I'm freaking out. I tense up, but soldier through it. I am desperate to land a nice fish. I look back and see 2 more, a little baby one, and than another hanging out by the path to get to the street. Now I'm completely frozen and looking around me as these rats are crawling around me, All I see are noses, beedy eyes, and rat tails in the rocks. They are not fazed by me being there, although if I pulled my drag they seem to scatter from the sound.

 

Now I'm stuck on this rock, afraid to walk on the ground in fear of stepping on one or even coming close. I feel like I'm playing that game when your a kid, and the floor is hot lava and you leap couch to couch to safety. I'm planning my escape and realize I saw some action by my jacket and tackle. I manage to snag my fleece with my bucktail and rod. I shake it out, put it on. And then in one motion hopped on one foot grabbed my box and lept with the other leg to the path and ran like the wind until I got to the street.

 

Call me what you will, but I can't fish there again, and honestly will never fish anywhere on the east river unless I'm under a sidewalk. or there's lots of people around. One cool thing though, the other morning I was fishing down there, and as I looked back to cast, I see this giand bird fly behind me with a mouse in its talons. It was a red tailed hawk eating breakfast. I love seeing wild animals in nyc, except for those damn rats

[smirkplug]

I hate them as much as you do !! Be careful where you set your bait down or your lunch !!!

[Patrick9915]

Hate to tell you this but rats are just about everywhere there is water and a hiding place. Lots of good food gets stuck in the rocks and washes up on shore. They make good food for some predatory birds like ospreys.

 

They won't harm you. Just keep your hands and feet where you can see them.

[triumph19]

Hate to tell you this but rats are just about everywhere there is water and a hiding place. Lots of good food gets stuck in the rocks and washes up on shore. They make good food for some predatory birds like ospreys.

 

They won't harm you. Just keep your hands and feet where you can see them.

 

 

Osprey's eat fish almost exclusively.

[Patrick9915]

Osprey's eat fish almost exclusively.

 

We better not tell the one I saw pluck a rat out of the water then. She'd be pretty embarrassed.

[WeRunCities]

theres about a dozen that hide in the rocks at a spot around here. Take a short walk 50ft down the jetty at night and you will see them all scurry out of their hole.

[AmboyAngler]

[MDC]

theres about a dozen that hide in the rocks at a spot around here. Take a short walk 50ft down the jetty at night and you will see them all scurry out of their hole.

 

the ones in a certain location on the east side of the Ditch come out during the day

 

i think it's why there are so many big bass around

[Winch]

My Rat story.

 

Back in the 80's I moved away from the coast and across the mountain ridge that separates the Ocean I call home to the very different San Francisco Bay. The area is known as the Peninsula and has had much of the estuaries filled in for Landfills, Salt evaporation ponds and have been stripped of vegetation happened many many years ago. This area become popular because Redwood trees in the area were cut and shipped by water to the bustling City of turn of the century known as San Francisco.

 

Yet some small areas still exist between the commercial buildings, broken wharfes and new homes. We call them Sloughs with mud bottoms and walls. With the tidal sweep, these areas hold bait fish and on the out going water the stripers will move up through these small channels and attack.

At night was always the best time to fish in those days. Not many people knew about fishing these area's at night and many nights I found myself alone.

When I first moved to the area I spent many hours going over maps, taking trips to the areas during the day and looking for signs of bait fish. I found this one spot where I would cross an old rickety wooden bridge, well it was more of a plank walk way. It was probably built a long time ago to cross parts of these channels for some unforgotten reason.

Then I would hike along a muddy trail for half a mile. I would then be by myself alone, except for the fish.

Now the later at night I went the less wind would be at the spot. Less wind for some reason brought more fish up the channel and in the dark you could hear the Whoosh! of a good size bass blowing up on a piece of bait.

With it being so quite I could hear these fish as they entered from the bay and climbed up the channel. As they came closer they would get louder and louder. Until you could see them smashing the surface.

Sometimes it would be fast and furious and other times it would be dead calm quiet and then all of a sudden one fish would explode the surface.

The night I am writing about was a late one. At Two Am in the morning I left the condo and headed out into a warm calm night. Not a breath of air and in my mind I visioned a calm surface with huge fish going nuts.

 

Now near my house was a real old fashioned dough nut place. Not a Dunkin or other new guy place but a real life place where dough nuts were made from scratch and cooked every night. ummmmmmmm

I was sleepy as all heck and nothing like a fresh cup of coffee and a couple of freshly baked dough nuts eaten in the peace of night just sounded. Well like the bomb.

I figured I would be getting there a little early and could enjoy my hot delicious dough nuts and coffee while I waited for the tide to start moving. As I pulled into the lot I smiled. No other cars around, not a soul. I would be very much alone.

It was a dry night and I quickly ran the trail. When I reached the area I planned to fish I was greeted by the sounds of fish chasing bait. I went for my most effective weapon in the area. A small 700 series pikie.

 

Now normally I believe in giving plugs as much action as I can. But in these back and calm water I had figured out that a slow slow retrieve was key into getting a strike.

At night all you could see was a small V on the surface. I'm not even sure the plug was swimming, more like I was slow dragging it along the flat calm surface.

Being that I would fish late nights I would be half asleep during this time. When a fish decided to hit it was a sudden adrenaline rush. Your heart would leap out of your chest as dead calm became all hell.

Now on this night with fish popping in range I quickly put my bag of dough nuts and y coffee down and started to fish. Even with all this commotion as soon as my plug hit the water the fish decide to quiet down and only every so often a fish would pop in the distance.

My mind began to wonder thinking about what the area was like a 100 years ago. Thoughts of a small port and buildings related to shipping wood.

In my minds eye I began to think of the ghost of the area. Spirit lights of hard working people that walked the ground I stood on. The area was calm and dead quite.

As I continued to cast something near me caught my eye?

It was the little white bag with my two warm dough nuts. MMMMMM Maybe I should take a break and eat those warm delicious dough balls.

The bag rustled a bit and in my mind I was wondering if the wind was starting up. I looked around and realized the air was dead calm. My mind shifted in gears and focused on the bag again.

As my eyes came to the bag it............................................. Jumped up and flew!

Like a ghost had grabbed it. I freaken jumped! The skin on my neck bristled and I am now embarrassed to say I might of let a little yikes out of my mouth!

As soon as I had made that noise the bag settled back down and I and the bag stood still.

For what What seemed like a long time but was probably only a couple of seconds. I grabbed my flashlight and with my nerves frayed I zeroed the beam on the bag.

A pair of black beady eyes stared back at me. A big dark wharf rat stood three feet from me, unafraid! Why should he be? He had the bag of dough nuts!

My mind fired a thought and I grabbed my coffee cup. The brew was still nice and warm, it felt good in my cool hand.

I opened up my mouth and for the life of me I don't know why I said what I did. "F'er you stole my F'n dough nuts!

The thought that my warm circles of dough were now tainted was too much. I blurted out, "How about some coffee with them dough nuts!"

With that I threw the cup and hit him square with a spray of the warm brew.

He blinked at me and moved a bit. He was not being bullied and I knew that he knew I would not want the dough nuts now that he had touched them.

I stood there quite, staring at a rat for a bit.

Then I picked up my gear and walked away! LOL

The farther I walked away the more I started to think about what had happened. Then there it was, a laugh. It was kind of nervous laugh, as my blood was still pumping.

By the time I hit the car I was laughing. By the time I got home I was laughing so hard I had come to tears. To think that the big tough guy I was freaked when I saw a little white bag fly!

That is my rat story. He and I loved dough nuts.

[fishingnuke]

Years ago in the 70's my dad had a seafood restaurant on the boardwalk in Long Branch, in the winter when it was dead we used to shoot pigeons out the back on the beach with a 22 rifle. One day I killed a pigeon and as I was loading the gun again a rat the size of a small cat came out from under the boardwalk and dragged the bird away. I never walked under those boards again.

 

[AmboyAngler]

My Rat story.

 

Back in the 80's I moved away from the coast and across the mountain ridge that separates the Ocean I call home to the very different San Francisco Bay. The area is known as the Peninsula and has had much of the estuaries filled in for Landfills, Salt evaporation ponds and have been stripped of vegetation happened many many years ago. This area become popular because Redwood trees in the area were cut and shipped by water to the bustling City of turn of the century known as San Francisco.

 

Yet some small areas still exist between the commercial buildings, broken wharfes and new homes. We call them Sloughs with mud bottoms and walls. With the tidal sweep, these areas hold bait fish and on the out going water the stripers will move up through these small channels and attack.

At night was always the best time to fish in those days. Not many people knew about fishing these area's at night and many nights I found myself alone.

When I first moved to the area I spent many hours going over maps, taking trips to the areas during the day and looking for signs of bait fish. I found this one spot where I would cross an old rickety wooden bridge, well it was more of a plank walk way. It was probably built a long time ago to cross parts of these channels for some unforgotten reason.

Then I would hike along a muddy trail for half a mile. I would then be by myself alone, except for the fish.

Now the later at night I went the less wind would be at the spot. Less wind for some reason brought more fish up the channel and in the dark you could hear the Whoosh! of a good size bass blowing up on a piece of bait.

With it being so quite I could hear these fish as they entered from the bay and climbed up the channel. As they came closer they would get louder and louder. Until you could see them smashing the surface.

Sometimes it would be fast and furious and other times it would be dead calm quiet and then all of a sudden one fish would explode the surface.

The night I am writing about was a late one. At Two Am in the morning I left the condo and headed out into a warm calm night. Not a breath of air and in my mind I visioned a calm surface with huge fish going nuts.

 

Now near my house was a real old fashioned dough nut place. Not a Dunkin or other new guy place but a real life place where dough nuts were made from scratch and cooked every night. ummmmmmmm

I was sleepy as all heck and nothing like a fresh cup of coffee and a couple of freshly baked dough nuts eaten in the peace of night just sounded. Well like the bomb.

I figured I would be getting there a little early and could enjoy my hot delicious dough nuts and coffee while I waited for the tide to start moving. As I pulled into the lot I smiled. No other cars around, not a soul. I would be very much alone.

It was a dry night and I quickly ran the trail. When I reached the area I planned to fish I was greeted by the sounds of fish chasing bait. I went for my most effective weapon in the area. A small 700 series pikie.

 

Now normally I believe in giving plugs as much action as I can. But in these back and calm water I had figured out that a slow slow retrieve was key into getting a strike.

At night all you could see was a small V on the surface. I'm not even sure the plug was swimming, more like I was slow dragging it along the flat calm surface.

Being that I would fish late nights I would be half asleep during this time. When a fish decided to hit it was a sudden adrenaline rush. Your heart would leap out of your chest as dead calm became all hell.

Now on this night with fish popping in range I quickly put my bag of dough nuts and y coffee down and started to fish. Even with all this commotion as soon as my plug hit the water the fish decide to quiet down and only every so often a fish would pop in the distance.

My mind began to wonder thinking about what the area was like a 100 years ago. Thoughts of a small port and buildings related to shipping wood.

In my minds eye I began to think of the ghost of the area. Spirit lights of hard working people that walked the ground I stood on. The area was calm and dead quite.

As I continued to cast something near me caught my eye?

It was the little white bag with my two warm dough nuts. MMMMMM Maybe I should take a break and eat those warm delicious dough balls.

The bag rustled a bit and in my mind I was wondering if the wind was starting up. I looked around and realized the air was dead calm. My mind shifted in gears and focused on the bag again.

As my eyes came to the bag it............................................. Jumped up and flew!

Like a ghost had grabbed it. I freaken jumped! The skin on my neck bristled and I am now embarrassed to say I might of let a little yikes out of my mouth!

As soon as I had made that noise the bag settled back down and I and the bag stood still.

For what What seemed like a long time but was probably only a couple of seconds. I grabbed my flashlight and with my nerves frayed I zeroed the beam on the bag.

A pair of black beady eyes stared back at me. A big dark wharf rat stood three feet from me, unafraid! Why should he be? He had the bag of dough nuts!

My mind fired a thought and I grabbed my coffee cup. The brew was still nice and warm, it felt good in my cool hand.

I opened up my mouth and for the life of me I don't know why I said what I did. "F'er you stole my F'n dough nuts!

The thought that my warm circles of dough were now tainted was too much. I blurted out, "How about some coffee with them dough nuts!"

With that I threw the cup and hit him square with a spray of the warm brew.

He blinked at me and moved a bit. He was not being bullied and I knew that he knew I would not want the dough nuts now that he had touched them.

I stood there quite, staring at a rat for a bit.

Then I picked up my gear and walked away! LOL

The farther I walked away the more I started to think about what had happened. Then there it was, a laugh. It was kind of nervous laugh, as my blood was still pumping.

By the time I hit the car I was laughing. By the time I got home I was laughing so hard I had come to tears. To think that the big tough guy I was freaked when I saw a little white bag fly!

That is my rat story. He and I loved dough nuts.

 

great story

[jimmy z]

Ah, the good ol' East River. Been there done that many times, but on the other side, in Manhattan.

[Sea Flat]

I am a skunkaphobic person. Luckily I have not had too many experiences with rats to be rataphobic.

[RI: best part of CT]

Rats give me the willies too - dates back to when I was a little kid of 5 or 6 I guess. I was heading out my back door, barefoot, to go fishing in the river in my backyard. I stepped off the last wooden step just as a big fat rat ran out from under it - literally brushing the skin on the bottom of my foot

 

What I hate most is fishing a pile of rocks and hearing that God-awful squeaking sound they make. I generally just skedaddle when I hear that as it sends chills right up my spine.

 

Skunks don't bother me at all - in fact I kinda like them.

[Terry Mac]

My Rat story.

 

Back in the 80's I moved away from the coast and across the mountain ridge that separates the Ocean I call home to the very different San Francisco Bay. The area is known as the Peninsula and has had much of the estuaries filled in for Landfills, Salt evaporation ponds and have been stripped of vegetation happened many many years ago. This area become popular because Redwood trees in the area were cut and shipped by water to the bustling City of turn of the century known as San Francisco.

 

Yet some small areas still exist between the commercial buildings, broken wharfes and new homes. We call them Sloughs with mud bottoms and walls. With the tidal sweep, these areas hold bait fish and on the out going water the stripers will move up through these small channels and attack.

At night was always the best time to fish in those days. Not many people knew about fishing these area's at night and many nights I found myself alone.

When I first moved to the area I spent many hours going over maps, taking trips to the areas during the day and looking for signs of bait fish. I found this one spot where I would cross an old rickety wooden bridge, well it was more of a plank walk way. It was probably built a long time ago to cross parts of these channels for some unforgotten reason.

Then I would hike along a muddy trail for half a mile. I would then be by myself alone, except for the fish.

Now the later at night I went the less wind would be at the spot. Less wind for some reason brought more fish up the channel and in the dark you could hear the Whoosh! of a good size bass blowing up on a piece of bait.

With it being so quite I could hear these fish as they entered from the bay and climbed up the channel. As they came closer they would get louder and louder. Until you could see them smashing the surface.

Sometimes it would be fast and furious and other times it would be dead calm quiet and then all of a sudden one fish would explode the surface.

The night I am writing about was a late one. At Two Am in the morning I left the condo and headed out into a warm calm night. Not a breath of air and in my mind I visioned a calm surface with huge fish going nuts.

 

Now near my house was a real old fashioned dough nut place. Not a Dunkin or other new guy place but a real life place where dough nuts were made from scratch and cooked every night. ummmmmmmm

I was sleepy as all heck and nothing like a fresh cup of coffee and a couple of freshly baked dough nuts eaten in the peace of night just sounded. Well like the bomb.

I figured I would be getting there a little early and could enjoy my hot delicious dough nuts and coffee while I waited for the tide to start moving. As I pulled into the lot I smiled. No other cars around, not a soul. I would be very much alone.

It was a dry night and I quickly ran the trail. When I reached the area I planned to fish I was greeted by the sounds of fish chasing bait. I went for my most effective weapon in the area. A small 700 series pikie.

 

Now normally I believe in giving plugs as much action as I can. But in these back and calm water I had figured out that a slow slow retrieve was key into getting a strike.

At night all you could see was a small V on the surface. I'm not even sure the plug was swimming, more like I was slow dragging it along the flat calm surface.

Being that I would fish late nights I would be half asleep during this time. When a fish decided to hit it was a sudden adrenaline rush. Your heart would leap out of your chest as dead calm became all hell.

Now on this night with fish popping in range I quickly put my bag of dough nuts and y coffee down and started to fish. Even with all this commotion as soon as my plug hit the water the fish decide to quiet down and only every so often a fish would pop in the distance.

My mind began to wonder thinking about what the area was like a 100 years ago. Thoughts of a small port and buildings related to shipping wood.

In my minds eye I began to think of the ghost of the area. Spirit lights of hard working people that walked the ground I stood on. The area was calm and dead quite.

As I continued to cast something near me caught my eye?

It was the little white bag with my two warm dough nuts. MMMMMM Maybe I should take a break and eat those warm delicious dough balls.

The bag rustled a bit and in my mind I was wondering if the wind was starting up. I looked around and realized the air was dead calm. My mind shifted in gears and focused on the bag again.

As my eyes came to the bag it............................................. Jumped up and flew!

Like a ghost had grabbed it. I freaken jumped! The skin on my neck bristled and I am now embarrassed to say I might of let a little yikes out of my mouth!

As soon as I had made that noise the bag settled back down and I and the bag stood still.

For what What seemed like a long time but was probably only a couple of seconds. I grabbed my flashlight and with my nerves frayed I zeroed the beam on the bag.

A pair of black beady eyes stared back at me. A big dark wharf rat stood three feet from me, unafraid! Why should he be? He had the bag of dough nuts!

My mind fired a thought and I grabbed my coffee cup. The brew was still nice and warm, it felt good in my cool hand.

I opened up my mouth and for the life of me I don't know why I said what I did. "F'er you stole my F'n dough nuts!

The thought that my warm circles of dough were now tainted was too much. I blurted out, "How about some coffee with them dough nuts!"

With that I threw the cup and hit him square with a spray of the warm brew.

He blinked at me and moved a bit. He was not being bullied and I knew that he knew I would not want the dough nuts now that he had touched them.

I stood there quite, staring at a rat for a bit.

Then I picked up my gear and walked away! LOL

The farther I walked away the more I started to think about what had happened. Then there it was, a laugh. It was kind of nervous laugh, as my blood was still pumping.

By the time I hit the car I was laughing. By the time I got home I was laughing so hard I had come to tears. To think that the big tough guy I was freaked when I saw a little white bag fly!

That is my rat story. He and I loved dough nuts.

 

 

 

Very nice Winch