Coyotes Getting Brave

My buddy, Rich and I went to the top of the mountain yesterday to fish in the super volcano. Well, it's extinct and is now a game preserve. Maybe one of the most beautiful days I have had up there with huge clouds and deep blue sky. The valley floor is lush green from the weeks of rain that has already fallen in the area. Like I said, a beautiful day...for trout fishing.

We were planning to travel there later in the week, but the forecast said Monday was going to be the only non-rainy day on the mountain. So, I texted Rich the night before and said let's go the next day. Or we're not fishing.

I must say the fishing was really good and we caught quite a few of those wild brown trout. My photos never do those pretty fish justice, but I'll put a couple on this posts anyway....just to prove we actually did catch fish. Seems I have to post a photo these days or people think I'm fibbing. They should know by now that I only tell true fish stories! Haha....

While we were fishing, I witnessed a first for me. A coyote charging a human. There were two gents fishing downstream from me, a ways, when something caught my eye's periphery while I was changing a fly. Out of the tree line about 250 yards away from those guys popped out a coyote in a dead run. It was aimed straight for the guys as he was running down the mountain side...and they were enjoying seeing the coyote running at a distance. Then they realized the critter was actually charging them! All of a sudden they started hopping, screaming, and flailing their arms. It worked, the coyote took a sudden turn twenty yards in from them and then started loping down the stream looking back at them every so often. Seeing they were safe, I resumed re-rigging my line. Funny, when I looked back up, those two guys and their truck were gone. Just guessing, but I'd bet they stopped at one the few outhouses the preserve put in the back country.

Gear: Winston BIII LS 8' 4wt fly rod; Bauer SST4 fly reel; #14 Parachute Adams and #18 Black Royal dry flies.

A few photos of our day below....

Click on photo for larger view