Mountain Lion

Xnjb707X · Senior Member

Mountain Lion

kbarn · Veteran Member

Wow. I've seen bobcats on Putah but never a mountain lion. Any details on the sighting?

Matt R · Senior Member

Thanks for the warning, I always try to keep my senses up when Im in their backyard.
How did access 5 treat you? I've been meaning to get down there but have been stuck in the middle of the creek.

rgloft · Senior Member

Theres no more mountains left in the wild ! <@{{}}>< Ya sure that wesent a house cat ? MEOW!

yukon mike · Senior Member

The Mountain Lion population is alive and well fed. I've seen nice ones every year. Do not attempt to pet!

yukon mike · Senior Member

Unless you bump into one with kitties or just had it out with her ol man (females are gnarlier) you will never know that they are there. Just be aware that they are. I enjoy seeing them and have never had a problem.

-- Edited by yukon mike on Thursday 26th of April 2012 10:33:00 PM

rgloft · Senior Member

I have been fishing on the back side of the guide hole bushwaking my way up stream and felt like I was being watched , I don't like it back there , And the reason ? Mountain lions ! I have heard of them attacking humans Scarry hu

kbarn · Veteran Member

Where have you seen them? I've never seen one and am hoping to one day.

Rossflyguy · Senior Member

Hoping to see one? You ever see the movie Grizzly Man? Different animal but same outcome.

rgloft · Senior Member

Let see a show of hands , Who thinks a mountain lion might attack a person bushwaking his way through up behind the guide hole on the back side up to deer sighn ?

lightfoot · Senior Member

I'd be more worried about people than cats while fishing Putah. On the flip side., look at the terrain at both locations mentioned above. There is really no reason for a cat to be there.

rgloft · Senior Member

Why not ? Please explain

Matt R · Senior Member

A cat will most likely ambush its kill from above or from right behind something, they do the majority of their hunting at dusk and at dawn prime trout times. I'd think they'd be more likely to be at access 5 as the deer population seems greater in that area.
As for wanting to see them you will in time they're getting less and less scared of people since they changed the laws on hunting them. I've seen more than one handful so far, had one sneak up behind me when I was 13 if I didnt see it coming first it was gonna pounce on me, had a stare off with another from about 20' and I definitely dont need to hear one scream again I never saw that one and it had me the most scared by far. That is a horrible sound.

Xnjb707X · Senior Member

This is the 4th or 5th time in the past 5 years that myself or a friend of mine have seen remains of a kill or have seen one on the island. I think it's probably the same lion. He/She just might call that area home. I look at it like this, there is WAY too many other food options around the creek before one would pick off a fisherman, and if you do get attacked maybe that's natures way of saying it's your time to go. Or it's karma saying hello. The picture below is a kill I found last year on the island.

- Nic

Cole Davis · Senior Member

The predators are getting used to use for sure. Just spent a week with my dad and stepmom who are die hard hunters. Mostly Elk and deer in central Idaho. The wolf population is exploding everywhere around Idaho, montana and wyoming. They have seen lots of kill sites where these large predators have only taken a leg off a huge elk and left the rest to rot. They are killing for the fun of it not just for food. Big game populations are declining fast in certain areas because of this. These "Save the wolf" people out in Yellowstone didn't know what the hell they were getting into. As far as the lions go, Matt was right, you will be lucky to see one coming before it's on you. Tight lines everyone biggrin

Otter · Senior Member

I have never seen a mountain lion on the creek, but I pretty much never fish around the island. When the flows start going up it is best to fish in the middle of the creek away from shore!! Smart people do not want to see a mountain lion!! My guess is that the mountain lions hang out on far side of the creek. Be careful out there! Mountain lions have been spotted in the city limits of Vacaville!

lightfoot · Senior Member

rgloft wrote:
does anyone else think a lion might attack a lone fisherman I do

I'll be happy to take all your fishing gear off your hands biggrin Might as well snag your truck too, driving on hwy128 is very very dangerous

The terrain in the two areas mentioned are rather steep sided and probably void of deer. No real reason for a mt lion to be there, no food and no cover.

Heck, I've made around a dozen solo trips to the Putah Crek Wildlife area, which is very close, to hunt coyotes. Nothing like being by yourself while you try to sound like a wounded animal and an easy lunch. (by the way, thats where my avitar picture is from)

Yeah Matt, nothing like listening to the sound of a woman screaming as she is being murdered. Thats about the best way I can describe the sound. Years ago I was working for the USFS out of Portland. I was on a switchback trail a couple hundred yards down the side of the Columbia river gorge at about 1am with a dead flashlight. I had a cat scream just above me at the ridge top where I had to go to hike back to my vehicle. That was one of the spookiest night time 3 hour hkes I ever made.

-- Edited by lightfoot on Saturday 28th of April 2012 09:02:38 PM

Rossflyguy · Senior Member

Driving from the end of Solano Lake I spotted a pack of coyotes cornering a deer until we spooked them by driving up. Not that they're a real threat, just interesting how much wildlife is hidden around there. This is why it's good to have a fishing buddy(dog, friend, mace, or Mr. Glock).

rgloft · Senior Member

does anyone else think a lion might attack a lone fisherman I do

Berryessie · Senior Member

Several times I have seen deer on the steep sides. It is pretty cool to see how well they can blend in with their surroundings. A good example is looking across the river from the resort Often times you can see deer very high up on the hill. I am sure that it wouldn't be a bad place for a mt. lion to ambush its prey.

lightfoot · Senior Member

Berryessie wrote:
Several times I have seen deer on the steep sides. It is pretty cool to see how well they can blend in with their surroundings. A good example is looking across the river from the resort Often times you can see deer very high up on the hill. I am sure that it wouldn't be a bad place for a mt. lion to ambush its prey.

I'm sure Richard feels much better now. confuse

Honestly, I've seen plenty of deer across from the resort. In 40 years I've only seen one deer anywhere near the guide hole and that was on hwy 128 after being hit by a car. Huge difference from one side of the ridge line to the other where it comes down just upstream from the deer sign beds.

BTW at Putah I have seen over the years...

Wild Pig, Deer, Coyote, Fox, Mink, Muskrat, Beaver, Bobcat, Quail, Turkey, multiple waterfowl, raptors and a few shady looking crackheads.

kbarn · Veteran Member

RE grizzly man comment..There's a huge difference between wanting to see a mountain lion and hanging out with them. I want to see one, but from a safe distance.

Matt R · Senior Member

Lightfoot, that's about how I've always described the sound, except I would tell people it sounds like a girl getting her arms and legs ripped off her body. You must of been so freaked out that night. I had a gun with some daylight left and I was freaked out.

Bob Loblaw · Senior Member

Cole Davis wrote:
The predators are getting used to use for sure. Just spent a week with my dad and stepmom who are die hard hunters. Mostly Elk and deer in central Idaho. The wolf population is exploding everywhere around Idaho, montana and wyoming. They have seen lots of kill sites where these large predators have only taken a leg off a huge elk and left the rest to rot. They are killing for the fun of it not just for food. Big game populations are declining fast in certain areas because of this. These "Save the wolf" people out in Yellowstone didn't know what the hell they were getting into. As far as the lions go, Matt was right, you will be lucky to see one coming before it's on you. Tight lines everyone

The wolves are great for fishing believe it or not. Before they were reintroduced, the elk and deer could camp out on riverbanks and eat till they passed out....and they did. The riverbanks became barren and all the cover was lost. The wolves keep the grazing animals on the move and has given the riverbanks an opportunity to recover. The rivers in Yellowstone have seen a lot of new cover grow back which helps with fish habitat.

We could use some wolves around Pleasant Hill. I've had two near misses in the car this year already...deer are everywhere.

-- Edited by Bob Loblaw on Monday 30th of April 2012 04:41:06 PM

rgloft · Senior Member

There is no safe distence I spoke with a man who owned some land. he was out checking some fence lines he and three of his saw a mountain lion off in the distence so they desided to move away and just get some distance between them and the mountain lion , Well long story but when they looked back the lion had decided to attack and had closed most of the ground between them and the lion Lucky for them they looked , and lucky they had a long gun they where able to kill the lion just in time at about 30 fert why did that lion attack i dont know but a good lesson in all this dont turn your back on a lion Weather or not the story is true or not I don't know but it is good advice dont turn your back on a lion

vince · Senior Member

We're all much more likely to get in a serious car accident on the way to fishing then attacked by a mountain lion, bitten by a rattlesnake, etc. The most we can do is drive carefully and be diligent outdoors.

vince · Senior Member

Ha, this is relevant:

If the video doesn't show up, here's a link: http://laughingsquid.com/lion-tries-to-eat-baby-through-the-glass-at-the-oregon-zoo-in-portland/

-- Edited by vince on Thursday 3rd of May 2012 11:08:16 AM

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

Another place not to be is near a lion kill (fresh), they will hang out near the kill for days and feed when they're hungry. When you are hanging around that area you are at risk. On another note my buddy was attacked with his 8year old son and his sons friend. He did everything he could to turn this lion but it stalked them for about 100 yards then charged. Fortunately he had a shotgun and he killed it. I saw the sequence of pics he took of the whole thing. This happened near the dam @ lk Berryesssa.

rgloft · Senior Member

Thanks for sharing that .I bring my dog Rusty to the creek sometimes Maybe that is not such a gooid idea

vince · Senior Member

bono wrote:
Fortunately he had a shotgun and he killed it. I saw the sequence of pics he took of the whole thing. This happened near the dam @ lk Berryesssa.

Holy moly. I'm going to think twice about heading out to Putah alone now... Fishing Putah with a shotgun seems like a pain. I wonder if bear pepper spray works on big cats? I don't want to be the first guy to find out it doesn't.