# Weird things I have had in my boat.



## COEngineer (May 29, 2013)

Last year in Browns Canyon on the Arkansas River, we were floating along and suddenly noticed a garter snake in our boat. He must have been swimming across the river and washed into our boat and then couldn't (or didn't want to) find his way out through the self-bailing floor. We helped it on it's way.



This year, we were on the same section and one of my kids says, "There's a bat" and was pointing at the water. I incredulously looked and sure enough, a bat was trying to stay afloat. We tried several times to pick it up with the end of a paddle, but we were being jostled by the rapids and it slipped off and maybe did not appreciate our helpfulness. After a couple minutes of trying that, it appeared to have given up, so my daughter bravely picked it up with her bare hand and set it on the perimeter tube. We paddled to shore and set it on a warm rock in the sun. It seemed to still be alive (barely) when we left it. Weirdest rescue ever?


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

A herd of dominate, A-type, territorial ringtails where your boat is their new territory. They have teeth and can sound very angry.


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## zbaird (Oct 11, 2003)

Grand Canyon 2013.

Pulled into some camp more than halfway through the canyon. Buddy opens his hatch on his rental boat. chica-chica-chica-chica. Three foot Grand canyon pink in the hatch. Had to have been in there all day at least. We had a floating lunch that day. It scurried up the tube when the boatman freaked out upon opening the hatch and got under the diamond plate on the frame. Great. An hour or so later we had it out with the false sense of security the fire gloves provided and the two sets of tongs from the kitchen. Luckily it was chilly from being in the hatch all day and was pretty sluggish. Everyone on that boat had the willies for sure.

Same trip, a few days later. We hop off the boats for lunch and are setting up the table. One of the ladies is carrying some lunch stuffs from her boat to the table. She sets it down in a hurry because she feels something in her little shorts she has on. She ruffles them and out pops a blonde scorp. Had to have been in there since the cave springs (bushwhackish) hike since she came straight off her boat to the table for lunch. Scorp hit the hot sand and started frying. One of the naive girls on the trip say "what, its frying? ill give it some shade" and throws a rock on it, squish. Later that night the same lady has a scorp crawl up her leg. "well, thats prolly enough for one day, guess its bedtime"


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

On a Smith river trip with seven kids I had a three inch salmon fly landed on my boat. At that time I had three of the kids with me. For a few minutes they freaked out just a little having that big a bug crawl on them, especially in their hair. After awhile, they were passing the salmon fly around between all the kids and had named him Fred. This lasted for about two hours. Just when we thought Fred was going to become a permanent addition to the trip he flew up, up and away with all the kids shouting and waving goodbye to Fred. Just then a bird snatched him out of the sky. The silence was deafening. I then got to explain the circle of life to a very somber group of kids.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

Salmon flies..... Reminds me of a day squirt boating on the Middle Fork Salmon. I had a dry top above and only loose fitting skimpy quick dry shorts below(that was all I could wear since squirt boats are very skimpy on space. After lunch I squirmed into my boat, struggled with the spray skirt and shoved off only to discover that something obviously over four inched long was already above the bottom of the shorts on the inside of my thigh and moving quickly north. Needless to say, it was as quick a wet exist as a squirt boat would permit. The exit was accompanied by a long string of audibles.

They can feel very creepy when on your privates and they can get quite large. 

In case you don't know what a salmon fly is; below is a salmon fly eating a trout head first. Well, that is what I thought was happening to me that day; i.e. being eaten head first.


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## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

Similar to COEngineer - On the Rio Grande between Creede and South Fork had a king snake(we thought) crawl up a strap that was dangling in the water as my stern line. My passenger calmly dumped it off only to have it make a 2nd attempt that was met with a quick spin of the boat and a gentle "go away" swat with the oar.

IMO the winner so far would be the pink rattlesnake.


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## dsrtrat (May 29, 2011)

My crazy ex girlfriend.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

And 7 point elk antler that my daughter and wife wanted to bring home. It went in the drop bag with a couple of spare life jackets over the tines. 

We also got to the end of a trip and had a very small live fish swimming around the bottom of the boat in the small gap on the side of the self bailing floor. It had to have been there for several days.

And rocks. Wife liked rocks, so we brought rocks home. Not weird I suppose but it was usually low water so not awesome in a way.


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## Jamesdking (Mar 14, 2016)

does this count? he makes quite the scene


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## trialsize (May 11, 2018)

carvedog said:


> We also got to the end of a trip and had a very small live fish swimming around the bottom of the boat in the small gap on the side of the self bailing floor. It had to have been there for several days.


Same thing happened to us. Hooked a fish in the first half mile of the trip, dropped it into the boat trying to release it and it disappeared. Thought for sure we'd have a stinky dead mess to clean up six days later when we de-rigged at the take out but it wriggled in hand and swam away when we dumped it over the side. Small-mouth bass are tough little bastards.

My step son caught a big fat one one year with a bulging stomach. Cut it open to find a semi-newish lure and a very old almost decayed lure. Poor thing had lived for years with two hooks in it's belly before swallowing the fatal one.


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

carvedog said:


> And rocks. Wife liked rocks, so we brought rocks home. Not weird I suppose but it was usually low water so not awesome in a way.


As a geologist, that's perfectly normal. I've still got lots of beautiful pebbles I picked up on the Kootenai the summer I worked on the Libby site.


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## mkashzg (Aug 9, 2006)

Scorpions in my kayak on the Grand. Fortunately I did not get bit but I have been bit several times on the river and at the warehouse down there over the years. Not fun but not as bad as the getting stung twice by a stingray!


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## eddie (Apr 12, 2005)

When I used to guide on the Omo in Ethiopia we would run into these "ferrymen" every once in a while. They would sew together a goat skin, blow it up, and then swim people and supplies across the river. (With rapids, hippos, and crocodiles!) When they saw us they would all swim out and jump up onto the raft. We also helped a guy ferry his very unwilling horse across the river once.


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## DarrylH (Mar 10, 2015)

Snake in boat - At the end of a very long-hot first day on Deso (after being eaten alive by mosquito's while rigging the night before), I'm sitting in camp 25 or so miles downriver, too pooped to move. I gaze over at the nearby boats and notice a decent size snake swim to the first boat, go underneath and pop up into the boat through one of the self-bailing holes! It proceeds to explore the boat, goes out a hole on the other side and does the same thing in the next boat - that rascal looked in all four boats! I just figured he'd be gone by morning...


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## k2andcannoli (Feb 28, 2012)

Went out mid December for a Christmas tree...had previously spotted a nice little tree on an island and decided to make her mine. Packed the handsaw and some extra straps, left the helmet in the truck in favor for a santa hat. The national park boys didn't look pleased as I floated by Harper's Ferry NP but the islands are no mans land and no mans Christmas trees.... Except mine.


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