Syracuse.com - Baldwinsville man says he once saw a ground hog swim across a trout stream

[HuntingNY-News]

He said it got so close he could have petted it. My recent tale about a ground hog (woodchuck) that scaled a tree in my front yard to escape my dog, Cali, resulted in an email from Fred Neff, of Baldwinsville. Neff said he once saw a woodchuck swimming across a trout stream.“When I was a younger lad down in Pa., I was fishing a stream that I cannot recall anymore,” he said. “I was standing in the middle of the creek fishing a deep run close to the other bank. Suddenly, I saw something running downstream toward me on the far bank.”Neff said he initially figured it was a beaver or a large muskrat.“Nope! It was a woodchuck,” he said. “And when it got opposite to me, it entered the water and started swimming directly toward me. .¤.¤.’’When it reached me, it climbed up on the rock next to me. It sat there within touching distance, shaking itself off. It never seemed to notice me, even though I could have petted it. Eventually it left the rock and continued its swim to the other side.”“By the way, I did not catch a fish on that cast, even though my fly was in the water for a couple of minutes,” Neff concluded. “No way was I going to move a muscle.”

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