We Train Our Deer And Fish Right In Knightdale

Wildlife encounters are part of the routine when you ride on greenway trails. You’ll see deer, turtles, ducks, geese, the occasional crane, assorted birds, squirrels and, as I posted recently after waiting almost two months for a picture, snakes. I recently had encounters with deer and fish that reminded me – in a roundabout way – that there’s no place like home. Stick with me on this one, because the logic is a bit convoluted. But that’s okay, because this post is more “tongue in cheek” than other lessons from the trail.

I started out recently on the Mingo Creek trail for a longer ride. As I was rolling along the boardwalk, I spotted a boy and his grandfather up ahead, and it looked like they were taking a fish off a hook. I knew they weren’t, because the swampy area there is a glorified mudhole. And the boy was using a red plastic fishing rod. Never saw one of those on Southern Sportsman. But sure enough, as I went by, the grandfather grinned at me and pointed to a decent sized bass. Talk about your double takes. This I had to see more closely, so I stopped my bike and walked back. The boy had taken the hook out and was holding the fish like an experienced angler. “That boy just loves to fish,” said Grandpa, proudly. We talked for a few minutes, and they allowed me to take his picture. That was a definite first for riding on the greenways.

Seeing Luke pull a bass out of the swampy area of Mingo Creek
is definitely a first for riding the greenway trails.

After watching the boy (his name was Luke) fish for a few more minutes, I left them and pedaled to the Neuse trail and turned north. The humidity was low for August, so I rode all the way to Falls Lake. I stopped for a break right by the damn, where several guys were fishing. I asked one of them if they were catching anything. He gave me a look, and said no. The others overheard and chimed in their agreement. I wanted to tell them about Luke, but their expressions and grunts changed my mind.

The far northern section of the Neuse trail runs by a number of subdivisions. There are access paths from those neighborhoods to the trail. A couple I know lives in one of the subdivisions. They told me that someone in their neighborhood has been leaving food out for deer. Those deer have gotten used to people and will clop right up to them looking for handouts. They also enjoy munching on flowers in yards (one of the curses of suburban living) and will ignore anyone who comes out to try to run them off. I was rolling past those neighborhoods on the way home and saw one of those deer standing by the trail. I smacked my hand on my handlebars and yelled, “hey.” That usually works to make a deer turn and run. But she just stood there, looking at me expectantly. Fortunately for me she didn’t step out on the trail as I went past.

Our deer around Knightdale are much better trained
than their counterparts from North Raleigh.

That encounter contrasted with what happened when I came out of the woods near the turn off the Neuse trail to the bridge to the Mingo Creek trail. There were two deer standing by the trail looking in the other direction. Just like before I slapped my handlebars and yelled, “hey!”  This time the deer turned and obligingly trotted away as I swept by and turned up onto the bridge. As I rode home at the end of a great 50-mile ride, I couldn’t help thinking that we train our deer and fish right in Knightdale. There’s a lot to like about Knightdale, but I challenge you to find well-trained deer and fish on the town website.