What the heck? Idling out in the middle of Oak Cove graphing structure. First time on this lake. After a few seconds, hammered it to get away. Normal or unusual?

Methbees

I have fished Twak for 15 yrs and never encountered insect swarms.

Never seen it on twok but several years ago we encountered several huge swarms of Africanized bees crossing lake Guerero in Mexico. Swarms were as large as small clouds and u could here them flying from as far away as 1/4 mile. Heard that several people had to get out of their boats and into the water to get away from them. Glad we didn't have to find out.

I was fishing LOP a couple years ago with a friend of mine. Started hearing a buzzing sound that kept getting louder and louder. We looked across the lake, and it looked like a black fog coming towards us. We sat there and watched as the buzzing got louder, and the bees went pretty much right over us.

No stings. No problems. Just a really cool memory.

I did, however, think I was going to jump overboard after bumping a rotten tree filled with fire ants. Same area on Pines, and the lake was WAY up flooded. I was fishing the flooded timber and bumped this rotten tree. It fell over into my boat, and those little b@$+@rd$ went everywhere in my boat. I had on flip-flops, and they ate me up. I believe I had rather have had a water moccasin in the boat!

I was fishing JJones park back in the 90's and heard/saw a HUGE black cloud of bees, I layed down on the bank on my back frozen stiff, one of the neatest things to this day I have seen in nature.

A very common occurrence. I've seen swarms fly over while fishing many times and on many different lakes in Texas.

Was Derek anywhere close?

Had the same thing happen on Bob Sandlin one day. A loud hum started and my partner and I saw a cloud coming. Passed by about a quarter mile away. Lots of bees in that cloud. Kinda creepy...

Had a big swarm fly over us ( 20-30 foot above the boat )on lake Amistad a few years ago and my partner and I were ready to get in the water if needed.

Seen it before too. I was told that after a new queen bee is formed in a hive lots of others ball up around her for a while like you�ve probably seen pics of a wad of them on a house or limb etc. They then all fly off in a swarm to a new hive location. The swarm that we see is them going there. Maybe someone who knows or keeps bees will chime in and confirm or refute this.

I have had this happen to me twice . The first time , honestly , it kinda freaked me out . They came directly towards me , by the time I recognized what was happening , it was too late to fire up the big motor and move , not to mention that I also thought the noise of the motor could irritate them .
Bee's swarm because the original hive produced a "second " queen and the " workers " that are loyal to the second queen follow her when she is expelled from her original nest . They swarm in search of a new nest and tend to be protective of their queen .
People die every year from bee stings , some from anaphylactic reactions and others to overall toxicity due to number of stings . The latter cause is usually due to " swarming " .

Didn't see any bees today out there but after a slow start the fish started biting and ended up a really good day of catching. No monsters but a lot of keepers.

We had it happen to use this year on Bridgeport. I kept thinking I was hearing something and couldn�t tell where it was coming. I coukd tell it was getting closer then it dawned on me what I was and yelled to my buddy �we gotta, go hold on�. He was in back fishing and I was up front. I dropped my rod on the deck, jumped in seat and cranked up. I then told him to just sit down and hold on. Went about a 100 yards away. Pulled up trolling motor and reeled rods in and left.

Had that happen to me once, but while I was driving on 59 coming into Houston. I was going about 65 in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday and I must have hit the middle of a huge swarm, my windshield was completely blacked out instantly, though the side windows I could see other cars swerving and could hear people slamming on their brakes in front of and behind me. I got over on the shoulder and got out after a minute or two and everyone on the freeway around me was stopped. I couldn't tell what had hit the windshield until I looked in the grill and saw all the bees. The wipers just made it into a greasy smear. I had to use my shirt to clean off the windshield enough to drive to a car wash. Never seen another swarm before or since.

A few years ago, a swarm of bees settled on a boat on Choke Canyon Lake. I can't find the video, but the two guys in the boat had to call for help and basically gave the boat to the bees. A short time later the bees moved on.

never seen this or heard of swarms like this until now. That's some crazy stuff!

Bee's are some interesting critters-

Swarms
Honey bee swarming is a natural part of a developing their colony. Honey bees swarm as a result of overcrowding within a hive. To create a swarm, an old honey bee queen leaves the hive with about half of the hive�s worker bees, while a new queen remains in the old hive with the rest of the workers. In the wild, honey bees swarm most in late spring and early summer, at humid times of the day. While swarming is part of the healthy life cycle of every honey bee colony, beekeepers often attempt to reduce the incidence of swarming in domesticated bees.

A honey bee swarm may contain hundreds or thousands of worker bees and a single queen. Swarming honey bees fly temporarily, and then cluster on shrubs and tree branches. The clusters rest there for several hours to a few days, depending on weather conditions and the amount of time needed to search for a new nesting site. When a scout honey bee locates a good location for the new colony, the cluster immediately flies to the new site.

Generally, honey bee swarms do not harm people. Swarming honey bees do not have young or a nest to defend during the swarm, and as such, their incentive to sting is reduced.

However, a swarm of bees will attack when provoked, as workers attempt to protect their queen. Should a persistent swarm of bees appear near your home or garden, it may be necessary to contact a pest control expert to assist in relocating or exterminating the swarm. Honey bees are a protected species in some areas, so check with a professional pest control expert before taking any action yourself.