Feeling terrible

[Better Loops]

Got to go fishing this weekend at a 6 acre pond in the city. It's heavily fished so the authorities only allow fishing on wednesdays and saturdays. First cast of the day I tie a royal cachman wet fly on the end of a 9 foot leader and an 18 inch long tippet and let it sit out from shore about 25 feet. A couple of mallards start swimming over toward the line from the right, one vears away to the right, but the other is heading straight toward the end of the fly line to investigate. No problem, he will ignore it and be on his way, right? Wrong! He ignored it all right, but then proceeded to the wet fly which was still floating on the top of the water. I decided I'd better get that fly out of there before he hooks himself. Well the Mallard reached for the fly as I was making the pick-up and sure enough, I had caught a duck on a fly. Quite a tussle with him trying to fly away and threshing around on the water. I felt terrible (still do). Luckily I always debarb my hooks. Because I didn't want to stress the poor duck out more than I had already done, I got him in fairly close to shore and cut the tippet off. So he was released with a hook in his bill and about 8 to 12 inches of tippet hanging out which he kept trying to scratch away. Not sure if it was the same duck that I saw later, but there was one that gave me a wide berth as he walked behind me and I didn't see the hook or tippet hanging from his bill. May not have been the same duck. Sure hope that never happens again.

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Lee - Better Loops and Singing Reels

[Eight Thumbs]

Lee,

You never mentioned that you were a duck hunter too! It could have been worse. I had a friend from the low country of South Carolina who was wading in a local pond and had a cottonmouth do the same thing with his surface plug. The faster he reeled, the faster the snake swam----toward him. 8T

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You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it's a real short camping season.

[gonfishn]

I had a seagull pick a nymph out of the air on my forward cast a few years ago. We had one heck of a tussle for a few seconds before the tippet and my leader parted company.One of the better battles i've had on a 3wt.

[dixieangler]

Pelicans are notorious for stealing your catch and getting hooked as soon as you have it out of the water (all you can do is cut the line). The bird will not let you near it to set it free even if you manage to get close to it. The lazy birds just hang around you waiting to steal a fish rather than go catch their own fish. Run them off and they come right back. You move to another spot, so do the pelicans right next to you. They won't leave you alone because they're very educated and know that anglers mean an easy meal. So whenever I see a pelican with fishing line wrapped around it on the water or on the media (some media story supposed to generate sympathy and how evil anglers are being careless with their fishing line), I feel more like "the thieving bird had it coming" than to feel sorry for it because I know better. Of course the media never mentions the other side of the story that you never know about.


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Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL

"Flip a fly"

[This message has been edited by dixieangler (edited 18 June 2006).]

[Jonezee]

I had to laugh at your post. Very funny. I had a reverse scenario happen about 12 years ago on the Cochern Log ponds in the coast range of Oregon. I was fishing and caught some very nice rainbows, most average over 16 inches. As I would cast and walk the shore line, I noticed several Mallard ducks swiming around the 20 acre lake. Every now and then a duck would just dissapear and sink like arock out of sight. This keep happening for almost an hour, at least 4 or 5 ducks sinking out of sight. It was not too long afer I noticed on the far shore an otter dragging a duck up on the bank and eating away. Like Izzak Walton wrote, I am a friend of the fisher, therefor an emeny of the Otter. Otter take lots of trout and salmanoid too. Looks like your fly would make a good frog jig.

[This message has been edited by Jonezee (edited 18 June 2006).]

[Gemrod]

Glad the duck got away. Hope he got rid of the tippet. Very interesting topic. It happened to me in the 70's and I always felt when I told the story no one really believed me. This is vindication for me as it is the first time I have ever heard of it happening to any one else. I haven't fly fished all these years so still want to be considered a rookie wannabe. But, our company had a safety picnic and sorta unheard of, held it way up from Phoenix at Williams Lake toward Flagstaff. I took my fly rod although no one else did. I go down to the lake and something is hitting my floater but can't hook one. But.....birds like swallows would pick up my fly and fly around in the air with it! Darndest thing I ever saw. You have to be there to picture a bird flying around and your fly line going in places and ways it would never ever go. Strangest sight I ever saw. This must have happened a dozen times. I gave up assuming what ever was tapping my fly was too small to eat it. I got hit after hit but no hookems. Fortunately not one bird got hooked. Absoulutely wierd sight though. Also glad to learn that ducks will go after them because I now fish where there are Mallards. And very educational post on the Pelicans. Great Thread.
Happy Father's Day to all and Better Loops for the interesting topic and entertainment for ME. One just never knows what affect his words might have on someone else far away.

I really enjoyed this thread.

Gem

[This message has been edited by Gemrod (edited 18 June 2006).]

[nighthawk]

Lee,
The duck should be fine so don't feel bad. You have also given a good reason for barbless hooks. Glad it wasn't a Canada Goose you hook because they can inflict serious bodily injury on you. You did the right thing.

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Eric "nighthawk"

American veteran and proud of it!

[Helicopsyche]

The other day I had a blackbird take my fly off a lily pad as I was untangling my line from a weed. It was an interesting battle, but I will have you know the blackbird was released no worse for wear and without the hook. I was lucky that my bird was small and light. The hook was barely caught on the edge of the beak. Too bad they aren't as good at spitting out my flys as the fish are.
Adam

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vox clamantis in deserto

[John H]

The duck is probably fine.

We were fishing off of the Channel Islands off the coast of Venture, CA once fine day. Suddenly my rod bent near double, and about 100' away a seal pops up out of the kelp. I give a hard pull and the seal goes down- uh -oh. Worked on the thing for what seemed like and eterety but finally managed to get the seal near the boat and broke him off.

Last year on the Bitterroot, my son in law hooked a mink with a fly. I was ready to throw him (the son-in-law not the mink) out of the boat if he started dragging the mink towards us. Luckily he got off- climbed up on a rock and glared at us. Man was he pissed.

jh

[RickB]

I had this happen to me as well. The first time I was fishing a dry fly that I tied myself. No luck with the trout but on one cast a little sparrow came out of a streamside bush and snatched my fly and flew off with it. Fortunately for us both when the line cam tight it popped out and he flew on his merry way. I decided that even though I didn't catch a fish my pattern must have been OK if it fooled the bird.

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Fish more, work less!