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).]