Popular Post zak-striper Posted December 5, 2022 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 (edited) No one started the annual winter trout thread so I guess I'll get it started this year. Quabbin's closed. The 'Chu is closed. My saltwater gear is put away. Xmas is 3 weeks away so today I hit my favorite trout pond for the last 3 hours of daylight. Fish were rising and jumping all over. Today's sun and Saturday's warm weather must of got a hatch going. Unfortunately the browns were on the small size. I haven't checked the stocking report lately but I'm assuming this pond was recently stocked. The browns were hitting everything - shiners under a slip bobber, gold kastmasters, blue/silver kastmasters and a jointed, floating rapala (after dark). I even landed a decent sized largemouth on my slip bobber rig. What made this outing a little different is that after it got dark, as I was walking my way out while casting a floating, jointed Rapala for browns, a big owl swooped down and aggressively tried to grab my lure. I didn't want to have to try to unhook an owl because of its sharp beak and talons so I had to do everything I could to get it away from my lure. I guess the lure's V wake caught the bird's attention. Once I got the lure away from the owl, it landed in a tree right behind me, watching me, waiting for me to catch something. About 10, 15 minutes later, a couple hundred feet away from the owl and around a point, I caught a brown on the jointed Rapala. No sooner did I get the fish on the shore, the owl came back and grabbed the brown. However, my Rapala was still in the fish's mouth. I got into a tug of war with the owl but the bird wouldn't let go. I had to yell at the bird and run at it in order to get it to release the fish from its talons. Once it did, I pulled the fish to me to get my lure back. The owl was working hard to steal my fish so after I unhooked it, I tossed the brown to the bird so it could have from fresh sashimi. You can see my Rapala in the fish's mouth. I've had bald eagles follow me and take released fish at Quabbin and at this same trout pond. This is the 1st time I had a run in with an owl. Edited December 5, 2022 by zak-striper bb1, bdowning, FlukeOff and 23 others 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gray gables Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 That’s a crazy experience and one hungry owl. zak-striper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeK Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 Wild. Good thing you didn't hook it. A buddy of mine landed an Osprey that dove on his pencil popper. Didn't sound like a fun experience.... zak-striper and rst3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zak-striper Posted December 5, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 35 mins ago, MikeK said: A buddy of mine landed an Osprey that dove on his pencil popper. Didn't sound like a fun experience.... Two or three years ago, at the canal, twice in one season, I had a sea bird fly into my line right after I cast it. Both times the bird got tangled up in my braid. I had to slowly and carefully reel in the bird, then cover its head and beak with my shirt or coat so it wouldn't bite me as I untangled it. I got both incidences on video. Good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loneangler87 Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 Had to unhook a seagull when I was thirteen not good experience..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSeggs Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 Wow. That's a wicked crazy story!! Did not know barred owls would take fish from the water. Glad it all worked out. Plus great pics!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rst3 Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 8 hours ago, MikeK said: A buddy of mine landed an Osprey that dove on his pencil popper. Didn't sound like a fun experience.... Good lord. That's one of those situations that has "ER" written all over it. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. Hemingway, Old Man and the Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gray gables Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 9 hours ago, zak-striper said: Two or three years ago, at the canal, twice in one season, I had a sea bird fly into my line right after I cast it. Both times the bird got tangled up in my braid. I had to slowly and carefully reel in the bird, then cover its head and beak with my shirt or coat so it wouldn't bite me as I untangled it. I got both incidences on video. Good times. Try untangling a blue heron on the canal, true story. That was not fun at all. Luckily I was there to help out my uncle. rst3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdowning Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 6 mins ago, gray gables said: Try untangling a blue heron on the canal, true story. That was not fun at all. Luckily I was there to help out my uncle. Theyre the worst. Ive clotheslined a few unintentionally but luckily never hooked one. Never had an owl encounter but i guess they are opportunistic feeders and will hit anything if they think its food. gray gables and bob_G 2 Pfantum Pfishah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBallGame Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 Crazy. We had a bird trifecta tuna fishing about a month ago. Gull, Shearwater, Gannet. Man those Gannets are big when you get up close to them! He didn't like us very much but we got him untangled and on his way. zak-striper 1 (*member formerly known as 'wmitchell1') Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzy Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 I was lucky enough to get a pelican right around sunrise down in Cabo. Good thing he got tumbled in the surf before I could get to him… He was so exhausted that he just sat there while I unwrapped his wings with one hand and held his mouth shut with the other. Once I let him go, he took right off. zak-striper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris76 Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 An owl. That is crazy. Wouldn'twant to tangle with that. . Got plenty of sheerwaters and terns which arent too bad but the worst I've had to deal with is cormorants. Nasty buggers. Got bit multiple times by one this year while untangling his wing. They have some reach lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAQ Posted December 6, 2022 Report Share Posted December 6, 2022 I have had tons of tangled/hooked bird experiences over the years and have faired very well for the most part. Grab them around the neck with the "OK sign" and untangle them without any damage. Worked every time until albie fishing this year. I went to grab a tangled little ****er, got my hand tangled in a loop of line and the gull grabbed my thumb. Undeterred, I lipped the rat like a bass and held it like that until I got it free. Thought I would get the gull flu but somehow it didn't break the skin. Embrace American Privilege Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted December 6, 2022 Report Share Posted December 6, 2022 First I've ever heard of an owl stealing an angler's fish. Must've been one damn hungry bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikez2 Posted December 6, 2022 Report Share Posted December 6, 2022 39 mins ago, BrianBM said: First I've ever heard of an owl stealing an angler's fish. Must've been one damn hungry bird. Barred owls are known to feed in water. I've seen numerous trail cam videos of barred owls wading knee deep in water catching frogs and salamander. Going after fish is not that great of a stretch. Probably a young bird, not afraid of people who learned stocked trout were tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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