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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | Monday night, my son, daughter and I went to Lake Redstone in Wisconsin to try some night fishing for musky. As it started to get dark, we cast topwater lures. My daughter was throwing a creeper from the back of the boat while I cast from the front. Son was stuck in the middle. As we fished, I heard my daughter say something followed by my son exclaiming "oh $4!T" I looked back and saw a commotion about 50 feet out. At first I thought my daughter had caught her first top water musky. No such luck! The thing attached to the creeper tried to take off, no really, it tried to take off! As my daughter slowly reeled in the creeper, a barred owl had come out of nowhere and grabbed it. My daughter did like Dad had said and did not set the hook at the sound of the strike but waited until she felt the weight and then let her rip. Now the fun part. Owl hooked and we need to CPR this bugger. Son grabbed the rod as the owl sat on top of the water. Just about dark now. Spotlights on and we have the boat next to the owl. A lift of the rod and he is in the boat. Now he is out, now back in. I was able to grab a toe and use the Knipex to cut the barb off the hook. Pulled the hook out and let go of the owl. Owl sits there for a moment, looks around and then flies off into the dark. No weight, no length, no girth and of course, NO CAMERA!
Ken |
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| now thats a HOOT! hehe
good thing it didnt give you a thrashing with those claws! |
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Posts: 157
| That's awesome! It's kind of like when you get a suicidal loon that follows you in and goes around on a figure eight a couple of times.
You didn't have a cell phone with a camera on it? |
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Location: Pigeon Forge TN. | Your lucky the owl didn't decide to put the grip on you. The talons are very sharp.
I had a red tailed hawk put the grip to my arm. Had to kill the hawk and have a doctor remove all the talons and clean out the holes. Pretty painful.
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| Crazy! That will be an experience you guys will never forget.
I had a bald eagle pick up a duck out of the water that I just had shot. At the time I was a little peeed, but today that is the coolest thing I have ever seen. |
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Posts: 157
| Stan Durst 1 - 8/18/2010 7:01 AM
Your lucky the owl didn't decide to put the grip on you. The talons are very sharp.
I had a red tailed hawk put the grip to my arm. Had to kill the hawk and have a doctor remove all the talons and clean out the holes. Pretty painful.
How did you get the hawk on your arm in the first place?!?!?!?! |
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Posts: 1207
Location: Pigeon Forge TN. | Was squirrel hunting and had shot a squirrel. Was trying to pick up the squirrel when the hawk, evidently trying to get the squirrel, missed and sunk into my arm. Thought my arm was going to rip off since it couldn't carry me. Wouldn't let go so had to kill it to keep the damage down on my arm. Warden was contacted and met me at the doctors. Paid small fine as well as doctor bill. moral. be careful around the big birds cause anything can happen. even if by freak of nature.
And yes, it hurt real bad. |
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| Wow. |
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Location: N.FIB | I had an owl grab a topwater bait 2 yrs ago but didn't get hooks in it thank god,I took the lure off after that.why did you have to pay a fine stan,who called the dnr,and ouch that must have hurt. |
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Posts: 157
| And you had to pay a fine? That's a major load of B.S. It would have been way easier to just let it lay and make up some hocus-pocus story about how you got all sliced up. Ethical, no. Cheaper, yes. |
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Posts: 158
| stcroixmusky - 8/18/2010 10:31 AM
And you had to pay a fine? That's a major load of B.S. It would have been way easier to just let it lay and make up some hocus-pocus story about how you got all sliced up. Ethical, no. Cheaper, yes.
I agree....that's a crock. You did the right thing by calling them and they had to be like that? As the saying goes usually...nice guys finish last.
To the original poster - great story! That will be a night none of you ever forget!
Edited by Shoot2Kill 8/18/2010 10:45 AM
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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | I did not realize I had my phone with the camera on it in my pocket while this was going on until my daughter asked to use my phone to call home and tell her Mom what she caught. I guess in all the excitment, I forgot about my phone. Not sure if the photo would turn out with it being dark. My first thought was to get the owl off the creeper (my creeper by the way) and get it out of the boat.
I hear ya on the claws. Tried to put a sweatshirt over the owl's head at first thinking it might settle down but it kept getting out from under the sweatshirt. After the second try I just used the pliers and Knipex. Owl was pretty calm as I was removing the hook. Lucky for me I guess.
Ken |
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Location: Pigeon Forge TN. | I got off with 50 buck fine which isn't bad considering the red tails are protected. Could have cost me a lot more than, had I not called and someone might have seen me and reported it. Was the best thing to do by far and I felt good doing the right thing. |
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| $50 bucks isn't to bad. I don't think Wisconsin believes in fines that are less than $250. |
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Posts: 309
Location: Elgin IL | Had this Osprey hit jointed cobb crankbait on Grindstone Cut hooks for a safe release
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Posts: 157
| Awesome photo. On Grindstone a few years back I watched an eagle grab a very nice smallmouth. The fish was to heavy for the eagle to take off so he paddled his way to shore using his wings. Wish I had had a video camera that day. |
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Posts: 431
| this guy got just a little too interested up on LOTW.
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| Cool story.
Related incident: Had a buddy retrieving a lure on Mille Lacs a few years back when he had a strike and hooked a big, black cormorant. That thing spooled him, busted off, and just kept going. Had a lure and 150 yards of line attached. Not a good outcome for anyone.
Brian |
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Location: Land of the Musky | Fine? You should have just yelled "Watch out Ned, its coming right for us!". Works on South Park 
Ouch! |
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Posts: 170
| Pretty cool stories and photos...never had one come down on me while fishing.
Big birds of prey..........A few years ago I was up in Alaska on a DIY moose hunt and was laying back glassing the next ridge over, when something out of the corner of my eye got my attention. It was a big shadow and closing in fast. I turned around and (what I think was a golden eagle) was bearing down on me with talons out and a freaking wing span that looked a mile wide. I rolled over in an instant and can still feel the wind from the huge wings flap past me.
One heck of a rush...whew, just remebering that gets me to this day. |
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| Tackle Industries - 8/19/2010 6:05 PM
Fine? You should have just yelled "Watch out Ned, its coming right for us!". Works on South Park
Ouch!  |
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Posts: 366
| I always forget about photos in the heat of the moment when cool stuff like that happens. I've never hooked a bird, but have had plenty of close encounters. I hooked a pretty massive snapper once. That was fun to get the hooks out of. One time I was running through the narrow channel between the Windigos and came around the corner and there was a huge bald eagle on top of an old frail scrawny pelican. The pelican didn’t look to healthy, but was very much alive. Two birds that size fighting for life and death on the surface of the water was something I’ll never forget. All I needed was Marty Stouffer in the background narrating the battle. The pelican didn’t persevere. All the time I was sitting there 25’, or so away, and never thought to get out the camera and take a picture. Oh well, I guess as long as I can remember it, then what does it matter.
Ryan
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Location: Yahara River Chain | I had a couple of sea gulls messing with my spooks in NY.
One year I was fishing a super spook for smallies and they started circling. One dropped down and I was able to get it out of its way, but not far enough. It reached out and was able to grab the back end. It started flying off with the lure in its beak and my cousin says "you are on your own". Luckily it was a spook I had use in Manitoba and was made barbless and dropped out.
A few years later (same lake) i had a blow up from what was most likely a pickerel and didn't see this juvenile sea gull swoop down. he got a hook in his webbing. I reeled him in and he wouldn't let me grab him, so I quickly grab the lure and yanked it out. That thing did a lot of squawking and all the other gulls in the area cleared out after that.
i never have any problems with the gulls around here. just those retarded NY ones.:)
Edited by muskie! nut 8/22/2010 6:16 AM
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