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Posts: 328
Location: MN | The strangest thing happened this weekend. I was throwing a top raider and saw what I thought was a muskie following, I went into a figure 8 with a top raider and could only see a shadow. After a few figure 8's, I brought the lure up and out of the water comes flying a loon trying to get my top raider.
It was the weirdest thing that has ever happened....I guess i I had it hooked, the only option would be to cut the line..
Has this ever happened to you? Or, have you ever caught a loon? |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | No, I've had a few loonies in my boat, though. Try getting RAZE and Sponge together and tell me how you can concentrate on casting, eh?
When we were up in Canada the cabin had Lunds with 9.9 motors. I was coming into the dock when a loon swoops down and belly-surfs across my wake. They don't call them loons for nothin! m |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Was is a Baby Loon TR??? Maybe she thought it was her baby! |
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Posts: 328
Location: MN | Black Firetail...Never thought though it could have been her baby??? |
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Location: Woodstock, IL | I've had them swim directly under the boat a couple of times, but never seen one go after a lure. |
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| At the NW Angle this year I had a loon that was obsessed with my TR, four casts in a row it kept chasing it. Funny thing is it was a tiny loon, pretty sure the TR would've won that battle. |
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| I have had a Bald Eagle come at my Topraider but never a Loon...Good thing the Figure 8 didn't work! 
Steve |
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Posts: 2
| I had this happen to me the other day as well. Very odd!
I was casting a 12" Reef Hawg, when I noticed something following it. It didn't look anything like a muskie though, and when I realized it was a loon I pulled the bait out of the water ASAP. The loon surfaced literally a foot from my boat, and wouldn't budge, no matter how much noise I made. Figuring the bird would be smart enough to realize that this wasn't dinner, I decided to cast again. As soon as the bait hit the water, the loon dove and went straight for it. Seeing this, I pulled the bait to the surface, and retrieved it as quickly as possible, with the loon following close behind. Looked like a big football following my bait. This went on for about 10 minutes, no joke.  My buddy started throwing his bait, and the silly bird would do the same thing.
I finally got frusterated, and moved on to a new spot.
I have no explanation as to why this loon was chasing the baits. Either it was protecting something, it was REALLY hungry, or this finally explains where they get their name.
HW
Edited by Hawg Wobbler 8/3/2004 2:59 PM
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| same thing happened to me around 2nd week of June on a VERY clear water lake.
loon came swimming in following a perch pattern weighted Burt. then it sees out 8" sucker dangling over the side and races right for it. it managed to grab the sucker and start to swim off with it, then dropped it, and grabbed it again. i was afraid to pull it out for fear of hooking it. once it let go the second time we pulled the sucker in real quick.
that loon circled the boat above/below water for about 15 minutes while we were taking pictures. makes it awful hard to cast... |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Last season I was tossing spinnerbaits and I too noticed some wierd swirling behind the bait....I tossed it back a second time and the same thing happened....this time when I brought the lure out of the water I heard a splash behind me on the other side of the boat...and as I turned I hear this God-Awful screaming.......Mr Muskrat was'nt too happy about me taking his play toy away....scared the poop out of me. That little guy stalked me for about 20 minutes...yelling and screaming. When i got back to my place, my neighbor lady came running over to the pier and asked what I was doing to our cat! |
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| Ive had Cormorants follow 10 inch hughes rivers under water twice in my life,,both times in the fall |
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Posts: 2378
| Last year I had a loon follow a Jackpot under water right up to the boat. She surfaced right by the boat, screamed at me a few times, and swam off.
What a mess that would have been! |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I've had them swim under the boat too, but never follow a bait yet. |
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Posts: 1294
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | I've had several follows by loons, thankfully no hookups. I love to cast where loons are feeding, so this is really not so surprising, but in darker water they sure get the heart beating when they show up right at boatside. Their speed underwater is amazing. |
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | I've had similar things happen with loon's on several occassions. I've had it more in late summer and fall with juvinial loons more than adults. I've actually pulled the trolling motor and changed spots several times to get away from them.
A buddy of mine actually had one hit his bait and get hooked when he was fishing up on the flowage a few years ago... I have a picture of it on my computer at home and it isn't pretty... They eventually got it off the hook but it required gloves, hook cutters and one of the guys got bit several times. |
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Posts: 113
Location: Shoreview, MN | I've had a loon follow a bucktail. Didn't think much of it at first, until the next cast when it clearly tried to eat the bait as it neared the boat. Since I had no desire to mess with unhooking a loon that would have for sure gone berzerk, I moved to a new spot. |
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| I had a Seagull dive and pick up a Salt Spook. I didn't try to pull it away for fear of hooking it. The bird dropped it from about 10" when (I suppose) it realized it was too hard to be food. Those Gulls...they know what plastic is cuz they pick up so much garbage! |
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| Some great stories, enjoyed reading them. I know this is a "muskie board" but have to tell you guys about the seals out here in Oregon on the Columbia River. Last spring my youngest son caught his first spring chinook salmon and foolishly we tied it to a heavy anchor line on side of the boat. A couple hours went by but when suddenly there was a "snap" and a tilting of the boat...looked over the edge and a seal had eaten the entire fish, ripped it head and all right off the rope! Gulp! My youngest felt really bad. We were actually quite fortunate as the day before that we twin 25 pounders tied to the rope all day and never lost them.
RM |
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Posts: 147
Location: WI - Land of small muskies and big jawbones | I have had Loons follow lures quite a few times over the years. They can scare the heck out of you at times. And sometimes its just nice to get a follow, of anykind. Never had one grab a bait yet though. Whats the minimum size?? Do you need a stamp? Does anyone make replicas? Some of them are very determined and keep coming after your baits over and over. A couple years ago my brother and I had one that just kept following over and over and it got so frustrating that we actually fired up the motor and headed to the other end of the very small lake to get away. Guess who showed up to join us just a few minutes later? Could not believe it. Now if we could just get the muskies to do this we would be in business! |
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Posts: 140
| When I was 13 years old I was fishing a trout lake outside of Anchorage, Alaska. I was casting a good old red/white DareDevil spoon. I saw a long dark shadow following my spoon and thought for a second that it was grand daddy Rainbow. As the lure and shadow got closer I could see that it was about a 2 foot Otter. I pulled the lure out of the water just in time. I also had a Great Blue Herrin fly off the shore and nail a Jackpot 3 times about a month ago. Just like muskies speeding up the bait get's them all wound up.
Thad
Edited by Thad 8/5/2004 6:09 AM
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Posts: 485
Location: On my favorite lake! | <p>I wonder if the loon was protecting its territory or it's young. Maybe it thought the top raider was another bird. The only birds I have had chase lures have been ducks and a hawk that we after a creeper. </p> |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | I have gotten my best loon action in the fall working Jerkos.
I can't believe I just posted that.
I also have had them chase so persistently that I had to move off of spots. I have never hooked one yet, and really don't relish the thought of doing so.
Edited by nwild 8/5/2004 8:52 AM
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Posts: 31
| My brother-in-law had one try and take a sucker in the fall. Not pretty!!! After numerous attempts to free it, he called the DNR. They told him to get as much line in as he could and just cut it and hope for the best. Needless to say if there is a loon anywhere near him now he will not fish.
Jason Malone |
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Posts: 52
Location: N.W. Ontario | This reminds me of a time I was casting a 8 inch jake and saw a long shadow following, so I quickly went into a figure eight, then realizing this was no fish I quickly pulled the lure out of the water as the shadow was within inches. After I pulled the lure up and away a huge otter pops out of the water and stares at me wondering what the heck?!? Whew! Thank god I didn't hook into it!!! |
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