The birds and the flies

[giantsjim]

A funny thing happened to me the other evening on the Tully. I was fishing a caddis dry and just before it hit the water a bird came from across the stream and was about to take it. To see it put the flaps down, stop in mid air, then fly off made me laugh. I have heard guys hooking bats but has a bird ever taken your fly?

 

[tomgamber]

I have had many birds take flies...if you don;t strike they drop them immediately or refuse them a the last minute as yours did. My dad hooked one on a a back cast once. If you've got bugs, you're gonna have birds.

 

[JackM]

I had a hatch in my backyard yesterday. Don't know what they were, looked like stoneflies with four wings folded flat over the back. These were hatching from the lawn near the woods, streaming off the grass and rising over the rooftop. Within about 5 minutes I had a dozen Martins swarming above my house having a gustatory festival.

 

[Acristickid]

Speaking of birds...

Was fishing last week and was sitting on a log along the bank waiting for the sulphers to make an appearance when I noticed this bird. Most of my time was spend looking intently at the water for ghost rises but this one bird caught my eye.

This bird was bulldogging! What is bulldogging? I am not sure I just made the term up but it seems what this bird was doing.

The bird was flying into the smaller branches drawing/knocking out all of the resting insects into the surroundings and this bird just fluttered about catching many of them. Just flying into the branches I tell ya- I am not sure why I have never seen this type of behavior before or at least that I can recall.

Of course; I have seen the birds walking the branches picking off bugs. Also have noticed the birds flying high above the trees and along the banks but never the bulldogging.

I think of myself as fairly observant as far as the outdoors but just never seen that. How about that?

Sitting on that log I remember saying to myself "Damn, that bird is really smart." Just one of those things that struck me as odd. (or this was a sign that the fishing totally sucked that I got so enenamored by stupid bird)

 

[Chaz]

Jack, they sound like termites.

 

[JackM]

Chaz wrote:
Jack, they sound like termites.

Good call, Chaz. Should I be worried? They were probably only 20 yards or so from my house.

 

[gardnie07]

Neat observation. Something similar: Swallows will fly low to the water (as I'm sure most anyone has seen) and scare up flies from near the surface. Other swallows then follow that bird, picking off the flushed out insects. I guess you could call that 'bulldoggin' I've never heard of them shaking bushes for bugs, though. Your bird could've been a number of things: a Vireo, Flycatcher, Phoebe, Pewee, Warbler, Waterthrush . . .

 

[FiveWeight]

A few years ago I was fishing Pine Creek right at Cedar Run and just shy of dark I hooked a bird that swooped down on my sulfur. I tried to pull it away and as it skittered across the water it swooped again and next thing I know my line was head'n up rather than down. It was never hooked just tangled and after a slight tussel with the bird it flew free. The first time I hooked a bird was on a lake in New Hampshire. I was fishing a buck tail plug across lilly pads in a small cove one night and there was a big splash, I set the hook and something just wasn't right. My line was head'n for the tree line.... I had hooked an owl! Well I got it the boat (12' flat bottom row boat with small motor) and the screaming, cursing, flopping around(all me) started. At this point lights started coming on in some of the cabins in the cove and people asking if I was alright. I'm not sure what ever happened to my lure. I just kept cutting line till the big flopping bird flew off. The last I saw of my flashlight is was head'n for the bottom still burn'n bright. I was pretty scratched up but nothing too bad. I did get the flashlight back the next day, it was down about 12 or 15 feet. Not burn'n so bright.... Funny how at the age of 15 I thought nothing about jumping over board to get a flashlight.... At 48, I'll go buy another one.

 

[volcanomil]

When fishing at night/dusk on Penns Creek - I have seen a bat dive bomb and catch a fly in the air that was being cast. It was a mayfly - there is even a picture of a little brown bat hanging with a mayfly in its mouth, not my picture - but I was there.

 

[pcray1231]

I caught a bat once on the Allegheny, with spinning gear, while night fishin. Must of swooped and tried to eat my line during a cast, as I was fishing a big plug. As I reel in, I saw something on my line and figured it was a leaf or something (dark, remember?). I was in for a surprise when I grabbed it, a wet and angry bat entangled in my line..

I also had a good tug of war with a seagull while crabbing in the outer banks area, but I'm sure thats common.

But yeah, birds are pretty smart. I remember the video's a while back of the one bird who decided to go fishing....

 

[osprey]

Keep an eye on the birds , they can let you in on things you might not have otherwise noticed , on the upper raystown branch (above Bedford) we get a pretty good hatch of what we call cahills , they don't come off in clouds , sparse , but the hatch can go on for weeks , i don't know what type of bird it is but you will see them fly accross grab one out of the air , fly to a branch and eat it and then back accross when another one comes along , back and forth till they get their fill usually using the same perch on both sides of the stream , got to the point that when i see this i know it's cahill time again , pretty cool to watch.

 

[pete41]

Never had birds cause a problem fly fishing but they are a constant nuisance in salt water inshore fishing-they will hover around and dive bomb lures-hooked several-interesting debate with self-bring a pelican in to try and save a $6 lure or say the hell with it.

 

[mikeman27]

I caught a bird once while fishing. I hooked a swallow on my backcast. Interesting feeling to have your line jump to life on your backcast when you know there are not obstacles behind you. Luckily it didn't do much damage to the bird. It was hooked just above the foot and the fly came out pretty easily (barbless hook saves the day).