BajaNomad

Fishing and Non-Target Species?

RnR - 9-1-2010 at 02:00 PM

I was out kayak fishing one day last spring. I was trolling a small Rapala behind the kayak and heard a big splash and felt a big hit. I grabbed the rod, turned around, and I had a ..... pelican!

Interestingly, after the first few moments of frantic flapping, the big bird settled down and floated calmly at the end of the line. I gently pulled the line in by hand until the pelican was within a few feet of the kayak. I could see that the Rapala was caught by a single hook at the end of the lure. Not quite sure what to do next, we both floated there peacefully looking at each other.

Then it got very interesting. The pelican drifted over until it was about six inches from the kayak. The bird looked at me with that great big eye and just floated there. I thought to myself, "Let's see what happens". I took my needlenose pliers, reached out, and gently backed the hook out of his bill. In actuality, he was very lightly hooked and the initial struggle had opened up a 1/4" tear in the skin at the edge of the bill making it quite easy. Once free, he floated there looking at me (with that big eye), slowly drifted away, and eventually took off.

Not sure what was going through his mind but mine was saying, "Did that really just happen???"

Anyway, thought it might be interesting to list other non-target species. Mine include:

1. A few gulls.
2. A pond turtle snagged while bass fishing.
3. A human snagged while fly fishing for trout. (By my right earlobe)
4. And perhaps the most interesting, a 42 lb pargo (dog snapper) while casting to a school of surface feeding roosterfish. That was a surprise!

What else?? There must be some good ones.

Cardon Man - 9-1-2010 at 03:10 PM

Pelicans are pretty easy to deal with. Just make a quick grab for the beak and hold on. They don't have much strength to open their mouths if you have hold of them.

Re:pargo....that's a general term as far as I've known it. Any snapper is reffered to as pargo. But you can clarify which kind...pargo colorado, pargo amarillo, pargo mulato, etc and so forth. A dog tooth is pargo colmilludo...because of the teeth.

maspacifico - 9-1-2010 at 03:41 PM

Flying fish! I got a couple 1 1/2 foot models off Redondo.....we were catching bonito with light spinning gear. They flew!

msteve1014 - 9-1-2010 at 04:35 PM

We, (my son) hooked an osprey on a floating rapala in the esteros of Mag bay.It had the lure in it's talon, and was making a real fuss. I was not going to get anywhere near to it as he brought it in close to the boat. We cut the line close and watched the bird land in a mangrove to extract it himself. My son still does not like to troll around where the birds are diving on bait.:lol:

mulegemichael - 9-1-2010 at 06:34 PM

i, we, have all caught many, many marine mammals while persuing our favorite passion...did i spell persue wrong?...it's got a red line under it..damn...so.....many, many seals/sea lions over the years...many, many pelicans on the east cape...caught a bat once while fly fishing my native stream in oregon at dusk...kind of a shocker; bigger than a cutthroat..have driven a hook through my right earlobe 3 times; twice barbed, once barbless...caught our irish setter many many moons ago on a dangling dungeness stinger...didn't even need scent...have almost strung both kids up in the car inummerable times...one time when fishing with my boy in the potholes region of central washington, after attempting to "bond" with my college aged teenager, i awoke one night, in a tent, with my baseball cap still on,and the ever present rapala imbedded in the bill of said hat, also imbedded into the thick, meaty portion of my left thumb, my hair, my sleeping bag, and of course, the hat....i awoke with a start!...something hurts!!!...all of the above...after carving off a nice neat corner of the sleeping bag, i was able to get outside, and carve off a nice chunk of my hair...after that it was easy!...the hat was light and just before daylight i asked jake to hold my hand while i snapped the rapala out of my thumb...i believe we were fishing as the sun rose

bkbend - 9-2-2010 at 10:22 AM

Been there, done that (the pelican thing from a kayak). It flopped down on the rapala and hooked in the armpit area under the wing. It allowed my son and I to sandwich it between two kayaks and while he corralled the beak I was able to remove the hook, more matted into feathers than flesh. Once freed he flew off to the nearest rock and was, hopefully, a little more careful about what he tries to eat.

maspacifico - 9-2-2010 at 10:43 AM

I am an expert on catching pelicans. They love to fly into your line as it falls into the water after the cast. I'm afraid my extraction technique has gotten a little rougher since one snagged the line with it's wing and yanked a treble hook into my thumb next to the nail. If I'm on the kayak and I'm not too far out I paddle to shore now to deal with them.

BillP - 9-2-2010 at 10:57 AM

A little trick when dealing with birds, pelicans especially. Get the bird close and just throw a towel or rag over the birds head. This usually calms the bird down and makes it easier to grab the head or neck. It's much harder for the bird to bite you if it cant see you.

Your mileage may vary

Cardon Man - 9-2-2010 at 04:00 PM

I recently saw a pelican with a plastic zip tie around it's beak, effectively killing it slowly. Pelicans can a be a hassle for boaters and fishermen but I can't comprehend that level of cruelty.

maspacifico - 9-2-2010 at 05:31 PM

A different reality for sure. I think about that every time I pick up a bunch of beer bottles and junk on the beach.

Osprey fishing

wsdunc - 9-3-2010 at 09:02 AM

I also caught an osprey. The lure was in its talons, we pulled him into the boat and threw a shirt over his head, that quieted him down enough that I could remove the lure. Ospreys have a gnarly set of talons.
I have also caught and released a few pelicans, but they are child's play compared to the osprey.

bkbend - 9-3-2010 at 09:09 AM

Not sure I'd be brave enough to work on an osprey, I've watched them argue with larger bald eagles and they don't back down.

Santiago - 9-3-2010 at 10:56 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BillP
A little trick when dealing with birds, pelicans especially. Get the bird close and just throw a towel or rag over the birds head. This usually calms the bird down and makes it easier to grab the head or neck. It's much harder for the bird to bite you if it cant see you.


this technique worked on a blue footed boobie in BOLA.

BillP - 9-3-2010 at 03:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by fishabductor
Quote:
Originally posted by Santiago
Quote:
Originally posted by BillP
A little trick when dealing with birds, pelicans especially. Get the bird close and just throw a towel or rag over the birds head. This usually calms the bird down and makes it easier to grab the head or neck. It's much harder for the bird to bite you if it cant see you.


this technique worked on a blue footed boobie in BOLA.



Anyone ever try this technique with women?
Probably effective for Rodney Dangerfield syndrome: "Last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it!" ;)