Seagulls

[Jen]

Seeing as there are so many seagulls around when fishing, I am sure there are many stories about them grabbing lures or getting tangled in line.

 

What, if you have caught one, have you done?

[ccmtcanada]

Hasn't happened to me, but I'd cut the line. I'm sure the thing would spool you pretty quickly.

[Terry]

I have caught one

it picked up a topwater bait I was pulling

tried and tried but could not get the hooks out..well couldn't get a hold of the bird

so I ended up cutting the line

one hell of a fight

[Puckhead]

Shore lunch.

[nautifish]

One hit my line yesterday Jen luckliy he never got tangled up in it. But quite a few times i have been out fishing and have ended up with one tangled up in my line or some other fisherman had got one tangled up. So i usually help out, Last summer this guy had got a gull tangled up in his line i went to grab the bird he keeps telling me to watch out for the beak and they bite....lol I replied trust me seagulls do not intimadate me i have nine parrots at home. Biggest being a green winged macawd who has 250 psi per square inch of that beak....lol.......Now that beak i would not want to be bit from. lol

 

Try and keep there heads covered with a shirt or jacket while u are untangling them though as this will help them not to stress as much when they are not able to see what you are doing.

Edited April 2, 2007 by nautifish

[JFR]

Spit roasted with wild mushrooms, baby carrots and assaragus. mmmmmm good.

[misfish]

one hell of a fight

 

LOL I pay to watch that one.

 

Never had a seagull take a bait,I have hud fun with them,jerking a top water or ripp,n a sippiner bait just below the surface and watching them try to snatch it.

 

The only time I did catch a bird was fishing the stacks many years ago. We used salted minnows back then to catch brown trout.Loones and merganzers would dive down and take the bait,now theres a battle and a half.

[TennesseeGuy]

Ask Dave Winfield about gulls. He knows.

[MJL]

I never caught one...My dad got one on Rice lake...We were using Skitter pops and one decided to hover over the area. We didn't think he was going to take a motionless lure floating around garbage...We were wrong. To this day my dad says it's one of the greatest fights he's ever had on his rod.

[Guest mistyriver1]

Ask Dave Winfield about gulls. He knows.

 

Forgot about that one !! Good one TG !

[Andy]

My son caught one a couple years ago. There were gulls in the area we were fishing. It dove and latched onto a perch colored topwater just after it hit the water. My son just reeled it in across the water. It was caught on one of it's feet and in the beak. I put on a pair of rubber gloves and the hooks came out fine. I was surprised how little it weighed and how small it was under all the feathers. It flew off and never came close again that day. Andy

[xrap]

I've caught one. It hit my top water rap. I reeled it in without a fight i guess it was in so much pain it just didn't wana fly away. I took the hooks out of its mouth and it flew away. No way I'm cutting my line and letting a 13 dollar lure go to waste. Besides if i had cut the line it probally would of died because there was two trebles in its mouth.

[ccmtcanada]

Here's a video of someone catching a seagull from a boat....

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And one caught from a pier....

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[trapshooter]

My buddy caught a loon last year on a jig/minnow. Crazy thing about it was it dove to 25' to get his bait! Thought he had a bass that was heading to the surface to jump.... lol... nope, loon. Cut the line.

[irishfield]

Isn't that why they make us carry useless paddles in our boats? So you have something on board to beat the useless bugger to death with, so you can get your $10 Rapala back....

[fishindevil]

Yes wayne you got that one right....i had a big swan take a run at me while i was bass fishing and he did attack my boat.. ...and man was he ticked at me ...i guess i was near his nest or something he was flapping his wings circling my boat and hissing and squacking so loud,it scared the crap out of me...i thought he had rabis or something....i was about 12yrs old...so yes i am still traumatized by that and thats why i need pills to go to sleep at night...lol..lol

[Greencoachdog]

I've caught a couple Seagulls, a Duck, and 3 or 4 Pelicans, I've had people tell me "Watch out for the wings! They'll beat you to death, or they'll break your wrist!!!... it's a Chicken wing ok? I've also had people tell me to "Look out for the beak"!!!... but you can easily hold thier beaks closed.

 

I usually hold the bird between my knees while sitting and remove the hook(s), and once the bird realizes you're trying to help them they stay pretty calm. Once the hooks are out I return them to the water and they swim off pretty fast for about 5 or 10 feet then turn around and look at you... then they just kind of saunter away.

[Jen]

Well, as you know we all ask questions for a reason. Easton is going to kill me, however, I must post the pictures. I am still shaking my head...

 

He and I were out fishing today, as we have been doing often in the afternoon when we have a moment. We have not been fairing well in the fish category, but today was different. We were having a good day when a woman showed up and fed the birds, I had just commented to him that there were so many when he cast and the next thing you know he was telling me a seagull had his line wrapped around it. He gently pulled it in. (although we debated cutting the line and just letting it go, in the end reeling it in was the right choice.)

 

If I hadn't been so busy, crying from laughing so hard, being bitten by the poor bird, bleeding, telling Easton to hold its head, and unwinding the line from its little body, I would have taken more pics... one with the OFNCOMMUNITY.COM tag on it. He may have managed to get points for his team in the "other" category. ( that is a joke, just in case anyone wondered).

 

I am pretty sure they don't allow Birds Easton...

 

 

p.s. The bird was eventually untangled and flew off to enjoy another day and the people in their cars enjoyed a little lunchtime entertainment... at our expense I am sure.

Edited April 2, 2007 by Jen

[mepps]

Personally I let them go, they dont taste very good.

[pikehunter]

Caught one years ago on Couch. He took my bait and put up one hell of a good fight. I managed to get it close to the boat and cut the line with the hope that the hook would rust out.

 

But I have heard they are really tasty if barbecued and stuffed with cormorant!!!

[irishfield]

If he had of tagged one of those Mute Swans it would have been a different deal. Now there's something that you'd better know how to handle...and if you get into a Trumpeter swan (black beak)...don't be postin any pictures since they're a protected bird. Just ask the dork that repeatedly circled, swamped and broke one's wing this fall with his boat wake on Simcoe. He's probably had to get a 2nd mortgage on his house to pay the vet bills for that honey..... that's being rehabilitated at the Wye M a rsh.

Edited April 3, 2007 by irishfield

[taper]

I had one dive at my spoon running just below the surface 2 years ago, I seen him coming and tried to get it by him but caught his leg. As has been said one hell of a fight. Brought the bird to boat side and luckily removed the hook very easily. My wife was screaming and me and my son were laughing.

[ch312]

when i was younger i use to catch them on purpose not really a very good fight and its quite easy to get them to you. just watch it because they can peck hard enough to cause near instant bruises.

 

5-6 years ago when we went to newfoundland i caught a herring gull ( i think?) and their wingspan is at least twice that of a normal seagull around here but they just look like giant seagulls. now THAT was a fight and a half....

 

just reel them in and fold their wings to their natural "closed" position against their body. hold their body under an arm and use the hand on the same arm to hold its head. gotta hold them pretty firmly or they will wiggle loose. then just remove the hooks and toss it in the air and watch it fly away.

[Kirk]

About 15 years ago I was casting a rapala from shore and a sea gull grabbed it in mid flight, so I start reeling it in...not losing my rapala and the bird would die for sure with a rapala and 40 feet of mono.

 

It was in a small town canal area, the first person to come up to me was some old lady squaking about how I was a mean dude for messing with the sea gull, the second was a CO who says to me, while I'm still reeling in the bird, 'you'd better not hurt that bird ...I better see it fly off healthy...bla bla bla and stands by to watch (no help offered while I bring the bird to hand), wrestle with it CAREFULLY, get my hands covered in bird doo and untangle and unhook and release the bird to fly off and join the million others circling around.

 

I gave the old hag and the co a glare cleaned up and continued fishing...both walked away without thanking me for taking good care of the rat with feathers LOL

[ccmtcanada]

I gave the old hag and the co a glare cleaned up and continued fishing...both walked away without thanking me for taking good care of the rat with feathers LOL

 

Rat with feathers...thats a good one!!!