anyone hooked a pelican lately?

[roobs]

i just cut a three inch pumpkinseed minnow out of a really big pelican. anyone lost one lately? it would have been in the brett's wharf area. please be careful of these birds- they're used to humans and will not fly away if you approach them. they will dive on your bait or lure and try and eat it- they're protected and may not be harrassed so it's best to just move on- after all, pelicans have been fishing long before we were here- i think they might have native title lol

[viperon1982]

I didn't manage to hook such a big bird, but I did \"catch\" a smaller one, not sure what you guys call it, but I think it's a cormorant? It's on of those long-necked black/white fellas who dive underwater to steal our baits.

This was at Shorncliffe Pier. Well one of it stole my bait and was swimming happily away with it, I thought I caught a HUGE stingray but when I saw the bird flapping in unison when I started reeling my line in, I knew it was hooked.

So I wasn't about to lose my hook/line/sinker and I didn't want the bird to swim or fly around with a hook around its neck, so I reeled it in slowly towards the pier. A kind lady helped pick the bird up for me to unhook. Thank god it was more or less superficial. So off the hook came from its neck and away it went, diving straight into the water and surfacing 50m away. Hope our birds learnt their lessons!

[roobs]

probably a little pied cormorant. a shame our birdy friends like fish so much.

[James W]

good work viper..it happens all the time hey...i have even seen a dolphin been hooked off woody point....sad stuff..it was a baby too.....discarded fishing line is the major problem for our sea birds..and braid is even worse...cuts in real deep:( ...but as long as we do all we can do to cleanup after our selves and keeping an eye on ouor baits.....but accidents happen too:unsure:

[viperon1982]

jimmybob wrote:

good work viper..it happens all the time hey...i have even seen a dolphin been hooked off woody point....sad stuff..it was a baby too.....discarded fishing line is the major problem for our sea birds..and braid is even worse...cuts in real deep:( ...but as long as we do all we can do to cleanup after our selves and keeping an eye on ouor baits.....but accidents happen too:unsure:

Thanks jimmy! It's good karma! hehe.

Yeah I hate gonzos who leave their fishing stuff all over the place when they're gone. Hooks, lines, sinkers.. etc.. Either someone's gonna get tetanus from rusty hooks or some animal's gonna get caught in the line. I do my best to clean up, even making sure that the short lines that we clip off after knotting get thrown in the bin.

Seen one of them cormorants hanging around the Pier with fishing lines around it. Back home in singapore, I've seen birds and fishes dead or coated in oil coz of oil spills, most due to negligence. Really hate to see it.. :evil:

[blue_mako]

roobs wrote:

i just cut a three inch pumpkinseed minnow out of a really big pelican. anyone lost one lately? it would have been in the brett's wharf area. please be careful of these birds- they're used to humans and will not fly away if you approach them. they will dive on your bait or lure and try and eat it- they're protected and may not be harrassed so it's best to just move on- after all, pelicans have been fishing long before we were here- i think they might have native title lol

Some how I just don't think people would purposely want to catch a Pelican :S . It was obviously an accident.

Troy

[Jordan]

haha karma to you roobs for wrestling a pelican, its something i wouldnt dare do, at the same time though, as troy said, id doubt anyone would purposley target a pelican...

[Do$tylz]

A couple or years ago, in the middle of winter my brother, a couple of mates and I had gone for a fish at Wynnum, near that boat ramp at the mouth of that little creek.

We were fishing about 10m or so away from a group of pelicans. My brother cast his line into the water and right at the point of releasing his line as he was casting, all the pelicans decided to take off. One flew under his line as it was taking off, while the line was falling into the water and got caught in it. The pelican fell to the water and then just took off like a bat outta hell, skipping across the water, taking heaps of line. So in a rush and panic we cut the line. The pelican ended up paddling off slowly after we cut the line. It was strugling heaps to free itself.

Heres the fun part. Keep in mind this is mid winter. My friend (a girl) strips her jumper and shirt off and slides into the water . She swims about 30m to the pelican, grabs it and gets all the line and hook off it. And swam her way back. Absolutely insane. There are heaps of stone fish around that area and she knows it too.

Yep, man up to her. Coz I admit i was stumped as to what to do to help the pelican. I would never have considered swimming after it. A bit crazy, a bit silly but saved the pelicans life.

Goes to show birds are crazy.

[viperon1982]

Do$tylz wrote:

A couple or years ago, in the middle of winter my brother, a couple of mates and I had gone for a fish at Wynnum, near that boat ramp at the mouth of that little creek.

We were fishing about 10m or so away from a group of pelicans. My brother cast his line into the water and right at the point of releasing his line as he was casting, all the pelicans decided to take off. One flew under his line as it was taking off, while the line was falling into the water and got caught in it. The pelican fell to the water and then just took off like a bat outta hell, skipping across the water, taking heaps of line. So in a rush and panic we cut the line. The pelican ended up paddling off slowly after we cut the line. It was strugling heaps to free itself.

Heres the fun part. Keep in mind this is mid winter. My friend (a girl) strips her jumper and shirt off and slides into the water . She swims about 30m to the pelican, grabs it and gets all the line and hook off it. And swam her way back. Absolutely insane. There are heaps of stone fish around that area and she knows it too.

Yep, man up to her. Coz I admit i was stumped as to what to do to help the pelican. I would never have considered swimming after it. A bit crazy, a bit silly but saved the pelicans life.

Goes to show birds are crazy.

RESPECT to her bro! She deserves a medal of honor of sorts! One-up for the girls this time round!

[buzzid]

hey guys,

a month or so ago i was on the bay drifting pillies around one of the beacons when one of those above mentioned bait thieving birds took my pillie after a 15 metre cast and a roaring current took about 50 or 60 metres of line. he took off into the air, i gave a short, lightish nudge just to check that he wasn't hooked but no joy. he was hooked and flying in circles around the boat, wrapping braid around 6 rods in the rocket launcher, 2 outriggers, 2 radio antennae and a very big beacon. so what does one do here? both myself and my pal had nothing, planless. while we were scratching our heads the bird ran out of line up near the rods. he was hooked thru a fleshy peice of his inner mouth so after a quick bit of surgery he flew to the top of the beacon where all his mates were having a bit of a giggle. about an hour later he came for a visit, standing on the outboard for 15 minutes waiting for a free pillie i'd suspect. not gunna happen birdie.

spot ya...jamie

[Mack_attack]

hey i might be missing something here but roobs was the pelican alive or dead. in any case i agree with what all you guys are saying.

[Crusty]

Hey Do$tylz, know it's a few days late, but only just read this about your friend. What a great girl, seriously! Is she cute?! i think if i ever saw a girl with such a great soul, I'd be proposing straight away mate ! It would take a much better person than me to go swimming after a pelican in that creek during July!!

[Do$tylz]

Crusty wrote:

Hey Do$tylz, know it's a few days late, but only just read this about your friend. What a great girl, seriously! Is she cute?! i think if i ever saw a girl with such a great soul, I'd be proposing straight away mate ! It would take a much better person than me to go swimming after a pelican in that creek during July!!

hahaha. Man she is one of my best mates. Unfortuantely she has a b/f.

But yeah she is absolute tops. A real blokes girl as well so makes her awesome to hang out with. I certainly bow down to that. I would not have done what she did.

[roobs]

the pelican was alive and very angry. i know that no one would hook them on purpose. i doubt anyone would be that cruel.

[roobs]

oops double post

Post edited by: roobs, at: 2007/05/29 20:48

[Big_unit]

Never hooked a pelican or shag but I have accidentally hooked a Sea Eagle whilst GT popping up the top of Fraser Island.

Chucking 200mm poppers around 40 or 50 metres across the flats and giving them all hell for a retrieve. Using a TSS4 & a Live Fibre rod and absolutely making these lures go nutso, well this big white bellied Sea Eagle swoops down at a million miles an hour and grabs my popper and takes off fairly slowly with my $45 popper firmly grasped in its talons. This big fella was peeling line off like nothing, so I tightened the drag up and gave a half hearted yank which only resulted in the bird giving an extra flap of its wings. Next attempt was fairly hard and a lot more subtle, this resulted the Eagle actually going slightly backwards in mid air before he let go and circled over head for a few minutes.

Cheers

James