[troutpocket]

I was out in the seven lakes area on Sunday working a small streamer around docks and stumps, hoping for a fat carry over 'bow but finding only yellow perch when I heard a major commotion behind me. I turned around to see an adult bald eagle swooping down on a family of mallards (mom, pop, and 6 little ones) kicking their way across the lake. Momma duck was quacking and flapping, pops was backing off in a hurry and the little ones diving when the big eagle came down for the kill. The eagle made 4-5 passes, each time aiming for the little guys but never connected. He eventually backed off and parked in a lake side tree while the ducks made their way across. The eagle came back and circled them as they exited the lake but didn't attack again.

This this all happened <100' from my raft. I've seen a lot of Discovery Channel Wild Animal Violence shows but wow, I was pretty worked up by the display. There were about 5 other guys out on the lake and several dock fisherman and nobody else seemed to notice. Anyway, just sharing . . .anyone else witnessed the wild food chain in action in highly populated areas?

 

[514]

On Sunday, at Lone lake, I was quietly fishing when I heard a loud splash. A hawk of some sort had dove into the lake in search of a meal. He struggled to get airborn which meant his soaking was not in vain, he had a trout in his clutches. Now, All you guys that fish this lake know about the huge bald eagle that lives there. He spotted this action, and got pissed. He quickly flew into action, he chased the hawk down. It was like two fighter jocks in a dog fight in the sky. round and round they went. I kept waiting for the eagle to launch some sidewinder missles like the eagle on the Fox news promo. It must of lasted for 10 minutes, a few of us just sat there and watched the action. Finally, the hawk dropped his fish, it looked like a JDam bomb as it hit the lake from high altitude. The eagle swooped down to capture his prize, but he aborted at the last minute and flew away, must of been all tuckered out after the long airborne display. It was very entertaining, several times I thought the eagle was going to grab the hawk in mid-air. Pretty cool, huh???....YT:smokin

 

[troutpocket]

YT - MikeD and I fished Lone a week ago and I caught a rainbow with a talon wound partially healed. Big 'ol puncture on one side and three scrapes on the other. Those triploids are tough . . .:eek

Rod

 

[chadk]

Sounds like we need to work on teaching those eagles and ospreys proper fish handling and C&R skills... :thumb

 

[Rob Blomquist]

I have been out many times to see Ospreys fishing in the lakes I am at. Several years ago at Fontal, I fished along side an Osprey for at least a half hour.

Currently 2 adult loons are on Lake Sammamish, and a pair of eagles are found fishing at Green Lake almost daily.

 

[Ricardo O.]

YT, them's os-preys...not hawks (jus' being nit-pickin')


Roper,

Good things come to those who wade...

 

[Rob Blomquist]

You probably watched an eagle try to bully the dinner from an osprey. The osprey dropped the fish to fight the eagle. The eagle passed on the fish, as the osprey would likely have beaten it up.

Ospreys are excellent fishers, and can easily take on a bald eagle. Ospreys make up for size with their aerial agility, and the bald eagle is basically defenseless against an attacker.

Rob

 

[514]

In my old age, my eye sight is failing. I was watching from a distance, I could of swore it was a red-tailed hawk, but hell, what do I know??? NO....really? I will make an eye doctor appointment soon......:+ YT:bawling

 

[pwoens]

Your right about them Ospreys....them are some bad a#$ birds!! And without a doubt they can out fish me any day x(.

I once got to see a big salmon fighting off a smaller salmon for the prize of the female salmon. That was fairly cool but the aerial dispaly im sure was incredible.

~Patrick ><>

 

[Teeg Stouffer]

I was in my float tube the other day and heard what sounded like a cannonball hit the water behind me. I thought it must have been a dog diving off a dock, and when it came again a few minutes later, I was even more sure that an owner was throwing something for his dog to chase. But on the third splash, this time closer, I turned around to see an osprey wheeling out of the lake with a fish in his talons - must have missed the first two times. I don't know why he was splashing in so noisily.

Then this weekend, I heard two kids cheering for something, sounded like they were watching a boxing match. Two little boys - maybe 6 and 8 - must have lived on the lake, because they were out there rowing around in a drift boat all by themselves - were cheering on an eagle, who ultimately got a trout as well. It was neater watching the two kids see this display than it was to see the display itself.

Teeg.

 

[YAKIMA]

the fun stuff is when you have a loon watch you play a fish, dive under you and wrestle you for your hooked fish. the fish goes nuts, your rod just about snaps in two, then as your screaming and cussing, he does what he has to do to get the fish from you and has dinner.

 

[Kaari White]

I have a girl vs. loon experience... Every summer fish in Central BC at some small high alpine lakes. On all of these lakes, there is a healthy population of loons.

Last summer, a loon start trailing my boat, maybe 40 yards out on the first morning I was out fishing. I thought it was SO cool to see a loon that close and took pictures, etc. Then, a trout hit and my attention was back to the real task at hand... I start reeling the 12" Kamloops in, and as I get it close to the boat, I see a large black and white flash dart upwards from below the fish!! The stupid loon was after my fish... The fish tried in vain to escape both my line and the loon. He ended up in the loons mouth, my fly still in the fishes mouth.... After a brief struggle, the fly came loose and the loon won.

Damn loon!

 

[YAKIMA]

I'M WITH YA... I'VE HAD THEM TRY AND TAKE FISH UP TO THREE POUNDS FROM ME. ITS ALSO FUN WHEN YOUR FISHING DRY TRAVELERS AND THE BRIDS COME DOWN AND SNATCH THEM OFF THE WATER. EVERY NOW AND THEN YOU DO HOOK ONE AND YOU FEEL LIKE GILLIGAN WHEN HE WAS FLYING THAT PIGEON... :+

 

[PeteM]

Here's an entertaining story about an eagle and a chinook salmon from Dennis D.'s site.

http://www.flyfishsteelhead.com/stories/eagles.htm

 

[Old Man]

I used to know it all---but now that I'm older I seem to forget it all.

I was gonna give a half ast report on where I was today but this got my attention. Was up at Gissburg ponds fishing and so was this bird. He saw what he wanted and just dropped out of the sky and landed with a splat. He did that about 3 times but I never seen him get anything. I would of said Hawk but I would of been wrong according to every one here. Does a osprey have a big or small head. The bird I saw had a small head but big wing span. Oh the fishing was good,I see that my luck is getting better. Killed them with a beadhead olive thin mint leech.

Jim

Edit: I don't really meant I killed them. What I meant was it was a killer of a fly.

 

[chadk]

Small head. The give away is the blackish coloring with white on the under side and white patches on the wings.

http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/hww-fap/hww-fap.cfm?ID_species=31&lang=e

 

[scottr]

I was steelheading on the Green a few years ago and watched an osprey dive bomb after a fish from about 300 feet up in the air into a riffle about three feet deep. It made a huge splash and I don't know how it managed to not break both it's legs.

 

[jbrodie]

Jim, I am glad you did well. You were up in my area again. You probably saw an osprey. There is a pair that we see every spring up here at Lake Loma. I don't know where they nest but we are always glad to see them return. I believe the Seahawk logo is based on the osprey, note the markings on the side of their heads. Jim.:beer2

 

[D3Smartie]

I have caught a bunch of grilse(atlantic salmon) with osprey marks on their backs.
Also a couple years ago out fishing the sound, a bald eagle was flying ahead of me in my boat and dropped something into the water. It was a western grebe.
I have also had eagles drop salmon into the water infront of me. I got a nice 5 pound fish last year when the eagle dropped it into the water which killed it but by the time it resurfaced he had left.

 

[BOBLAWLESS]

One time while fishing Oregon's Chetco River, I saw a very terrible dog fight, two big nasty curs going at it with everything they had. They were not my dogs so I just watched like everyone else. Finally, this rough looking customer comes up and socks his dog so hard in the ribs that dog actually rolled over a time or two. End of fight. The master went back to fishing with a "I told you to leave that damn dog alone!" Apparently this stink had been brewing for some time. Morale: don't buy male dogs, they have too much testosterone poisoning and too big of an agenda for me. A nice little sweetheart of a Labrador like my little girl is just what you need.:thumb
P.S. This little anecdote was not about pets; it was about wild animals attacking each other in nature.
Bob