04-01-2022, 11:07 PM
An epic battle...the old man and the bird. Used to have a lot of problems with grebes when fishing the mouth of the Jordan River in the spring. The walleyes came in for the small fishy food items floating by on the way downstream and so did the grebes. More than a few of those red-eyed monsters chomped our jigs and had to be brought in for a release. They are vicious...going for the eyes.
During the times I worked as a deckhand on So. Cal fishing boats the gulls would often be a real pain. When we were "fly-lining" live anchovies for yellowtail, bonito or barracuda the gulls would often beat the fish to the chovy...and the fight was on. They are nasty too. One method we had of a temporary solution was to bring in one of the gulls and tie a partially inflated pink balloon to one of its legs. As it flew off, all the other birds thought the ballooned one was flying away with something good to eat...and they would follow. Usually worked for at least a short while.
The absolute worst were the sea lions. They would be attracted by the sound of the boat engines shutting down for a drift and swim in to await dinner being served. It was often difficult to bring in any fish you hooked without having to do battle with something much larger...and that much larger creature usually got away with your fish and your rig. But if you just wanted to bend your stick on something big, they would play the game with you. There were days when a whole group of those nasty suckers would follow the boat around wherever it moved and you would not have a good day.
During the times I worked as a deckhand on So. Cal fishing boats the gulls would often be a real pain. When we were "fly-lining" live anchovies for yellowtail, bonito or barracuda the gulls would often beat the fish to the chovy...and the fight was on. They are nasty too. One method we had of a temporary solution was to bring in one of the gulls and tie a partially inflated pink balloon to one of its legs. As it flew off, all the other birds thought the ballooned one was flying away with something good to eat...and they would follow. Usually worked for at least a short while.
The absolute worst were the sea lions. They would be attracted by the sound of the boat engines shutting down for a drift and swim in to await dinner being served. It was often difficult to bring in any fish you hooked without having to do battle with something much larger...and that much larger creature usually got away with your fish and your rig. But if you just wanted to bend your stick on something big, they would play the game with you. There were days when a whole group of those nasty suckers would follow the boat around wherever it moved and you would not have a good day.