My son and I were running up Coldwater Creek at a pretty good pace to go run lines and we rounded a bend and caught a couple of gadwals sitting on the water. They started running on water to take off. Two of them got into the air the third one was just about to clear the water when all of a sudden he disappeared. Like David Copperfield said hocus pocus. Never seen anything breech the water like a bass would, I would think. Only thing that whatever it was could've grabbed a hold of was a foot. We still don't know what it was. Maybe a bass, catfish, gar or gator. Idk But both of us saw the same thing. A bird vanish into thin air.
My old man was fighting in a nice bluefish from the surf when an Osprey (they are huge up close) dove down and grabbed the fish across the back. What followed was a mid-air tug of war, man vs. bird of prey. Man was victor claiming the prize of fish bearing deep talon wounds. Interesting to watch lol
On a clear cool day 25 years ago in Alabama on Smith Lake my fishing buddy and I spotted a pair of Bald Eagles flying toward us. Only 25 or 30 feet off the water they were chirping and playing with each other. As they flew directly above us we were struck with what awesome a sight we had just witnessed. A minute or so later a white feather slowly floated down in front of my face. I stuck out my hand and caught it. Still have it to this day. I have often wondered if this experience would have been "Big Medicine" among our Native Americans. It was a honor for me whatever the meaning. I have the feather framed.
today was special. I witnessed pelicans working together to hunt schools of shad. At first a single or pair would be scouring the shallows and pushing schools toward the shore. Then a 3rd, 4th, and 5th would join. They would use a series of synchronized maneuvers before lunging upward and then hard downward filling their gullets with fish. Seriously good fish finders!
So, a few years ago, my son and I were fishing on L Vermilion in MN. We were at the entrance to a small bay with a reef in front of it. One rock on the reef was slightly out of the water. We looked up and saw an eagle come around the point and dive to the surface, probably for a fish. Well, it misjudged the distance and landed in the water, which was about 6' deep. It was equidistant from the point and the exposed rock, about 100' or so. It just sat there on the surface. Then it looked each direction several times. Both toward the rock and the point. Then it turned toward the rock, spread its wings and began doing a butterfly stroke toward the rock. We couldn't believe it. The thing was propelling itself with its wings! It got to the rock, climbed up on it, shook a few times to dry off and then took off. It was like it had happened to this eagle before. Nature is amazing! Too many of us don't spend enough time looking around while on the water. It's not all about the fishing. Enjoy and learn from the whole experience.
This summer at Reservoir Lake in Montana, an eagle swooped down at the brook trout on my stringer (attached to my float tube). He pulled up about ten feet above the fish. I would not have wanted his talons or beak near my tube.
As to strange, weird, odd, or just plain creepy, this is a picture of Rock Island in Clark Canyon Reservoir in Montana. I took it just before sunset. Didn't notice the faces until after I took the pic.