Fishing story

[navanafti]

I figured y'all might like this.

I was out fishing at Alton Baker today, and there's an osprey who fishes the same hole as I do regularly. I've dubbed him Tim for no other reason than it seemed fitting. Well I'd been having better luck today than Tim. I'd caught two, while he's made two attempts, but come out with nothing but water in his talons.

I hooked a third fish, this one was rather large in comparison to my first two catches, and when I'd gotten it about 5' from the shore, my line snapped.

About two seconds later, I see Tim diving into the water right where my fish got away, and I watch as he pulls it out of the water and flies away.

I'm not even mad. I just hope that Tim doesn't swallow the hook and 12" of fishing line attached to it.

 

[troutdude]

Well, that's one way to "catch and release". :yikes:

 

[igquick]

Score for Tiny Tim

 

[DrTheopolis]

About a month ago, I went with a friend (obviously, since I don't hang out at boat ramps hitting up strangers for open seats, since that would be creepy and stuff) on the C out of Chinook Landing. On the Washington side, there a couple families of osprey. Dang birds seem to really have the fishing drill down, except their stomach is bigger than their wings -- several times, we saw them scope their target, make a wicked dive beneath the surface, and grab the fish which was obviously much too heavy for them to carry... but they'd make a noble effort before they'd drop it and move on to the next target.

I found it amusing. You see some crazy stuff on the Columbia (rivaled only by the ocean, where anything can happen).

 

[navanafti]

Update on Tim: seems to be doing well today.

 

[troutdude]

Hey Navanafti; are you baggin' any this morning?

 

[navanafti]

Just one so far. Had a couple nibbles, aside from that, though. I don't usually catch many, as I've still got a lot to learn.

 

[troutdude]

Well that's better than skunksville!

What are you using? Bait? Lures?

 

[navanafti]

Power eggs. I hit my limit today after the stocking truck came by.

 

[dalehalsey]

me to navanafti thanks for the ride this morning to the canal, had a blast once it kicked off, and nice to meet ya and the other people, my boy is gonna come with me he changed his mind after he saw the fish and tasted them. so here is a picture of the fish before being cooked. and i caught a salamander, cool lil guy.

 

[troutdude]

Looks like you both did well. Right on!

BTW, IDK that water dogs like Power Eggs! :lol:

 

[dalehalsey]

Water dogs? the salamander.. caught him with my hand .... not the pole. still a good day . bring on tomorrow.

 

[troutdude]

Yes; we call salamanders water dogs.

 

[radiation]

Just wait until you hear one bark!:thumb:

 

[Modest_Man]

They're rough skinned newts, kin to salamanders. Wash your hands after handling them - they produce a pretty nasty toxin that can be fatal when ingested.

 

[troutdude]

Just wait until you hear one bark!:thumb:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:worthy: :worthy: :worthy:

 

[troutdude]

They're rough skinned newts, kin to salamanders. Wash your hands after handling them - they produce a pretty nasty toxin that can be fatal when ingested.

I've handled dozens of water dogs, over the decades. Never made me--or anyone else I saw handle them--sick. But, it never hurts to err on the side of caution; and scrub your paws as suggested. Here's what Wikipedia says:

"Toxicity
Many newts produce toxins from skin glands as a defense against predation, but the toxins of the genus Taricha are particularly potent. Toxicity is generally experienced only if the newt is ingested, although some individuals have been reported to experience skin irritation after dermal contact, particularly if the eyes are touched after handling the animal without washing hands. On a dare, a 29-year-old man in Oregon swallowed a 20-cm rough-skinned newt and died in July 1979.[6]

Toxin
The newt's toxin is a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, which in this species was formerly called "tarichatoxin". It is the same toxin found in pufferfish and a number of other marine animals. This toxin binds reversibly to sodium channels in nerve cells and interferes with the normal flow of sodium ions in and out of the cell. This has the effect of inducing paralysis and death."

P.S. That dude from our state, should've tried a far different form of sushi! What a way to go. NOT.

Now back to fishing...

 

[sapo]

I have a story about an osprey too, I was at Commonwealth teaching a friend to fish and we caught a nice 15" trout. Swallowed the hook, so we put him on a stringer. We were fishing from the dock and could put the stringer in the water from there so put the stringer on the bank about 50 feet away from us. Forgot to attach it to something on the ground, and the osprey there (who had already eaten 3 fish) flew over and grabbed the whole stringer. Lol it was funny, luckily the osprey didn't swallow the stringer.