Heron Injured with Spinner

[jschmidty]

While fishing on the Bow at the junction of 22x and the Bow I came across an injured Great Blue Heron. I snapped away plenty of great pics, surprised it wasn't afraid of me before I figured out something was wrong. I didn't see what was wrong until it flew away and came back. It had a Mepps type spinner wrapped in and around it's legs and it was bleeding. On my way home I called Fish Creek PP and left things up to them after that. I guess it's a good reminder to take good care of our lines and tackle while out fishing. It would be interesting to know if anyone else sees this Heron around. I've attached one photo, you should be able to see the spinner on the legs.http://schmidty.ca/heron.jpg

[jesse34567]

i feel sorry for such a beautiful bird

[Drano]

A real shame...

It is a real shame to see things like this happen, but it happens all the time
do to the fact that there is way to much garbage laying around. I don't just mean garbage either , things like a ball of string just removed from a fishing reel tossed into a bush or left on shore. That is the real shame we as the so called smart species do this without even thinking of the consequences.
When I drove charters for Greyhound we had a saying that we would tell people and I really believe that if we all followed it while out fishing or hunting it would be great.

We take only pictures and leave only foot prints....

Have a great day everyone

Drano...:wave:

[fishing_flower]

We were fishing the Chilliwack river this summer and I spent most of my time cleaning up all the line etc people had just thrown away. This was way up too, but I guess it gets a lot of people up there.

[slickinfinite]

This stuff angers me to, I always find myself cleaning up stuff other anglers have just left and it unlikely it was a snagged hook aand I'd bet it was left as trash. THis is something that should be a huge fine if a person is caught, and how hard is it to just clean up after yourself? I dont claim to be a saint but I've never left trash where I fish or any outdoor activity because we share the wilderness with beautiful creatures that deserve better then to be stuck with a hook!

[jeprli]

That Heron was caught by me, and it was a total accident. I love animals and I only do C&R fishing, I do not leave garbage and my friends get it from me if they do.

Here is what happened. Down the 130 ave in Douglasdale there is an access to the pathway along the bow river, if you head down that hill you'll find an excellent place to fish browns in the fall(early mornings just before rise, and late afternoons just after sunset). I was in the middle of that hole and on my right side was a fly fisherman. It was already getting pretty dark and i was looking at some deer who were trying to cross the river. A big brown rose to the surface and i made a cast towards it. Just before the spinner hit the water a big dark shade came from my right side, I put my rod tip down and reeled in as fast as i could to get the line down but the poor bird was already tangled. What can I say I was mortified, the bird was still in the air and fighting for it's life in a mad panic, it was screaming and freaking out and i just froze there like an idiot i couldn't beleive myself. I held it on the rod for couple of moments when i saw the spinner coming out of the water and going towards the bird as it was freaking out, i had no idea of what to do next so i cut the line of. The heron fell down into river and kept on freaking out, then it realized that there is no tension on the line and he flew away.
I was shaking from shock, i still couldn't beleive myself and what had happened just a minute ago. It's a panther martin spinner with a single barbless hook.

I hope that the bird is fine, I apologize to the mother nature and i promise i'll keep my eyes in the skies next time I'm out.

This is probably the worst way to join a forum, but at least I joined to admit what I have done, yes i am ashamed and you don't have to tell me that again.

[lilsundance]

accidents happen to us all. I saw a guy hook a Loon while trolling and it was a heck of a fight but he managed to get it to the boat before the line snapped. As far as we know the loon was ok after.
Welcome to the board.

[2430M]

I hope that the bird is fine, I apologize to the mother nature and i promise i'll keep my eyes in the skies next time I'm out.

This is probably the worst way to join a forum, but at least I joined to admit what I have done, yes i am ashamed and you don't have to tell me that again.

No need to be ashamed IMO. It sounds like an accident pure and simple. Same thing happened to me at the ocean. Caught myself a gull but i did have a chance to hold it down and get it untangled. I know the feeling you had, bird screaming, you can hear and feel your heart pounding. Too add to my experience it was mid day and the beach was busy :(

[Deano]

That Heron was caught by me, and it was a total accident. I love animals and I only do C&R fishing, I do not leave garbage and my friends get it from me if they do.

Here is what happened. Down the 130 ave in Douglasdale there is an access to the pathway along the bow river, if you head down that hill you'll find an excellent place to fish browns in the fall(early mornings just before rise, and late afternoons just after sunset). I was in the middle of that hole and on my right side was a fly fisherman. It was already getting pretty dark and i was looking at some deer who were trying to cross the river. A big brown rose to the surface and i made a cast towards it. Just before the spinner hit the water a big dark shade came from my right side, I put my rod tip down and reeled in as fast as i could to get the line down but the poor bird was already tangled. What can I say I was mortified, the bird was still in the air and fighting for it's life in a mad panic, it was screaming and freaking out and i just froze there like an idiot i couldn't beleive myself. I held it on the rod for couple of moments when i saw the spinner coming out of the water and going towards the bird as it was freaking out, i had no idea of what to do next so i cut the line of. The heron fell down into river and kept on freaking out, then it realized that there is no tension on the line and he flew away.
I was shaking from shock, i still couldn't beleive myself and what had happened just a minute ago. It's a panther martin spinner with a single barbless hook.

I hope that the bird is fine, I apologize to the mother nature and i promise i'll keep my eyes in the skies next time I'm out.

This is probably the worst way to join a forum, but at least I joined to admit what I have done, yes i am ashamed and you don't have to tell me that again.

That sounds like a very logical explanation to me. I think you did the best thing you could of done at the time of the incident. Only other thing you could of possibly done to make the situation any better would be call fish and wildlife and inform them of the incident. I am not sure if those birds are territorial, but the may have been able to help the bird in some way.
I can understand your bad feelings and concern, but I don't think you have anything to be ashamed of.

Deano

[jeprli]

Thanks for understanding, in no way was it intended on purpose.