# pelicans are crazy



## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

My biggest catch yesterday was a pelican.... I was casting my topwater at some bait that was getting busted up when a pelican comes done and takes it. My drag started screaming and I had no idea what to do. I ended up reeling him in next to the yak and noticed he was hooked in the mouth and side of his body . I had to use some unorthodox methods to free him up( it probly didn't look good to the vehicles passing by on the bridge.)

Anyone got any legal tips on fishing.around these things.


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## tips n tails (Mar 2, 2011)

Yes I ll post pics later today of what usually takes place, they can be annoying as heck. any fish though?


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## dthomas142 (Jul 18, 2011)

I've read to cover the head and wait for them to calm down, then slowly and gently try and remove the hooks, and notify the fwc of any animal too wounded to release. I'm sure thats easier to read than to perform. Ive noticed a few of them taking a small interest in one of my subsurface rapalas, but havent taken the bait yet. Lucky me, because i have a hard enough time removing trebles from my net, mch less an angry pelican!:sweatdrop:


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

They may be crazy........but they sure are tasty!


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

Yea I had my first run in the other day on blackwater...thought he was gonna come in the boat after me. I raised the boat paddle at him to try and scare him and he didn't flinch... swung it in his direction and finally he decided to keep a little distance. PS didnt hurt the turd...


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## slayerextreme (Jan 10, 2012)

Chris V said:


> They may be crazy........but they sure are tasty!


yea, I heard that too...they say it sort of taste like bald eagles.....:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

He was released healthy enough to continue his harrasment . 
We did manage a couple trout ,1 flounder Some striper and a sheepshead


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## Duke S (Nov 26, 2011)

x1. cover the head/eyes, it will help with any bird




dthomas142 said:


> I've read to cover the head and wait for them to calm down, then slowly and gently try and remove the hooks, and notify the fwc of any animal too wounded to release. I'm sure thats easier to read than to perform. Ive noticed a few of them taking a small interest in one of my subsurface rapalas, but havent taken the bait yet. Lucky me, because i have a hard enough time removing trebles from my net, mch less an angry pelican!:sweatdrop:


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## wyld3man (Oct 4, 2011)

oxbeast1210 said:


> My biggest catch yesterday was a pelican.... I was casting my topwater at some bait that was getting busted up when a pelican comes done and takes it. My drag started screaming and I had no idea what to do. I ended up reeling him in next to the yak and noticed he was hooked in the mouth and side of his body . I had to use some unorthodox methods to free him up( it probly didn't look good to the vehicles passing by on the bridge.)
> 
> Anyone got any legal tips on fishing.around these things.


I do not have any legal tips but I have hooked into a bird or two in the past. I was trolling a silver spoon out of Destin Pass and heard my drag screaming. I was excited of course until I noticed my line was not going down but up. I hooked into some kind of sea bird (can not remember which kind) I reeled him in and persuaded him to give me back my spoon. I came close to hooking a Pelican with a Pin Fish. Trophy and I were fishing his hole by the Destin Bridge. I rigged up the bait and tossed it by a piling a couple of them were sitting on. The little bastard came down and snatched up my Pin Fish as it was starting to sink. I gave the pole a good jerk and ripped the fish out of his beak before he was hooked.


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## wyld3man (Oct 4, 2011)

While we are on the topic of birds that harass fisherman I have a particular bird that you need to watch out for, his name is Steve. He one of those Herons or something like that (the long legged birds). Steve lives down by Destin bridge and can be observed trying (sometimes successful) to steal bait out of bait buckets. I was throwing a cast net around catching a bunch of Cigar Minnows this past summer at the Destin Bridge and this is when I first saw him. I would dump my catch off in a big cooler and as I walked away he was using his beak to try and open my cooler. Steve is also a stalker, he will follow you while remaining about 20ft behind you. I would turn around and he would turn his head in the opposite direction as if to say "nothing to see here just minding my own business". I know its the same bird because he has a Pompano Jig stuck in his neck. I was fishing the grass by the Coast Guard station one day and had 2 rods with me. I set one down in a sand spike that had one of those Yozuri Crystal Shrimp on it. I walked away and looked back and there was Steve trying to eat my Yozuri off my pole.


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## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

Lmao


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## dthomas142 (Jul 18, 2011)

+1 LMAO, :laughing:, Great story on "Steve", cant get over his pompano jig necklace!


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## Buckyt (Oct 1, 2007)

Once you grab the pelican by the pecker, he's not hard to handle. I have caught several and they have all been released to fight again.


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## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

I was at pickens wed and had one eat a small stingray off my hook.thoose things are a menace and dangerous.your lucky his posey didnt show,


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## MillerTime (Jul 6, 2011)

That was pretty funny watching you catch that pelican. One of his friends would swoop down and land within 2 feet of my kayak and float on over to my side when I was getting the hook out of the trout I was catching. He would open up his mouth as if he thought I was just going to hand feed him lunch.

Here is a picture of the one striper I caught. The other one was bigger and apparently smarter as he used the fishfinder to cut me off on as I was reaching down to grab him.


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## BlackJeep (Jun 13, 2010)

Haven't caught a pelican yet, but I did manage a sparrow or swallow once flyfishing. He was all tangled up in my line, but it sat still perched on my finger and let me unwrap it. It was pretty cool.


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## Duke S (Nov 26, 2011)

I caught a bat once on a back cast, made me feel pretty good about my fly tying ability!


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## yakntat (May 12, 2011)

We had a pelican harassing us yesterday in Destin. After about 30 mins of swimming back and forth to Ginzu and me looking for food he left. He did make an aggressive attempt at my sardine but missed it. At the end of the day a dolphin stole my Red Snapper est. 25". He swam right by my yak with it in his mouth like he was bragging about it. LOL


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## grey ghost (Jul 24, 2011)

If offshore**** Chum that suka!!! LOL !! JK


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## osborne311 (Aug 1, 2011)

Bored of catching fish huh Ox? lol


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## bbarton13 (May 4, 2009)

Wirelessly posted (Iphone )

Crazy!! Ive hooked one before but broke off!


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