I came up to a tma that I have been fishing the last month or so.
I was greeted by the blue heron that I see every visit. Normally, I
come across it in different sections of the river. The last three
outings that bird has been stationed at one of the dep trout dumps.
As I approached the trout dump, the heron hopped into view onto
the opposite bank. It probably heard the clatter of my footsteps.
That heron froze like a statue…as if were a fellow angler busted
fishing his/her secret fishing spot.
What it failed to consider, was the 12" angry trout in it’s beak was
not going to participate in this ridiculous attempt at camouflage. I
stood and watched as the trout hammered at the head of the heron.
The heron had the brown pinched in its beak at the trout’s mid
section. First the fish would smack the heron’s left eye with its tail,
then head butt its right eye. An audible tempo…of “Slap!!,
Thump…, Slap!!!, Thump…” went on for about 10 seconds. All I
could do was smile and watch.
Finally, The heron realized that it was not invisible and flew off with
the trout. I am always amazed by these fellow fishers…and even
more so last Sunday when it showed me it could heave that brown
into flight.
With all the rain we had recently the river was cranking with brown
muddy water. It still was able to pull a fish out if it. Just an amazing
bird. I fished the whole river and only had one fish on for a short
ride.