Heads up…
If you’re outside, you know there’s always a chance of some rain falling out of nowhere, but if you’re like me, you’d never expect in a million years that a fish would come flying from the clouds.
But somehow, that’s exactly what people at a backyard BBQ experienced when a large bird of prey swooped down with a good sized fish in its talons, but for some reason let go.
The fish went flying through the air before smacking the wooden fence with a solid thud. It fell to the ground where it continued to flop around, meaning it had to have just been caught.
It’s pretty much impossible to tell the species of bird or fish, but there’s no shortage of videos of all kinds of bird of prey scooping up large meals, like this hawk toying with a rabbit and this golden eagle tossing a mountain goat off a cliff, but it’s also common for these birds to ditch their meal mid-flight if they feel it’s too heavy or is putting up a solid fight.
Regardless of the reason, these people were treated to a nice fish to throw right on the grill.
The funniest part of the whole thing was one of the guys’ reactions to the fish landing in the yard.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to catch all week.”
Fishermen everywhere can relate to that sentiment.
Even when relaxing in the backyard, you gotta keep your head on a swivel.
Hell, throw it on the grill…
Bald Eagle Steals Fisherman’s Catch Right Off The Line In Alaska
Anybody that likes to fish has experienced “the one that got away.”
A fish that hits the lure hard and fights tough but ultimately never winds up in the net, hauled ashore, or pulled into the boat. Sometimes the line breaks, sometimes the hook slides out of its mouth, and sometimes a bald eagle swoops down, grabs the fish with its talons, and flies off into the wind to eat your fish.
Ok, maybe that last one isn’t all that common…
Getting robbed by a bald eagle is exactly what happened to a fly fisherman near Sitka, Alaska, last summer. The angler was reeling in an Arctic char on a picturesque wilderness stream when a bald eagle swooped down from the trees, snatched the char, and took off for the sky.
The guy holding the rod could do nothing but stand there in awe as the line unspooled rapidly off of the reel. The eagle eventually ripped the fish right off the hook, and the fisherman found some solace in the fact that the eagle ripped the fish clean off the hook, so at least it didn’t steal his fly too.
His disbelief at what he was witnessing is exhibited perfectly by his colorful language. I imagine losing the fish is worth capturing incredible footage like this on camera.
So the next time you go fishing in the Last Frontier remember that bald eagles are more prevalent in Alaska than anywhere else in the world. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the state is home to an estimated 30,000 of the birds.
While the bald eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782, the species has been a spiritual symbol for Alaska Natives for far longer than that.
Eagles are primarily fish eaters, and Alaska’s widespread waterways and world-class fisheries offer excellent habitat and provide abundant food sources for the birds, which is why the state is home to such robust eagle populations.
One eye on the line, and one eye on the sky…
Bald Eagle Drags Muskie All The Way To The Shore
I could’ve gone my entire life without knowing that bald eagles can swim.
I would’ve been too embarrassed to ask.
But lo and behold, a Twitter user boating in Minnesota just so happened to capture footage of an eagle swimming in the St. Croix River.
Seemingly injured, the eagle was floating about, sheepishly making his way to shore.
But as it turns out, he wasn’t injured, no this eagle has a massive muskie in his talons, a muskie too big to lift out of the water.
So rather than hunting for a smaller fish, one that he could gracefully dive bomb, rip clean out of the water, and fly off into the wild blue yonder, this bad mf’er dragged the live fish all the way to shore and ate him right there.
Nature is so cool. Oh yeah, and…
‘Merica.
Dinner time:
Bald Eagle In Olympic Nation Park Catches A Fish So Big He Can’t Fly
The feeling when when a fish hits your bait, you set the hook, and the fight it on is one of the best you can have.
And when that fish is a big one, it reaches levels close to euphoria.
But the feeling of getting that sucker to the shore or boat and losing it, well, can be pretty damn awful.
I have to think this poor bald eagle was feeling all kinds of bad in the video from Olympic National Park in Washington.
Tourists spotted the eagle swimming through a river and immediately knew something was going on. While they’re no strangers to the water, from the way he was moving it was clear he’d grabbed something big and wasn’t able to get any lift off from the water.
After swimming over to a downed tree, he drags it up on the log and low and behold is a nice sized fish. Because the video was shot at distance it’s hard to tell exactly what species it was, but it appears to be some type of trout.
Not quite the size of the carp a bald eagle snagged in Wisconsin, but certainly enough to feed himself and any babies back in the nest.
But there was still a problem…
The eagle just couldn’t get into the air, the fish was too heavy.
Despite a few efforts, nothing was working. You really start feeling bad for him when he starts looking around, seemingly checking if anyone is noticing, but most likely scanning for anything that was getting ready to pounce on an easy meal.
While the video cuts off before we see what he decides to do, I hope he just ate half of it there, or at least flew some pieces back to the nest to share and enjoy.
Because the feeling of losing a big catch right at the last second… well that’s just tragic.
