You never know what you can catch!
It was early in the morning with the sun just breaking over the tree line. We had just eaten our fill of a great breakfast at the lodge and were heading to the boat to enjoy a day of small mouth bass fishing on Lake Kabetogama, MN (One of the Voyager chain of lakes). We decided to head to an island that we renamed SH-T Island. The island was given this grand name, because years ago I had an emergency nature call and this island was the only place available. Hence the island is now named forever.
Anyway, the small mouth bass are huge in this area around the rocky side of the island. We where casting along the shore line. I was using a Rapala floating minnow and a spin casting reel. As we where turning the point, the wind caught us and pushed the boat further away from the island. As I was trying to get in closer to the shore line, I took one long and high cast, attempting to get my lure across the rocky point. I would tell that a small mouth bass was waiting on that very point, just for my lure.
Instead and as I tossed my lure into the air, a sea gull swooped down out of the air and grabbed my Rapala. You guess it! The Rapala wrapped around the bird’s leg and the fight was on!!!! He dropped from the air into the water and danced across the water pulling most of my line out. As the reel’s drag smoked, he would pull out more and more line. Then he stopped but continued squawking up a storm. Trying not to harm him, I would reel up as much line as I could. Using my electric motor to get closer to him, I reeled up more and more line. But as soon as I would get closer, he would take off again.
Finally, after about a half hour of back and forth moves, he tired and I was able to get within a foot of him. Trying to untangle the line from his foot, I reached to grab him. But, this was one mean fighting bird. He squawked and poked at me with his peak like you would not believe. So, I cut the line near his foot and finally he flew off unharmed, unlike me who had been pecked to death with cuts all over my hand and arm. I tell you this is not a bird you want to tangle with. It is one mean, lean, fighting machine. However, as he was taking off, he did drop my lure in the water and I did get it back. I love going fishing; you never know what you’re going to catch.
