A few weeks ago my good friend, Todd Rost of Faribault, Minnesota, was kayaking down the Cannon River when he came upon an unusual sight. From a distance he could tell that fishing line had entangled some object just skimming the water’s surface, yet it took a closer inspection to reveal how a bird of prey—likely a Red-tailed Hawk—had become a victim of some fisherman’s improperly discarded waste.
Rost speculated how some angler was probably fishing from a nearby bridge when an errant cast got caught up on the river’s brushy shoreline. Rather than make a shoreline effort to carefully dislodge the lure, it was apparent a 20+ foot length of fishing line was simply discarded either on purpose or by snapping the line.
Chances are good the naive angler figured no further misfortune would probably result of their action. After all, what dangers could be posed by some monofilament caught up in the brush?
Well, as you can see, fishing line is capable of catching more than just fish. Albeit, the circumstances how this hawk actually became twisted up in the line is quite odd. Nevertheless, it occurs and sometimes those of us who are anglers need to be reminded of the potential devastating results to emphasize the importance of proper fishing line removal.
Quite honestly I debated whether or not I should publish these pictures out of concern groups like PETA would use them as part of their deplorable backlash against fishing effort. I chose to show them anyway because most anglers are responsible sportsmen who can learn from mistakes made by others within our ranks. Perhaps by showing the visual results of what happened to one angler’s improperly discarded line…it will prompt other fishermen to use greater care in the future. Well, that is my hope, anyway…by posting this message.
©2010 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.
Filed under: Fishing, Gear, Non-game Wildlife
Good warning. You wouldn’t throw a tangle of line in the water, but you’re less likely to think about a line caught in a tree.
[...] Rost contacted me about his discovery concerned about how wildlife can suffer when humans are careless about our trash. Subsequent to that contact, I blogged about his discovery a year ago which can be read HERE. [...]
Thanks for taking what is a real problem, and pointing it out to folks with a very representative example, photos and all. Unfortunately, even experienced anglers who should know better sometimes make that insensitive mistake. I just hope they manage to run across this post one of these days.
Thanks for your comments, Jack! If you liked that post…but sure to check out this one: http://sportsmansblog.com/2011/06/18/two-faribault-mn-men-help-establish-a-new-wildlife-record/ It is a follow-up to the same bird.