# Bass attacking bird



## rkierner (Jun 17, 2013)

I was at a Hilliard area park today and a huge fish jumped out of the water and tried to catch a red winged black bird. I'll admit that I don't know if it was a bass but it was big and the bird was in flight. My question: is this normal? Second question: are there flies that mimic birds that you would not let hit the water but instead just whip it above the water?


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## Crappieman420 (Apr 5, 2011)

I don't know how often it happens & I'm sure it would have to be a monster bass but I've seen vids on YouTube of the same thing. Only difference, the bird in the video I watched wasn't in mid flight. It was sitting on a low hanging branch that wasn't far off the water and the bass jumped up and took him.

Land Big Fish !!!!!


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## partlyable (Mar 2, 2005)

I have seen bass take ducklings but again not in flight. I don't know how or why you would want a lure that does not hit the water. I feel that your odds of catching a fish would be astronomically low with a lure like this. I'm sorry if that sounds rude I don't mean it to be. I think that the fact that you witnessed that is very rare in itself. It is very interesting and I wish I could have seen it firsthand.


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## rkierner (Jun 17, 2013)

partlyable said:


> I have seen bass take ducklings but again not in flight. I don't know how or why you would want a lure that does not hit the water. I feel that your odds of catching a fish would be astronomically low with a lure like this. I'm sorry if that sounds rude I don't mean it to be. I think that the fact that you witnessed that is very rare in itself. It is very interesting and I wish I could have seen it firsthand.



Don't think that's rude... I am not looking for a fly like that, really I was wondering if this is something that happens all the time. If it is, I would assume there would be a fly like this.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Was up in Canukville several years ago and some type of birds were swooping down to the waters surface and eating fry or hatching insects. Suddenly there was a explosive strike right at the same spot and neither mt farther or I saw the swooping bird fly away. Bass after Redwing Blackbirds were a common occurrence in the Back Marshes of East Harbor 70 years ago.
The shallow marsh area to the East of the camground is now long gone.


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## joebertin (Mar 26, 2010)

A helium balloon would do it...


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

In the immortal words of Doc Holliday, "I'm ya huckleberry."


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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

Lets not forget the fact that it could have just been a coincidence. the fish could have just jumped while a bird happened to be flying over. im not trying to be a jerk either, just showing another side of the coin i guess. If it really was going after the bird then holy crap thats awesome!


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## rkierner (Jun 17, 2013)

IGbullshark said:


> Lets not forget the fact that it could have just been a coincidence. the fish could have just jumped while a bird happened to be flying over. im not trying to be a jerk either, just showing another side of the coin i guess. If it really was going after the bird then holy crap thats awesome!



That's true... But if it was a coincidence, it was like a lottery. A bad ass Mother Nature lottery!


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## Mr. A (Apr 23, 2012)

I was at a private lake with my dad and his buddy fishing when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I watched a momma duck take her ducklings into the water and after about 10 feet of swimming.....SLURP! The last duckling was gone. I was amazed. They told me what happened, but I was fascinated by it for some reason. Which they took advantage of....

They told me about this place in the back of marsh where the bass were all huge and extremely smart. 

They were amusing them selves I'm sure, so much so that they helped one another describe a tree stump that sat off the bank, that had a branch from a tree on shore that almost touched it. 

Well, they were fishing near by and watched this squirrel in the overhang plop down on that stump to get a nut that was sitting on it. WHAM! Big 10# swamp donkey inhaled the squirrel! 

I was in awe imagining a bass that big snatching a squirrel off the stump. They sat quietly and let me take it in for a few minutes before my natural kid response kicked in and I asked if they tried to catch the bass? 

It took me a second for it to set in, but dad's buddy said, "we didn't have anything in our boxes big enough for them big ol' bass. And wouldn't you know it, a few minutes later that bass came back to that stump and put that nut back on it."

Well played, well played.

Mr. A


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

IGbullshark said:


> Lets not forget the fact that it could have just been a coincidence. the fish could have just jumped while a bird happened to be flying over. im not trying to be a jerk either, just showing another side of the coin i guess. If it really was going after the bird then holy crap thats awesome!


I concur with IGbullshark and would defer to the logic that it was merely coincidence. I have read that Bass have a vision range of 30 feet at best depending on the clarity of the water it is in. Since the bird was probably flying at 20-25 mph equating to about 36 feet per second, I doubt that the fish would see the bird coming. By the time the bird was in the fish's line of sight, it would have passed over the fish, leaving it no time to determine what the object was and whether or not it would make an attempt to eat it. Just my opinion.


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## Mr. A (Apr 23, 2012)

flyman01 said:


> I concur with IGbullshark and would defer to the logic that it was merely coincidence. I have read that Bass have a vision range of 30 feet at best depending on the clarity of the water it is in. Since the bird was probably flying at 20-25 mph equating to about 36 feet per second, I doubt that the fish would see the bird coming. By the time the bird was in the fish's line of sight, it would have passed over the fish, leaving it no time to determine what the object was and whether or not it would make an attempt to eat it. Just my opinion.


Just to play devils advocate for a moment, how many times have people made a first cast into an area and had a bass stick the bait as soon as it hits the water? 

I would agree with your assessment if we were limited to a hunger bite, but not so much when you consider how little it can take to elicit a bass' reaction strike; and how fast it can be.

That being said, I too think it was coincidence, But I also recognize it may not have been depending on the specific location and situation at hand.

Mr. A


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

A bass' reaction time is "stupid fast"! As said, they can smack a lure almost the instant it hits the water. However, I don't believe it would have the brain capacity to judge speed, time, distance and allow for lead to ever come close to picking off a bird in mid flight....
On a related note... one of the best patterns at Tappan in a few weeks will be fishing around and under all of the bridges along 250. All those baby swallow hatchlings will be taking their first wing beats, and many will head straight to the waters surface. Those bass love a black frog/mouse type bait during that window. Its not a numbers game, but we've caught some big ones doing it. Just throw it up near the bridge wall, and shake your slack to make the bait just quiver in place. Its amazing how explosive the strikes are.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Check these out if you want to get "life-like". But I've done just fine with a black/yellow spro bronzeye popping frog.

http://www.flipinthebird.com/buy/

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

I dont know about Bass. But they make Musky top water Lures in the shape and color of ducklings


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Mr. A, I think we have all had that happen at one time or another; The key point that you make is "when it hits the water". The shock wave created as the bait contacts the water and the split second it becomes motionless triggers the reaction of the fish. In this case however, the bird does not contact the water surface and based on range of sight of the fish and speed of the bird, I am still going to stand behind the logic that it does not have time to see the bird and react accordingly. I agree with you Bad Bub that a fish does not have the brain capacity to judge speed, time, distance and allow for lead to ever come close to picking off a bird in mid flight.... Based on physics, for the Bass to catch the bird while in flight, it would require first of all, that the fish has exceptional vision and the ability to see the bird 36 feet away. Based on the wing speed of the bird, the fish would have to break the surface of the water the split second it sees the bird at 36 feet away in order to have the exact timing to catch the bird. That would take one smart fish to do that, but then again, they are in schools so it is plausible. 
Is it possible that a flash or shadow created when the bird flew over the fish triggered a reaction? Absolutely, I would be foolish to say otherwise.


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

I have watched Bass grab Dragonflies in flight, I dont think its to crazy to think they couldnt grab a bird in flight.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Bass will eat anything that will fit in their mouths that is alive. I have seen large ones eat ducklings, water snakes, and a gray squirrel that tried to cross a wide part of the Deep River. But a bird flying low over the water would have to crash and start flopping to get eaten.


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## ejsell (May 3, 2012)

Saw this on ebay today looking at articulated flies. A Vintage Carl Christiansen Fly Duck Widgeon Hen.

[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Carl-Christiansen-Fly-Duck-Widgeon-Hen-Fly-Fishing-Lure-Articulated-/251535949188?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a90b5fd84"]Sorry, that's not working right now[/ame]

Cream, have you had yours out yet? Looks like it would be great for a muskie.


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