My friend and I had left our house to make a day for fly fishing new streams in the Flathead Valley in Northwest Montana. Checking our map, we saw a popular river we had never fished. After driving for about an hour we pulled off and began fishing a spot surrounded by trees. Doing my best to avoid the trees and brush, my first cast tugged suddenly as I thought i had hooked a tree to my right. Looking up immediately, I saw a small bird's flight being restricted due to being hooked by my fly. The bird tried to fly away and began pulling all of my slack off. As soon as all my slack was gone the bird dropped to the water and I thought i had no choice but to reel it in and hopefully it was stuck somewhere where i could pull it out and set the bird free.
Unfortunately, when I finally "landed the bird", the bird was already dead, as the fly had punctured the bird through its neck. I was simply shocked and upset about the accident, and I was really wondering how often a bird is hooked by a fly fisherman. I was also wondering if it is possible that the bird was going for the fly? Any comments or answers would be greatly appreciated!
Unfortunately, when I finally "landed the bird", the bird was already dead, as the fly had punctured the bird through its neck. I was simply shocked and upset about the accident, and I was really wondering how often a bird is hooked by a fly fisherman. I was also wondering if it is possible that the bird was going for the fly? Any comments or answers would be greatly appreciated!
