Fishing birds is so easy, even Geico’s caveman could do it.
Right?
Well, yes and no.
Birds give signals about the location of feeding trout, but that doesn’t mean any dodo will maximize his success.
Obviously, being quiet in the approach is essential.
In fact, Mary Poe is absolutely fanatical about it. When approaching a flock of feeding birds, she stops her boat what seems like a couple of light years away from the action, and moves in painfully slowly on the trolling motor.
“It doesn’t take much at all to spook these fish,” she said.
But even more important than stealth is Poe’s keen awareness of what the school of fish is doing beneath the birds.
Birds are much more nimble than boaters, so they move with the action. It’s rare that a flock stays over the same exact spot in the water.
So Poe watches the flight and behavior of single birds within the flock to determine where the fish are.
“That bird is telling me the fish have moved over this way,” she said after viewing a single bird that was flying relatively straight but peering like a laser into the water.
Sure enough, all three of her clients cast where she instructed, and they enjoyed fighting the day’s first triple.
This article is part of the Joys of June feature in the June issue of Louisiana Sportsman, which is now on newsstands. Digital editions also can be downloaded right to your computer or smartphone.
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