The family fishing trip this morning started off with a sighting of a flock of eleven loons working over a school of perch on Megunticook Lake in Camden. As autumn gets going the loons gather where the fishing is the best so that we are often in the same places. There were other loons in other parts of the lake.
The fishing was fun, actually it is a blast in Megunticook because the water is so clear everyone can watch the fish bite the hook. We caught a bunch of yellow perch, a pickerel and several sunfish. As the boys attention started to wander I moved us out onto a point where the oldest boy landed a largemouth bass of three pounds. We fished along the shore catching a few more bass and then I moved again out on the open part of the lake to try for a few white perch.
As I ran the boat on my last move I could see Ken Bailey the Lake Warden head up into a back corner. Unusual only because Ken seemed not to see me and did not wave. I figured he was busy and went about my morning. After a few minutes I could see Ken bearing down on me at full throttle and not slowing, I knew something was up right away. He stopped just short of the boat and asked “do you have gloves and pliers?” needle nose pliers of course (critical guide gear, I wear a pair on my belt and have another mounted in the boat). He went on to say that he had an injured loon and that he thought it had a fishhook stuck in it.
Before anyone really had a sense of what was going on Ken was alongside the Lund. He held the loon while I opened its mouth and made like a loon dentist. Pretty delicate work when you have a bird that is not used to being close to people and has the idea that we are not there to help. I can report that the inside of the loons’ bill is pretty sharp, loons are heavy (maybe 15 pounds) and stronger than I would have guessed.
Needless to say no fish hook in that one. Ken put the loon back in the fishnet he had used to catch it and then inside of a box to keep it quiet and sped off to the rehabilitation center with the sick bird.
When everything settled down I asked my clients if anyone had the presence of mind to take even one picture. Of course not! We were all so engrossed in the moment that not one of us had thought to reach for a camera and capture not only that moment but some amazing pictures of a loon up close. Maybe next time, but a great memory anyway.
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