Fish theif - close up shot of his face

[missoulafish]

Caught red handed!

[JH57]

Had one carefully inspect my spot on Placid the other day.  I've no doubt if I had any fish out on the ice it would have swiped one.

[fritz2324]

Used to be an eagle down at hebgen that would take your fish if you weren’t paying attention.  He got mine a couple times

[missoulafish]

Ive had owls fly within a few feet of me after sunset and steal....its a pretty good scare if you arent paying attention.

[Born Late]

Saw some geniuses at Holter last year who thought piling their caught perch next to their scattered holes was a good idea despite frequently retreating to their shelter a few hundred feet away. The ravens thought it was a good idea as well.

[PoleJerker]

Enjoyed the video. 

[maddogg]

Finders Keepers

[BoomerFTW]

Such a cool video! You can tell it wasn't the first time based on the camera placement 

[meandcuznalfy]

Very cool

[taxi1]

Yes you saw it here folks. Our national emblem is a GD thief!    No wonder Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey over the Bald Eagle as our national emblem.

[RuralMT]

No wonder Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey over the Bald Eagle as our national emblem.

Oh goodness.  While I admire both Benjamin Franklin and the noble gobbler, can you imagine if they were a nationally protected animal?  Darn things are a nuisance up here in Eureka.  Multiple flocks roost in town during the winter and between them blocking traffic, roosting above cars and sidewalks (and doing the biologically inevitable), scaring the s**t out of you by bursting out like a B-52 from behind various objects while you're walking your dog, challenging said dog for his food, and otherwise behaving as if they know hunting season is many months away...between all that, they seem decidedly less noble...sorry Benjamin.  Although they do provide an occasional laugh; one thought she could land and balance on a tree with limbs roughly the size of your pinky...needless to say she didn't get the berries she was after, but man oh man did she try.

[Wenger]

Every shot of eagles “catching” fish is simply someone throwing one out for them. In years of guiding on MT rivers I never saw an eagle catch a fish. Ospreys all the time.

One thing I always pulled the boat over and told the clients to watch was when an osprey caught a fish and an eagle was nearby. The eagles would try to steal the fish by flying under the osprey, forcing it higher and higher until it dropped the fish and the eagle would usually go into a dive and grab it before it hit the ground. Saw this st least a hundred times over the years. My guess is that why we see so many balds hanging around osprey nest sites.

Golden’s are another story. Saw one nail a turkey flying over the Yellowstone near Bigtimber one day just down from the bridge. The turkey exploded in a cloud of feathers and crashed into a cottonwood tree on an island and fell to the ground. Never saw the eagle come back for it though it may have latter.  Also had one kill and eat a good part of a coyote I had ina trap.

[G fish]

Backin the 80’s my family took a trip to Yellowstone Park. I remember watching eagles pick fish from the rivers.
But like you said Wenger. Eagles have taken the scavenger tittle.

[SpitzoMT]

We've watched Bald & Golden eagles pick fish out of the Big Hole River near the East Bank launch.....They almost always will land on one of the little islands a short distance up river to enjoy their catch.....Quite thrilling to watch from a gravity chair with a cooler of beer next to you lol !!

[RuralMT]

We've watched Bald & Golden eagles pick fish out of the Big Hole River near the East Bank launch.....They almost always will land on one of the little islands a short distance up river to enjoy their catch.....

I watched the same spectacle somewhere along the Big Hole.  The access was somewhere near the mouth of the Wise, downstream from a large rapid you could see from the highway, and had a post-rail fence the eagle was perched on top off watching a drying-out side-channel.  Game warden came up to check my buddy and I as we were about to set off for the river and when he noticed that bird he goes "watch this boys" and sure enough he dropped off the fence and nabbed at least a 20" trout.  Then he proceeded to make his way to an island to snack.  Awesome experience!

Also, both the baldies and goldens are experts at salmon fishing during the spawning run on the Tobacco.  Wenger, you mentioned they might be more inclined to scavenge, but in both instances (large trout and bright red salmon) they will also take the easy bait.  Granted, that very well could be learned behavior for a small number of birds.  George, for instance, has developed a fondness for hammer-handle pike.  He'll land right beside your hole on Lower Stillwater, straight north of the lake's largest island.