"There must be fish here, he fishes for a living..."
Have you ever been fishing and heard someone say "There must be fish here...He fishes for a living."? Most of the time they are refering to a blue herron standing on a stump or stalking some shore minnows. More times than not, those birds will lie to you because they tend to be more territorial and what good are those shore minnows going to do for finding large groups of fish?
From my experience, there is one bird species that will help you find fish especailly in the colder months, the common loon. Right now, the best way I know how to find fish quickly is to look for groups of loons actively diving under the water in a concentrated area. Those loons will not be there unless bait is present. They are constantly on the move searching for food and even when you see them on the water not diving, they are constantly ducking their heads down searching. I am not the only one that has figured this out. I have witnessed on numerous occasions where pelicans watch for the loons too. When a loon would pop up the pelicans would make a B-line straight towards them, dive bombing the unsuspecting bird!
Thanks to lots of time on the water as well as being in the right place at the right time I have actually captured several different loon shots on the side imaging. I know for sure that is what I am seeing because they would pop up right at the transom of my Skeeter and dive right back down after more food.
The next time you are on the water, be on the lookout for loons!
