# Conn Brown Fish Thieves



## Jerry713 (Nov 6, 2019)

The last few times I've been at the cleaning station at Conn Brown Harbor the dang Pelicans have been thick and aggressive. To the point they will gather around your legs and reach up and grab a fish as soon as you lay one on the cleaning table. Saturday was a tough day to fish. We didn't do well but have a few to clean which was pretty much the norm in talking to other guys. One guy had 2 fish (sheepy and a trout) he layed on the table to clean. He was getting his knife out and before I could tell him to watch out a Pelican already helped himself to the sheepy. He was not happy! It happened fast too. I've seen fillets get sucked off the table. 

Y'all ever experienced this? I'm hoping with the new development that is going on there they will screen it in to stop this.


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

****, ok I go. The white pelicans are immigrant agressionists, always looking to take the easy meal, with little regard to the community. The brown pelicans live here year round, and if the bounty is not enough, they will actually starve in conditions when there is not enough bounty at the cleaning table.


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

Quick question, is this your first experience, with pelicans, or gulls, at a cleaning table?


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

Lord I apologize for that! Actually it is more likely, that you are fishing in the right spot the pelicans, no matter the ethnicity learn where the easy meal is. They are bold and aggressive by nature, for 2 yrs I had a brown female that would frequent my boat, for a ride, and a snack.


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## Jerry713 (Nov 6, 2019)

playinhooky said:


> Quick question, is this your first experience, with pelicans, or gulls, at a cleaning table?


Not my first experience. I haven't been fishing the salt nearly as long as a lot of guys here. My first experience was in the mid 90's. Been launching at CB for a big chunk of that time. Always have an audience for sure but this is another level. Saturday there were probably 10 on each side of the cleaning table around our legs and another 10 or so in the water.


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

I have not fished that area recently, but I did here Cliff Webb remark, on the outdoor show, that there was a limited fish kill, mullet and shad during the last cold front, this could be a by product, likely not a E. A. Poe event.


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## 2thDr (Jan 25, 2014)

*pelicans*

In the late 60's, Biologists found 12 nesting pairs of brown pelicans along the ENTIRE Texas coast. Turns out DDT was the culprit, and after it was banned the brown pelican population exploded. I think they are so cool to watch and feed at the fish cleaning stations all along the coast. I take a few extra minutes to cut up the fish after fileting into pieces they can get down their huge throats. They can swallow redfish heads from up to about 24" fish. So I guess I'm guilty of encouraging them to hang out at the cleaning stations. But I've also found many a pod of feeding reds by watching pelicans. They look like they were designed by a Congressional Committee, but they are perfect for gliding along a couple feet over the water until they see something and suddenly taking a plane crash open-mouthed dive and coming up with dinner.


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## Tiki Bay Fishing (Dec 8, 2016)

Florida has a law against feeding pelicans. I think it's time for Texas and other states to step up and stop the feeding of pelicans. There are two reasons. First, the obvious is that pelicans become addicted to cleaning stations. Second, many pelicans are injured and die from eating fish skeletons or heads only. They don't eat large fish in the wild and they certainly don't eat fish skeletons or heads. These can get stuck in their throat or injure their throat pouch.


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## Jerry713 (Nov 6, 2019)

Captain Allan Scott said:


> Florida has a law against feeding pelicans. I think it's time for Texas and other states to step up and stop the feeding of pelicans. There are two reasons. First, the obvious is that pelicans become addicted to cleaning stations. Second, many pelicans are injured and die from eating fish skeletons or heads only. They don't eat large fish in the wild and they certainly don't eat fish skeletons or heads. These can get stuck in their throat or injure their throat pouch.


I'm sure it's coming Capt. The alternative to not throwing whole fish skeletons in the water is to install a grinder to grind up the skeletons before the go back in the water (I believe Matagorda Harbor has something like this) or throw them in a dumpster and with the dumpster comes maggots.


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## GSMAN (May 22, 2004)

Last trip I went on there were 5 or 6 dead brown pelicans at the ramp. I wondered if it was the cold or whether they choked or ate something bad. It was disturbing.


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

Jerry713 said:


> I'm sure it's coming Capt. The alternative to not throwing whole fish skeletons in the water is to install a grinder to grind up the skeletons before the go back in the water (I believe Matagorda Harbor has something like this) or throw them in a dumpster and with the dumpster comes maggots.


They swallow the trout carcasses pretty easy, at least the pencils i've been catching I cut up the reds, if a bait camp manager catches you throwing fish in their dumpster, you will be persona no grata.


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## Jerry713 (Nov 6, 2019)

playinhooky said:


> if a bait camp manager catches you throwing fish in their dumpster, you will be persona no grata.


I hear ya at most places that's the case but I've been to several parks with cleaning stations not right on the water that have dumpsters for dumping fish. Nasty!!


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## acoastalbender (Jul 16, 2011)

GSMAN said:


> Last trip I went on there were 5 or 6 dead brown pelicans at the ramp. I wondered if it was the cold or whether they choked or ate something bad. It was disturbing.


I think it's just as sad or worse with so many local power lines running close to water ... fishing gear and baits end up tangled in the overhead lines ... many a time you'll see gulls and pelicans hanging from that same gear suffering a slow and painful death ... I'm not a bleeding heart lib, but I don't see a reason for any animal to suffer needlessly ...


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

you should see the piles of feathers around the windmills near Corpus.


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

They probably didn't suffer too much. Seen lots of fried squirrels in and around power lines, not many birds, I have rescued a few wrapped up in mono leaders after try to snatch a croaker or shrimp out of the air.


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

Jerry713 said:


> I'm sure it's coming Capt. The alternative to not throwing whole fish skeletons in the water is to install a grinder to grind up the skeletons before the go back in the water (I believe Matagorda Harbor has something like this) or throw them in a dumpster and with the dumpster comes maggots.


Matagorda has bins to dump the carcass in that then get tossed in a dumpster. The cleaning stations are protected from birds getting in so you dont have pelicans or seagulls trying to get your fish.


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## Jerry713 (Nov 6, 2019)

Thanks Gilbert for clarifying


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## EIGHTSKATE (Feb 19, 2016)

Have noticed they do come in closer at Conn Brown than other cleaning stations. I think it is due to the chutes built into the tables that drops the guts right at the base of the stand so they crowd up to the stand.
I chunk carcass as far as i can and they will move farther out.
When they get to close spray them with water from the hose and they will scatter. Hate to get wet go figure.


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## playinhooky (Dec 6, 2008)

EIGHTSKATE said:


> Have noticed they do come in closer at Conn Brown than other cleaning stations. I think it is due to the chutes built into the tables that drops the guts right at the base of the stand so they crowd up to the stand.
> I chunk carcass as far as i can and they will move farther out.
> When they get to close spray them with water from the hose and they will scatter. Hate to get wet go figure.


Yeah, then they put one eye on you, and give you the stink eye.


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## cloudfishing (May 8, 2005)

In Florida I have seen cleaning stations that have tubes that go below the waterline. You dont see many pelicans waiting for hand outs. I believe it is against the rules to feed them there.


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## Rockfish2 (Sep 1, 2017)

cloudfishing said:


> In Florida I have seen cleaning stations that have tubes that go below the waterline. You dont see many pelicans waiting for hand outs. I believe it is against the rules to feed them there.


Thought-provoking thread - Iâ€™ve never even considered they could be injured eating a filleted trout, kinda makes me think twice about cleaning fish when theyâ€™re around. Theyâ€™re goofy birds and at a cleaning table they remind me of my beagles in the kitchen when Iâ€™m cooking. I certainly donâ€™t want to injure them, especially after we almost made them disappear.


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## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

*cool pelican story*

several years back we were fishing with an exceptional trophy trout guide. the three of us slowly worked our way down the shoreline, scattered about ten yards apart. one against the bank, the next ten or twelve yards out, and the third fishing deep. he told us a story from the previous week, he said a pelican dove right here, I immediately casted to it, and jumper a 9lb trout. I soaked up every word including the lure he used, knowing we were in big fish territory.

As we worked our way past the pelican/trout spot, I continued to look over my shoulder, thinking about his big fish, and how one of us could jump a gator trout any minute now. Approximately thirty or forty minutes later, and a hundred or so yards down the shoeline, I looked over my shoulder, and to my amazement, a pelican hit the water in the precise spot. I told the guide a pelican just hit the water in the same spot, I'm going to hit the bank, circle back and ease in to the area. Before I could get out of the water I heard him say I'm going with you. We walked the bank back to the area, and eased into the water, ten minutes later I was holding a 8lb plus trophy caught on a mirrordyne.

Pelicans may be a pain in the arse, especially one that gets tangled on a lure or in the line, can't count the number of pelicans we're untangled/unhooked and released. Just remember, he's just another predator trying to survive in a dog eat dog world. Where there's pelicans, there's bait, where there's bait, there's fish. :texasflag


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## Davidsel47 (Apr 10, 2019)

c hook said:


> several years back we were fishing with an exceptional trophy trout guide. the three of us slowly worked our way down the shoreline, scattered about ten yards apart. one against the bank, the next ten or twelve yards out, and the third fishing deep. he told us a story from the previous week, he said a pelican dove right here, I immediately casted to it, and jumper a 9lb trout. I soaked up every word including the lure he used, knowing we were in big fish territory.
> 
> As we worked our way past the pelican/trout spot, I continued to look over my shoulder, thinking about his big fish, and how one of us could jump a gator trout any minute now. Approximately thirty or forty minutes later, and a hundred or so yards down the shoeline, I looked over my shoulder, and to my amazement, a pelican hit the water in the precise spot. I told the guide a pelican just hit the water in the same spot, I'm going to hit the bank, circle back and ease in to the area. Before I could get out of the water I heard him say I'm going with you. We walked the bank back to the area, and eased into the water, ten minutes later I was holding a 8lb plus trophy caught on a mirrordyne.
> 
> Pelicans may be a pain in the arse, especially one that gets tangled on a lure or in the line, can't count the number of pelicans we're untangled/unhooked and released. Just remember, he's just another predator trying to survive in a dog eat dog world. Where there's pelicans, there's bait, where there's bait, there's fish. :texasflag


Thats an awesome story! I always cast at them when I get close to them but never had any luck like that.


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## Jerry713 (Nov 6, 2019)

c hook said:


> several years back we were fishing with an exceptional trophy trout guide. the three of us slowly worked our way down the shoreline, scattered about ten yards apart. one against the bank, the next ten or twelve yards out, and the third fishing deep. he told us a story from the previous week, he said a pelican dove right here, I immediately casted to it, and jumper a 9lb trout. I soaked up every word including the lure he used, knowing we were in big fish territory.
> 
> As we worked our way past the pelican/trout spot, I continued to look over my shoulder, thinking about his big fish, and how one of us could jump a gator trout any minute now. Approximately thirty or forty minutes later, and a hundred or so yards down the shoeline, I looked over my shoulder, and to my amazement, a pelican hit the water in the precise spot. I told the guide a pelican just hit the water in the same spot, I'm going to hit the bank, circle back and ease in to the area. Before I could get out of the water I heard him say I'm going with you. We walked the bank back to the area, and eased into the water, ten minutes later I was holding a 8lb plus trophy caught on a mirrordyne.
> 
> Pelicans may be a pain in the arse, especially one that gets tangled on a lure or in the line, can't count the number of pelicans we're untangled/unhooked and released. Just remember, he's just another predator trying to survive in a dog eat dog world. Where there's pelicans, there's bait, where there's bait, there's fish. :texasflag


Good stuff. I've never had much luck catching where they plunge either but after this I'll keep at it. :cheers:


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## SKIPJACKSLAYER (Nov 19, 2013)

Nothing new. The rule at Billings is throw your carcasses in a bucket, and when done, walk the bucket down the dock at dump them all in the water. Pelicans still get close while cleaning but they donâ€™t get fed scraps like they used to. They made this rule after a few kids got bit. Have had my hand bitten before, it was a pretty strong snap. I find the water hose does great to keep them away. Most cleaning tables have a water hose so give it a shot


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## GigUm (Jun 20, 2018)

Yes they can get thick at conn brown. I have never had them straggling my legs though. Usually they are just within 5-10 ft of the cleaning table waiting.


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