Can a Northern really eat a...???

[solbes]

So I walked down to my dock on Sunday afternoon to crank it up on the lift before we head home. Got a little nature show. I startled a Momma duck and some of her ducklings. These are not the fuzzy born 2 weeks ago ducklings, but rather the born soon after ice out and it's now almost July kind of ducklings . They were all easily 75-80% the size of an adult Mallard. Wings were just starting to grow out.

Anyway, Momma duck was startled and called her ducklings to chase after her. I was watching one of them in particular and there was a big slash. Duckling completely disappeared. They aren't loons; I don't think they have the neutral bouyancy to swim underwater for long if at all. Anyway I watched for 2 minutes to see if it reappeared and it did not. Can a northern really eat a duckling of that size? It had to be a foot long and pretty wide. Just surprised me I guess. I always assumed they ate the little 4-6 inch ducklings.

[Scott K]

I have caught a 4 inch perch on a 14" suet stick, I have caught 6 inch pike with a 8 inch lure, so I dont see why not.

[Farley]

I saw it happen a few weeks ago, was out in the boat fishing and watching this duck swim next to the shoreline, about 150 yds away, between two patches of weeds, then all of a sudden, SPLASH!! no more duck. It was pretty amazing.

[Jim Uran]

30" pike 20" sucker

[Jim Uran]

I went out trapping leeches with my buddy last week and NO KIDDING, we saw a loon come up and just hammer out a ducking. Coolest thing I've seen in a while. It came up and BAM... Grabbed that little guy and shook the heck out of it and hauled it away.

[Chris Haley]

A 5# bass can take a 6" inch duck and go back for it's brother or sister.

[solbes]

If it's common, maybe I need to find a small duck decoy and rig it with some hooks! Might be easier to catch that pike monster this way than trolling the depths, okay maybe a bad idea.

[bobbymalone]

[solbes]

That's hilarious! It needs a battery and some paddling webbed feet though.

[goblueM]

or some orange trebles

i was on Lake of the Isles in the canoe and there was a drake mallard flapping and struggling to beat the band, yet he was going backwards

a giant snapper had latched onto his feet and was trying to drag him under. I wanted to see what would happen but a ton of people were watching so we felt obligated to set the duck free. it took off and promptly flew into the windows of one of those huge mansions. oops

[harvey lee]

I have a ducking lure for muskie and northern.

[kingfish689]

On the right day you could paint a stripe on a 2+4 and catch a pike they will eat anything that moves if they think they can get it in there mouth

[Cooter]

[kc0myy]

i don't think it was a big pike. I am guessing it was a big old snapper I have heard they raise hell with the ducklings

[rodmoen]

i have seen both big pike and big bass demolish smallish ducks... hell, I had a lm bass eat my bigger bobber before while fishing big sucker minnows so nothing suprises me anymore...

[bassfshin24]

There is a picture in a liquor store up in Malmo by Mille Lacs. They have a picture of a big northern that was kept and there was a duck in the stomach of the northern.

[harvey lee]

Nice duckling Cooter.

[Scott K]

I probably wouldnt use that ducky in the bath tub, it just may snag onto you

[Daze Off]

I've seen snapping turtles pull a grown duck under like a bobber....barely had time to make a noise or flap its wings.

[Jim Uran]

I caught a northern off of the littlefork river with a blackbird in it's guts when I was a kid.

[Matt C]

lol. My daughter just asked if she could have one of those pretty ducks for the bath tub!

[solbes]

All righty, hadn't considered that it may have been a snapper. Either way I was pretty surprised at how efficient the attack was. I'd like to think it was a huge piker though, so I'm going with that.

[buddha]

I saw a bass go out of the water maybe 6" and take a blackbird as it sat on a reed. No doubt a pike will take a duck that size. Ask the musky fisherman how many big eyes and pike they have caught wiht huge plugs.

[mainbutter]

A friend of mine saw a musky take a full grown crow that fell in the water

[mr_jman]

I'm pretty sure there is a lure that flies above the water like a hummingbird and it is suppose to attract bass I guess. The selling point is that bass will fly out of the water to attack it... Pretty sure it was in a fishing magazine.