Ice fishermen surprised to catch a duck

A pair of Pittsburgh ice fisherman got quite a surprise on the end of their line recently.



Nicholas Colangelo, Fred Christensen, and Luke Wholey were ice fishing a couple hours north of Pittsburgh when they reeled in the red-breasted merganser duck. The pair were able to hand line the bird in, and then untangle it from the line and hook.



“My jaw hit the floor when it came out of the ice hole,” Colangelo said. Mergansers are common on Pennsylvania rivers and lakes and usually eat fish, which is what they were using as bait.


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They are diving birds and stay under the water for about five-minutes looking for food. After a quick photo, the bird was released unharmed. Colangelo says it’s the first time they have ever caught a duck while fishing.