[WoodyCT]

I cast across an opening under a railroad bridge with a popper, and as I worked it across the current a full grown swan swam down tide right into my line. I gave it slack but it was already tangled. As soon as it felt tension from the line it took off down tide and took flight, which caused it to hook itself in the foot. The reel was screaming! I grabbed the spool and parted it off. Later that week we baited it in, with bread, at my friends' boatyard nearby. A guy who worked there could catch swans by grabbing the lower beak as they reached up to take some bread. Kind of like lipping a bass. Well, once you grasp the beak the birds start flapping their wings and lift up. At this point he just wrapped his arm around it and it calmed down. We cut the hook off with some side cutters and sent him on his way.