Bald eaglet was found with fish hook in its throat. AZ officials say take care with lures, lines

Ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, the state has a reminder for those planning to fish that could protect a national treasure: take care with your fishing lines.

Last month, Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists found a young bald eagle with a fish hook lodged in its throat at Willow Springs Lake near Payson.

An emergency surgery at Liberty Wildlife couldn’t completely remove the hook, but staff say the bird should still be able to thrive in the wild.

Unfortunately, when it was time to make that return, its parents had already flown the nest. But Arizona Game and Fish staff were able to find a foster family for the eaglet.

John Kelton Leos with the department says adoptive bald eagles are very nurturing and will care for any nestling.

“The adult eagles will feed, will care for, and will protect the new kind of member of the family as one of their own,” Kelton Leos said.

The eaglet is expected to take its first flight this weekend.

Arizona has a small but thriving population of bald eagles. Game and Fish biologists say they frequently find fishing wires and other waste in bald eagle nests because the species is relegated to only a few, high-traffic areas.

“In Arizona, bald eagles’ dependence on water kind of restricts them to areas that are also favored by people, like lakes,” Kelton Leos said.

To keep wildlife and other people recreating at the state’s lakes safe this Fourth of July, the department is encouraging people to dispose of fishing lines or other waste into trash and recycling bins, rather than the water. Using lures or flies without hooks is recommended for catch-and-release fishing.