I saw a nature program several years ago about a heron in England that did learn how to use bait to fish.
It was in a park where kids would feed bread to the ducks.
I guess the heron noticed that bluegills would gather to also grab some bread scraps.
The heron learned to fly in and grab a piece of bread and fly to the other end of the pond. It would then put pieces of bread in the water and grab the fish when they came up for it.
It wasn't baiting a hook or using a rod but it was using bait to get fish.
“I saw a nature program several years ago about a heron in England that did learn how to use bait to fish.”
It just goes to show that any bird-brain can fish. Actually, birds are alot smarter than people think.