The Bubble Net Whale Pass Fishing Report
At noon on Sunday David and Tracy arrived at the Lodge at Whale Pass. After a leisurely lunch I got to take them fishing, a 2 PM start. David’s instructions were, “Whatever the shortest boat ride is.” Toward the Triplets we went.
We got there late. A pod of orcas distracted us to the tune of over an hour. The show was up close and awesome and no one complained.
Once at the Triplets Terry told me about the time she went fishing in Mexico and caught two gulls but no fish. She had never caught a fish before! Then a bright silver nailed her herring. Her first fish ever!
Is she a movie star, or not??
A short time later David caught a pink. He put the rod down, cracked a beer, and said, “That’s it. I’m done.” I thought he was kidding but he was not. Not knowing what else to do I started back towards the lodge, then remembered the seals that bask on a small gravel beach on the island. “Should we see if they are there?” I asked. “Why not?” said David. “We’re on a roll.”
The seals were there. Seals are not trusting of boats. As we approached to try to get photos they all lumbered down the beach into the water. Although we probably broke some laws, it was funny to watch.
Then I spotted a spout about a mile off. “Should we check it out?” “Why not? We’re on a roll.”
Humpback whales were bubble net feeding. A group of whales swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in an ever-smaller cylinder. This ring can begin at up to 100 feet in diameter and involve the cooperation of a dozen animals. Some whales blow the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish toward the surface, and others herd prey into the net by vocalizing. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the “net”, mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp. Plated grooves in the whale’s mouth allow the creature to easily drain all the water initially taken in. The whales blast out of the water in unison, an incredible sight.
We watched them for a couple of hours.
On Wednesday Margo, Chris, and Joe joined Jakob and I on the Thorne for some deep-sea fishing. We spent the morning looking for what proved to be an elusive 40 inch class halibut. We got three small ones but none the size we wanted. We also got a lot of cod, a couple black cod, several large quillbacks, a large skate, a dogfish, a couple of sculpins, quite the variety pack.
Joe had never caught a legeal king salmon so in the afternoon we went mooching near the Triplets. While the whales were still at the bubble net thing, we stayed focused on salmon. A 29 inch king was taken by Chris, but Joe was not to get one. He got a nice silver as a consolation prize. Margot got a pink. Fishing was faster than what we caught- about two-thirds of our strikes were missed.
I knew all afternoon that I was sick, and spent all day Thursday and Friday in bed.
And that is this week’s Whale Pass Fishing Report from the Lodge at Whale Pass.
Life is great and I love my work!
Life is short. Go Fishing!
John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com
All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.
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