Anyone have experience finding fish once the whales move through? Curious to hear stories around what it took to get on the fish again. i typically move a mile or two away or go out deeper, but never really had any success after that. Whales have been spread out lately so it's hard to find a good spot, curious if anyone has any wisdom on fish movement once whales move through.
Fishing after orca move through
- Thread starter BarryA
- Start date
RBL
Well-Known Member
Caught fish with Humpbacks around but not so much with Orcas. Have seen some hot bites go completely dead once Orcas cruise by. Have stuck it out and caught fish again within a couple hours.
FishSlayer1976
Member
We were out in Winter Harbour a couple weeks ago. Picked up a couple nice springs first thing in the morning then about 15 orcas moved in and that was it for Grants Bay for the next 2 days. Everytime orcas move in the salmon flee for there lives, whether they go real deep or out of the area not sure but in our experiences the bite stops usually for a day or two.. On a flip when usually when the orcas roll in that means there good concentrations of fish in the area..
RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
At Chatham point north of Campbell river a couple of years ago I noticed a whale tour boat in the strait. didn't even see the orcas until they were right in front of us moving south. we quickly cleared our lines as they passed literally right under our boat. they were passing thru, and were not hunting ( fishing!? ) we put down lines and commenced fishing. we caught fish later that morning. transients? if they weren't actively hunting maybe the salmon don't get so spooked?
fogged in
Well-Known Member
Our experience tells us Coho and Pinks are not effected much with the Orcas going thru
Springs are another story...pick a new spot cause it will be slow to dead for 8 hours.
Some guys go tight to shore....but that has never worked for us.
beemer
Well-Known Member
sometimes their is a "fright bite" before the resident killer whales move through. Fogged in recommendations is what I have experienced off Victoria and sooke.
beemer
I've had more luck hitting them while the whales are passing by and the fish are in the fright and flight mode by bringing the gear up shallower. I've actually seen big springs porpoising on the surface prior to the whales arriving and prior to me knowing they were close. After the whales have passed the fish most often go into stealth mode. Not always though...sometimes for what ever reason you still can have decent bites shortly after the whales pass by. My interest and hopes sink into the basement if all 3 pods run from the beach out to a mile and are obviously feeding. That pretty much kills any bite for the rest of the day. Recently when people ask why the fish don't bite after the whales pass by I have been using this one...if you were at the Orlando bar when the gun fire started up...would you run and hide or go up to the bar to order another drink?
saltydawg
Well-Known Member
Well first of all. If you can figure out what type of Orca......
Transient Orcas eat seals and porpoises. Not salmon. The Transient Orca population is increasing by about 3% a year because of all the seals available. If you are being harassed by seals stealing your fish, transients are a good thing. I cheer when I see them pass through. I ID Transients by smaller pod (3-5animals) sharper dorsal, , more solid saddle patch.
Resident Orcas are endangered because of the scarcity of chinook. Residents prefer chinook salmon. They are in bigger pods (5-30). If they are actively foraging and chasing fish, I hang it up and head home. If they are shoulder to shoulder, resting as they rise and fall together, or if they pass through quickly, fishing is still good to go.
Offshore Orcas are found well off the west coast. Big pods (30-60). They eat sharks and large marine mammals.
If you have ever wondered how young humpbacks got their scars, that would be them.
Interesting responses, thx all.
Since I have to run 90 mins to get to where the fishing is good, I tend to stick it out and wait for fish to come back rather than go home. When the whales are porpoising frequently and moving through quickly, I tend to think that fishing deeper may be the ticket hoping that the chinook didn't see the whales above them, though I'm not sure if they are sensitive to whale vocalization. When the whales are doing circles and staying put it's probably pointless.
Also curious what triggers the fish to leave -- is it just the sight of the whales or vocalization or does a panicked fish 'sound the alarm' for a while after fleeing, therefore scaring away more fish that were otherwise oblivious to the whales.
my other hope is that incoming fish that just missed the memo on the whales may still be biters.
Since I have to run 90 mins to get to where the fishing is good, I tend to stick it out and wait for fish to come back rather than go home. When the whales are porpoising frequently and moving through quickly, I tend to think that fishing deeper may be the ticket hoping that the chinook didn't see the whales above them, though I'm not sure if they are sensitive to whale vocalization. When the whales are doing circles and staying put it's probably pointless.
Also curious what triggers the fish to leave -- is it just the sight of the whales or vocalization or does a panicked fish 'sound the alarm' for a while after fleeing, therefore scaring away more fish that were otherwise oblivious to the whales.
my other hope is that incoming fish that just missed the memo on the whales may still be biters.
wolf
Well-Known Member
they dont disappear they hide and become scared imagine putting a few wolves in a herd of elk they become nervous and scared , i go in closer to shore and go near bottom sometimes it pays off, in sooke.
weird thing is up in knight and malcom island it didnt effect fishing at all ive had a pod go right past me all the while getting springs?
weird thing is up in knight and malcom island it didnt effect fishing at all ive had a pod go right past me all the while getting springs?
Best bite I was ever in was at XXX point when there was a pod about.5 miles offshore from us. We were doubled-up on 40 pounders as were 2 the boats next to us. Water was on 25 ft deep, with a shoal/kelp bed just offshore from us, so maybe the Salmon felt protected. It was 1pm & about 80 degrees on WCVI.
Yeah but after the shooting I would need a big drink and real quick!
