Nice descriptive article about the bait all’s we have been seeing. Good read.
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/captains_log_forage_fish_show_up_in_giant_quantities_off_santa_barbara_coas?utm_source=Noozhawk%27s+A.M.+Report&utm_campaign=2dc93b6843-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_11_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cb376aba6e-2dc93b6843-247063109
Captain’s Log: Forage Fish Show Up in Giant Quantities off Santa Barbara Coast
August is month for gamefish
Capt. David Bacon with large bonito, one of the species of topwater gamefish
that feeds on anchovies. (Courtesy photo)
I was trolling bright lures while cruising out to a major reef zone on my
charter boat WaveWalker.
The plan was to see if any early surface game fish had shown up yet and then
help my passengers catch some delicious red snapper, ocean whitefish, olive
rockfish and lingcod at the reef zone.
Trolling was a gamble because the surface gamefish had not yet shown up, but it
could happen at anytime here in August. The plan to fish the reef zone was
solid because the area has been producing plenty of good, wholesome, tasty
rockfish and lingcod.
We did not hook up with topwater fish, but I grinned happily because there was
massive sign that gamesters like bonito, barracuda and yellowtail would be
there soon.
I saw large baitballs of very small anchovies and they were throughout an area
a couple of square miles. That is exactly what the game fish want.
There will be many more baitballs (a.k.a. schools) showing up this month and
they are very cute.
Each anchovy right now is only a couple of inches long. Their eyes seem overly
large because they grow into their eyes So at this size we call them, “two eyes
and a wiggle.”
I described the situation to my charter passengers and we watched the “chovies
filter-feeding ambitiously through the morning. They skim along the surface
with their mouths wide open, scooping up and filtering out the minute
foodstuffs of the sea.
The water flows out through their flared gills. The spectacle looks something
like a small patch of rainfall on the surface of the water and it even sounds
like raindrops hitting the water.
Looking across the water as we trolled, I saw many dozens of these feeding
spots as far as I could see.
For every baitball at the surface there were many more below the surface. Each
baitball was not the same size but typically the dimensions were 20 feet tall
and 30 feet wide with some much bigger and some smaller.
As tiny and tightly packed as they were, each baitball was probably tens of
thousands of individuals. Across the whole area within my range of sight, there
were millions of anchovies.
These little critters feed voraciously and grow very quickly.
By late August, they will be big enough to capture the attention of foraging
topwater gamefish which will skillfully work the baitballs from the bottom,
which drives the baitballs to the surface where seagulls, pelicans, cormorants
and other sea birds get their opportunistic bellyful.
The foodchain amazes me, and when it all happens right in front of me on such a
massive scale, I am mesmerized. It is a humbling experience.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN
Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in
need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how
you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are
his own.
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