A Whale of a Time but a Crab of a Catch! Amazing pics!

Well here it is! My one catch for the day.



Jetty fishing always leads to surprises and this trip to the Columbia River South jetty in the Northwestern most part of the great state of Oregon was no exception. Our intent was to see and try for any early coho that might be working the bait balls off the South jetty.



Mike Braun casts a red, green and black 4oz float rig off the South jetty. Actually caught his float in mid air on accident in the above shot while trying to photograph the enormous canopy of gulls flying overhead.



Just a few minutes after we got there my eyes grasped a sight so amazing I had to check myself because it appered to be a small whale working the very same bait ball we had intended to fish. When Mike's brother Ron Braun excitedly yelled "did you see that!" I knew I was not seeing things and it was time to put down the rod and reach for the camera!



Mike, Ron and myself guessed the whale to be a small Grey Whale about 20 to 30 feet in length. Bait was thick against the jetty and that brought the whale in very close to our position on the jetty. At one point he even swam between Mike's bobber and the jetty where Mike was standing. That whale was a smart one and knew exactly how to circle around and herd up the bait to get a mouth full of herring and anchovy.



This photo shows the relation to the jetty and just how close this whale was feeding to the shore.



An incredible sight to see and for me a real thrill to try my luck shooting a feeding whale from of all places, the bank! This sight even impressed Ron whom has been around the world and around the water for much of his life as an angler and a surfer. If he was impressed this is really something special to witness.



Other than it is still a bit early I have no real fishing report to give. IM also convinced that our friend the whale had stirred that bait ball up pretty good. The backup plan of crabbing with the days left over herring netted similar results but it is easy to reflect back on the days highlight. As a photographer one could hardly described the days end result as being skunked