birds diving for baitfish

J

Johan

Senior Member
I went to rooiels on monday by boat to get some crayfish. Didn't seem to be any crayfish but only some seals and a big whale which came about 20m from the boat!

I noticed the birds diving into the sea and everytime they managed to get a fish.

I believe that there is some significance in this to anglers? I means there might be predators feeding which drives the smaller fish to the surface?

What will an experienced angler do in this situation? I dragged a silver spoon around the area for  about 5 minutes but then had to leave.

What fish can I expect in this area when I see this? It is right by rooi els in 10m deep water.

 
 
L

leonard williams

Senior Member
MY MAN,WHEN YOU SEE THIS YOU START WHIPPING OUT POPPERS AND ALL THE SURFACE LURES YOU HAVE THAT CAN CREATE SPLASHES.THE FISH IN THE ARE COULD BE BONITO,SHARKS,AND GAMEFISH
 
M

Mel G

Senior Member
What u saw there is termed in some quarters as a baitball, the gamefish, dolphins, seals etc, drive the fish to the surface, so the fish in the baitball have no where to go, and then the predators, dart through the baitball and catch the fish in the cunfusion, the birds just dive in, and catch the fish from the baitball, u really lucky to witness that...

When this happens, any fisherman's jaw drops to the floor, and his heart starts pounding...U have 3 options, either try spooning, or use a Rapala lure/popper, and target the edge of the baitball, throw it there and use a fast jerky retrieve, u must get a hit, cos the gamefish are on the edge of the bait ball, the last option, would be the jig and drop method, where u jig one of the baitfish(with a treble hook) and let it drop out of the baitball, any predatory fish, would eat it up in an instance....

The ESA show 3 episodes ago, showed how these guys hit a baitball like this off St Lucia, they caught a whole lot of Dorado, and one of the presenters Mark de la Hey, said it was the best fishing he's had off a boat in his entire life... So the next time u see one of these baitballs (if ur lucky enough again), pull out all the tricks and ur sure to have a ball of a time...Post ur pic's when this happens....

Tightlines... 
 
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