Tom,
Herring were my first guess, based primarily on what I've read.
Unfortunately, there's very little information out there to go on. Most of
what has been written about baitfish is based either on the scientific
literature or deeper water, gear-based fishing experiences. Frankly,
until I read your post, I wasn't even aware herring were a significant
baitfish for us beach bound fly fishers, since most baitfish discussions
focus exclusively on candlefish. I also now realize that peculiar
"spritzer bubble with coins falling in the water" phenomenon I've seen
several times before must have been schools of anchovy. It's one thing
to know that "Engraulis mordax ranges from Cape San Incas, Baja,
Califronia to the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia", but quite
another to know "lots of times during the spring you will find schools of
small anchovies on the sand/cobble section of the beach just north of
Carkeek Park. When the coho or cutts are feeding on them, you can
usually do well with a 2" - 2 1/2" slimmed down green/white Deceiver
pattern". If the information doesn't have a practical application to
matters at hand, it isn't useful.
Personally, Tom, I found this post on baitfish, as well as your post a
couple of weeks ago about the characteristics of amphipods and
euphasids to be among the most interesting - and useful - in the history
of this list! I think we all fly fish for different reasons - that different
aspects of this sport resonate to varying degrees with different people.
But for me, understanding the ecology of the fish we are pursuing
resonates the most. To me, fishing without some understanding of the
fish and their food is like blind casting - I can do it if I have to, but I'm
only really engaged if I have some notion of what the fish are feeding on
and how it behaves.
So ramble away Tom! This understanding of the bigger picture is what,
IMO, ultimately distinguishes fly fishing from most other methods. I'd
love to hear more. Heck, I'd love to see a book on this subject - or at
least an in depth article in one of the fly fishing mags. I can't believe
NW publishers have not given more attention to this area. Somewhere,
there's got to be room - between the 3 page Sage adds and the
"Damsel Pattern of the Month" stories - for something on the new and
burgeoning subject of "Beach Fishing Puget Sound". Hey, you folks
with publishing connections, give Capt. Wolf a call. He's got something
to say!
-Wes
Date forwarded: Wed, 5 Apr 2000 15:09:46 -0700
Date sent: Wed, 05 Apr 2000 15:13:22 +0000
From: Tom Wolf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Carkeek Park
Forwarded by: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Howdy Wes -
>
> Your description of the bait fish got me all excited just reading about it!
> It sounds like herring to me. They are usually chunky looking, light bluish
> root beer, almost copperish hard to describe coloration. One way to tell
> the difference is by the way they are feeding. Herring like to make a
> little splash when they are eating instead of the slight dimple of
> candlefish or anchovy. They are also a bit more spread out when they feed.
> If they are tightly bunched on the shore, you can see the distinct color of
> the darker bait. Anchovy are very bright cheeked and will have a definite
> twinkle associated with there movements. The cheeks are nickel bright and
> about the size of a dime when looking in the water at them. The anchovy
> moves very snake like and stays tightly packed. Candle fish leave an oily
> slick on the water and also move very snake like. As young, they are very
> light colored with a hint of yellow ochre on their sides. The candlefish
> are phytoplankton eaters and when its very quiet on the water they sound
> like bubbles from a glass of 7up popping. The dead give away is when they
> are pursued. As coho rip through the schools of candle fish, the bait
> directly in their path will fly out of the water and show you the fishes
> line of erratic travel. In the deep south sound we are blessed with
> amphipod and euphausiid producing machines....the inlets and shallow bays
> that get blown and churned up from wind and tides. This type of food lets
> the fish become grazers..almost cattle like....taking their time swimming
> up and down the beaches not getting in too much a hurry and saving energy
> to eat. Now is the transition period ....specially at Docs...they must
> switch gears to being pack animals.....like wolves on prey wildly crashing
> into the schools of candle fish. This is almost as bad as a teenage kid
> with testosterone overload. Their whole attitude changes...they become more
> aggressive as June approaches, and they are most likely to be lost from a
> hook in the first 5 seconds of a hookup. In June, landing 50% of your fish
> is nothing to hang your head about. This is peak period for jumping,
> flying, torpedo the boat ect.. and for me it the most fun part of the year
> for playing these fish. Rambling again here sorry....but don't forget about
> sandlance, smelt and sardines.....maybe more on these later if you want.
>
> Happy trails
> TW
>
> Wes Neuenschwander wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Encouraged but mystified: What the heck were those little guys and
> > why didn't they produce some fast and furious action?
> >
> > -Wes
> >
> > Wes Neuenschwander
> > Seattle, WA
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Wes Neuenschwander
Seattle, WA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
