I can remember years ago when the big warm El Nino hit and all the strange fish showed up with the warm water.
Yesterday is the first day for me to start seeing the new El Nino strange fish begin showing.
July first, the commercial salmon boats swarmed the ocean to share the harvest with the charter and sport boats. As far as we could see troll poles dotted the horizon in all directions.
"I think I'll just start outside the main troll drag and try not to get us ran over," I told the clients, as I throttled back the big outboards and began dropping troll lines.
The Silver Salmon were hungry but not around in great numbers. We caught a few, but the little Pink Salmon (Humpies) started driving us crazy. Each time I put the lines down the tip of the rod started jiggling.
"Bite.... get ready... as soon as the line snaps out of the down rigger clip start reeling," I encouraged the clients who were alread poised at the ready. No snap... another humpie.
"Ok, give it a tug to help the humpie," I kept repeating over and over. "Hey, at least we have fresh halibut bait."
Humpeis are a soft meat fish and not desired by the clients to eat. Once frozen and thawed they become very mushy. When the airlines are charging for each fish box flown it is not worth the money to crowd out better fish with humpie meat.
I throttled the kicker motor back and saw one of the lines snap out of the down rigger clip.
"Fish on! get it, get it, get it!" I shouted.
The client raced to the rod and started reeling. When the slack was taken up I was looking for the signs of a silver Salmon racing for the surface and pulling harder than a humpie.
Not to be.
"It looks like another humpie," I said to the groan of all four clients.
I put the net back on the boat and readied the gaff hook to release the humpie.
"What in the world?" I exclaimed as I saw a strange form coming up on the hook.
It was not silver at all like the salmon we catch ever day. I held the line to see if it were a big wad of kelp or jelly fish.
"It's a fish," I said as I hoisted it on board.
"Oh cool! It's a Pompano!" I shouted.
The clients just stood looking at the strange fish lying on the deck.
"I have not seen a Pompano since the years ago El Nino," I informed them.
We laid it on deck and took many pictures of it.
Back home I looked it up on line to find that it is a Pacific Pompano that is found along the coast of Baja California and the lower two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez.
I guess this little guy was a bit lost! He made his grand voyage all the way to the coast of South East Alaska only to bite the hook of someone looking for Salmon.
I'm sure we will start catching more of them as the water continues on its overly warm course.
The Jelly fish are thick just like the last time the water warmed like this, and the salmon seem more difficult to catch as they hug the bottom looking for their preferred cooler waters.
In spite of the warmer temperatures we are still managing to catch our fish each day.
I'll keep you posted if we find other such creatures roaming about.
Pacific Pompano
The clients with a mornings catch
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