quote:Originally posted by profisher
Started at the trap and hit a 20 before I even got the 2nd cannonball one the rigger. Lost another later, (sawed off leader) also 3 hatchery coho, then part of L pod showed up heading west. Ran to Sheringham and picked up a 15 on the first pass and another hatchery coho. Lost another spring just before the whales arrived again. Then the fun began. One of the other 2 boats there hooked a big fish. They fought it while the whales were passing by. I saw 3 females turn back to the east heading right for them. I knew what was coming. The 3 people in the boat saw it too and started to work the fish more aggressively to the boat. The flasher was up but the fish stayed about 10-15 feet away from the boat. The whales closed in. The guy holding the net started smacking the water with it trying to spook the whales. They got the flasher to within a foot or two of the rod tip but the fish was going nuts. The net guyed tried a couple of times to snag it. The line and flasher went quickly towards the bow, I knew a whale had it. Then the line eased off and the net was quickly slipped under a 30+ pound spring. The female on board started yipping it up as they managed to land the big fish. They told me a few minutes later that the whale did have the fish in it mouth but it slipped out. They managed to net it before the whale could get turned around for a 2nd attempt. The 3 whales swam back and forth around their boat for a few minutes trying to find the fish. What a great thing to watch and what a story they have to tell!
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