Gulf Stream

Yellow billed tropical bird!




The old saying “The bird is the word!” Believe me it is definitely true especially in this case. This is what I call a yellow-billed tropical bird. All I can say, “Whether or not that’s the name it certainly would be a good one for this bird.” It has a yellow bill and it sports a longer than normal couple of tail feathers. Believe me find a bird like this feeding or flying near the surface erratically and your chances for catching big blue water fish just increased! Since I took this picture I already know what this particular bird was following. It was watching as a large Wahoo made way cutting off the tails of baitfish in its wake. When the Wahoo turned back to feed on the disable bait fish the fresh entrails of those just killed floated to the surface making up for all this bird’s time for waiting, watching, and flying about erratically. The bird in this picture was just about to dive down and pickup it’s well waited for fresh meal. Due to the fish oils on the surface (right under the bird) the Wahoo kill has already taken place. At the time I took this picture of the bird I noticed the entrails floating on the surface as I trolled by. I would have gotten a picture of that; as soon as shutter closed we hooked up one of the largest Wahoo that I had ever landed.

Yes I am a blue water bird watcher!

Birds are one of your greatest resources in finding game fish. They can be seen at a greater distances than rips or floating debris. Small groups of birds diving and darting around are likely to be following game fish. They are usually picking up on larger bait or bait remnants that have been pushed up by the game fish below. Larger flocks of diving birds that seem to be staying in one location are likely to be on a school of small baitfish.



Yes, this is an oldie, but a goody! In my blue water traveling days I managed to catch quite a few of these yahoo wahoo’s! During this time of the year we basically caught most of these fish between the M2R6, R8, and R3 naval towers. It seemed that once I reached 130 feet of water there was always some sort of feeding activity at this depth. I fished rips, ledges, and of course watched for yellow billed tropical birds on the horizon.



It's time to fish the bird! And, where is it? Well, this is your lucky fishing report week!

I will never forget this one time that I found quite a Wahoo bite about 6 miles southeast of the M2R naval tower. The targeted rich environment was called “The bird!” See if you can find this area!! And If you do I suggest giving this area a try!

LITTLE MISS JUDY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

Whaling fishery



This is a replica of what a can of Nantucket Whale Oil used to look like. Captain Kathy Brown found this treasure while doing a little antiquing!

Many years ago I purchased a copy of the first edition of the encyclopedia Britannica, which was originally published in Edinburg Scotland in 1768-1771. The 3-book volume is set up more like a dictionary. The first thing I looked up, of course, was fishing. One of the most interesting subjects was on the Whale Fishery. I read it, hanging on every word, and now I would like to share this story with you.

According to the old encyclopedia, the first whales killed where not hunted by large boats in the ocean, but were killed from shore in the bays and sounds. The blubber was cut from the whale on the spot and immediately boiled for its oil by product. the oil that was obtained was known as "train oil." This oil was very important in the making of soap and also as fuel used for lamps.

As this fishery started to peak the whales no longer were accessible close to the shore. The whaling vessels that were on the hunt were basically pushing them further away from the bays and sounds. As the value and need for oil increased whales became a lot harder to locate. Ships had to equip themselves with provisions to stay not just overnight but for extended months at a time.

Vessels that were in the fishery used all types of methods for harpooning these great creatures. Some worked, some didn’t. As I read this information, my eyes got larger with every line on the page. Keep reading and you will find out how these 16^th and 17^th century fishermen hunted down and killed this most precious resource.

Large vessels would take to sea in the spring of the year. If they had a good fishing luck they would be home by the end of June. They only had to the end of August, before the ships had to get back to port. Something about ice! All of the fishermen would stay on deck and listen for the whale’s blow. According to the encyclopedia this was the noise that the whale made when he surfaced for its next breath. When the fishermen heard the noise all would cry out FALL! FALL! The long boats would be quickly launched from the mother ship, each boat being loaded with six or seven men.

They would head off in the direction of the whale. The harpooner would stand up straight on the bow watching for the whale to surface. Once the whale surfaced the harpooner had to throw the harpoon just in the right spot, which was near the blow hole area. When he hits this spot the harpoon easily is set and usually does hold. The harpoon has a rope tied to it and the other end is tied to the long boat. The theory is to give the whale as much slack as quickly as possible. This seemed to help keep the whale close to surface or at least for a few minutes. When the whale does take off they go straight to the bottom. In fact according to the story, the rope uncoils so fast that the men have to wet the rope to keep it from setting the boat on fire. The helmsman of the long boat has to keep the boat pointed in the direction of the whale. If the helmsman doesn’t do his job properly the long boat is easily capsized. Many long boats were capsized and fishermen were killed as a result of these so-called “wild boat rides” behind the harpooned whale.

The rope tied directly to the harpoon was about 40 feet long and was made from what they call hemp. According to the whalers this type of rope was easier to coil up and uncoiled without tangling, which was very important. The hemp also known as the harpoon line was attached to what they called the forerunner line, which measured out to be a piece of line about 600 feet long. If the harpooned whale goes slack all long boats gather about waiting to see its next move. As the slack line is pulled in it is carefully coiled, because it is almost certain that they whale will yet make another screaming run.

According to the story the fatter whales float right after they die. The leaner versions quickly sink to the bottom and don’t float up for days. The whales that floated right away became known as the “right whales,” because they were the right whale to kill. The right whale had two blow holes and made more noise when it blew than the others. And since this whale had two blow holes this also meant the spot to hit was seemly a bit larger allowing the harpooner an easier stick with the harpoon.

You know what happens next the whale dies from exhaustion. The floating whale is then tied to the side of the mother ship and the blubber is cut out in pieces measured about 3 feet thick and 8 feet long. There large sections were dropped from the topside of the whale right into the long boats. Now to perform this act the men had to put on makeshift spikes on their shoes. These aids were to help them from falling into the ocean. Falling into the ocean was not a good thing. According to the encyclopedia, the so-called “Bears” would eat the men immediately. As I read this early writing, I found that the “bears” where the enormous sharks that were feeding on that part of the whale that was still in the water.

All of this is very sad, but very interesting. I guess you could say, “we have come a long way, but a lot of the right whales didn’t make it.”