Kayaking with Pacific White-Sided Dolphins

Weather and Tide Conditions

This trip was not a long trip as I got out mid morning after dropping the boys off at school and fished until lunch. The tide screenshot is October 7th, but this date was October 6th (but no massive differences). The wind man was right this date as it predicted a calm morning and high uptick in wind at lunch. That was exactly my experience, as I had a beautiful time out there in the morning and when I was exiting saw the wind ramp up significantly. 

Vertical Jigging was Non-Stop COHO ACTION

It was within an hour of high slack tide, and I started to find the bait in the upper water columns (around 50 feet). And with them there was a TON of Coho crushing bait. Seeing the bait and salmon my fish finder was exciting as I knew each drop I was about to get munched!

I didn’t bother taking the time to troll through these bait balls as it’s easiest to vertical jig with my spinning setup. I’m using a 7’6 Medium-Heavy KastKing Kong spinning rod paired with a KastKing Kapstan Elite spinning reel. The line is PowerPro colored braided line 40#. And the jig of choice was a Lil Nib Hugh’s Special  2.2oz. 

The technique I was using to vertically jig these fish was dropping the jig to the bottom or below the bait/fish and then reeling in like a mad man as fast as I could, then I’d stop and jig the line 2-3 times and usually then I’d get a strike. I demonstrate this technique in the YouTube video below. It’s a deadly technique to catch all types of salmon or bottom fish with a jig. 

Anyway, I lost track of how many Coho I caught that morning. It was roughly around 15 I think. I caught my 2 hatchery that I could kill (caught 4 hatchery fish total). I also caught the biggest Hatchery Coho I’ve ever caught on a kayak before on this date! That was a special one for me. This was hands down one of the best Coho days I’ve ever experienced and perhaps best salmon fishing days ever.

Pacific White-Sided Dolphins swimming around my Kayak

As mentioned this was one of the most special kayak days for me and that’s because I got to spend some time with the Pacific White-Sided Dolphins. To grasp this experience, you’ll have to see the full YouTube video (see below). 

I believe these dolphins were hanging out in Hammond Bay because they were hiding from 4 Killer Whales out front of Neck Point. I saw these Killer Whales moving through when I first got out to the fishing grounds (again you can see that in video). These dolphins were moving FAST! They ripped into the bay when I was heading out, and I didn’t expect to see them up close and personal when I returned. But sure enough they were still there a few hours later when I returned to the boat launch area. 

Before I saw these dolphins in the bay, when I was heading back to the boat launch the bay was calm but it felt like a big wave was carrying me forward. Sure it enough it was 3 dolphins swimming right below my kayak and in front and creating a wake that propelled me forward. It was incredible! It was then that I started freaking out and took my phone out for video. I wish I would have had my underwater camera at this point, but was still able to get some great video.