08-01-2012, 07:00 AM
From http://captainonboard.org/ by Captain Jeff Jones
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Eyes in the Sky. How Birds Help You Find Fish
Posted on August 1, 2012 by Captain Jeff Jones
Reply
I will preface this article by saying that the information I’m about to give is based upon what I’ve been taught from guys I respect, and my own personal experience. I have not gone to “bird college”, or researched this stuff endlessly. What is written in the next few paragraphs is my words and how I see things. I am still learning and hope to learn more about birds every time I get out on the water.
I was on the flybridge of the 48′ Uniflite Brainwave, back in 1983 and we were fishing out front of San Diego, on the 9 Mile Bank. I stood next to Bill Lescher, the Captain, who had asked my friend and I to “quit playing video games in the salon” and come out for some fresh air. I loved to fish, but a big boat with video games on a nice TV and all you can eat Pringles was tough to resist. Bill had his eyes on the horizon, and I asked him what he was looking for. “Birds” is all he said, as he was too focused to give me the details right then.
Suddenly Bill turned the boat and pushed forward the throttles. I remember how loud the boat was just then, and how much it vibrated as it came up to speed. ”What is it! What do you see?” I asked. ”Birds!, look at how all the birds are flying in the same direction! They’re leading us to something!” Something was right. The boat slid to a stop and I looked over the edge of the flybridge in time to see 4 or five large bigeye tuna swimming almost straight down. Bill flew down the ladder and cast out a bait as fast as he could. He was screaming in frustration that us two boys had not even moved a muscle to try to fish. We were still in shock from how quick the whole fire drill had began, and it ended just as fast. We never even got bit, or should I say, Bill never got a bite.
Later in life I spent a ton of time on the water with another captain that followed birds and watched them more than the water or electronics. We’d spend days at a time hunting for striped marlin off Southern California, and did so quite successfully. He answered my questions about birds, and then showed me first hand how helpful they were in our quest to find fish on any given day.
“Birds don’t have a 7-11 on the corner where they can get a bite to eat whenever they want, so they must follow the food.” I was told. While staring through the binoculars for signs of life, I was trained to call out any and all birds I saw, and what they were doing. A certain lingo went along with it and would be foreign to any untrained passenger on board. ”He’s got somewhere to be. Standby. Yep, he put the brakes on! On your 9:30, bout a 1/2 mile out!” Followed by me running up to the bow and getting ready to cast a bait. Translation: A bird flying hard (not lazily) caught my attention. Then is stopped mid air and dove down towards the surface. This is almost always a certain sign of a feeder. (Marlin feeding on the surface. The fishing equivalent of a “slam dunk” if you can get a bait on it.)
The most common bird out there is the Western Gull. What I like to look for is the bright white and defined mature gulls. The ones with brown mixed into their plumage are immature, and have not yet learned much more than following other birds.
![[Image: 32552867.WesternGullAd8-300x165.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/32552867.WesternGullAd8-300x165.jpg)
This is a 3rd year Western Gull, and what I’m looking for offshore.
I watch these guys fly and look for one that is flying like it’s on mission. Hard wing flaps and a sense of urgency. Gulls are also a great sign when sitting on a kelp, or on the shoreline when looking for seabass. See a bunch of these birds sitting on the water during the day, all grouped up in 80′-130′ of water, and you can be certain there is squid where they are sitting. See a single pelican? There is probably no squid, as pelicans don’t care for squid.
![[Image: Caspian-Tern01-300x231.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Caspian-Tern01-300x231.jpg)
Terns are a great indicator, and seemingly come out of nowhere.
This is a tern, and they are a great indicator for many surface feeding species. Come into an area with some life and start seeing these guys, and it is time to get serious. While terns will give away the location of yellowtail and barracuda that are chasing bait upon inshore water, it’s the bait the terns are after it might just be mackerel causing the action. Offshore, these birds diving and picking on the surface means exotics. I can’t think of a time when a spot of terns were diving offshore and it was a false alarm. Terns will sit on kelps and help make them easier to find. Again, a kelp with one of these on it is a kelp I WILL fish. Offshore you hear about “time of day” and “on the slack” or “bite time”. Turns seem to appear right at bite time, and disappear into thin air when it’s over.
![[Image: SootyShearwaterJP1-300x199.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SootyShearwaterJP1-300x199.jpg)
Shearwaters are an all around sign that there is life in the area, but not really something I’d run for.
Shearwaters are common to see just about everywhere offshore. Where I key in on these is when they are picking along a current break, or sitting on a “slick spot” on the surface. The slick spot could be the oils coming to the surface from tuna feeing deep on sardines or mackerel. I have had jig strikes in situations just like that, many times. These birds often hover just above the water with their feet touching like they’re walking on water. They are eating tiny little things I can’t see, and sometimes thrive on the leftovers and scraps after a spot of tuna or dorado have finished feeding on finbait. Not really known for diving on marlin or tuna, but more for giving away little clues that tell me “I’m getting close.”
![[Image: BIRD0051-300x208.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BIRD0051-300x208.jpg)
Jackpot! Sightings of these are rare, and for me a sure sign that a marlin is nearby. The word Jaeger is German, and literally mean “HUNTER.”
Jaegers are really amazing birds. Hawklike with talons and split feathers coming off their tails, they fly with precision and purpose. Jaegers feed by following the surface fish we target, knowing that sooner or later they will chase baits to where other birds can scoop them up. Instead of getting their own meal, jaegers steal it from other birds by chasing them down with a show of acrobatics that is truly distracting to me as a captain. Every time, the pursued gull or tern eventually concedes defeat and spits out a meal for the Jaeger, which is catches mid-air and eats. I rarely see two of these at the same time, and have only a few times even seen one sitting on the water. These guys are where the action is, and I would follow one all day if I could keep up. This is my favorite of all the birds we see in So. Cal.
I do believe that at least on type of pelagic fish we target actually follows birds to help it find food. That is the dorado. I have pulled up to a kelp with a sonar on and watched the dorado go in a certain direction, right behind a single gull or tern. There was no bait on the sonar, and the water clear enough to see the dorado right on the surface, obviously following the bird. Conversely, I was off the 499 one day, between bite times, and saw a single jaeger with no other birds in sight (in any direction). I happened to look over the side in time to see a striped marlin go past on the starboard bow. The fish never made any attempt to turn or slow down, and the jaeger was right on it’s tail.
There is no question the trolling offshore can have it’s boring stretches. I find that watching the birds helps me stay alert, even of they are not sending me the right signals. For sure watching gulls, terns and jaegers has helped me catch more fish than listening to the VHF radio. If nothing else, it’s better than playing video games in the salon waiting for a jig strike.
Like the reads? Drop by and leave a comment in the box below the story. Great reads!!
Visit Captainonboard.org
Eyes in the Sky. How Birds Help You Find Fish
Posted on August 1, 2012 by Captain Jeff Jones
Reply
I will preface this article by saying that the information I’m about to give is based upon what I’ve been taught from guys I respect, and my own personal experience. I have not gone to “bird college”, or researched this stuff endlessly. What is written in the next few paragraphs is my words and how I see things. I am still learning and hope to learn more about birds every time I get out on the water.
I was on the flybridge of the 48′ Uniflite Brainwave, back in 1983 and we were fishing out front of San Diego, on the 9 Mile Bank. I stood next to Bill Lescher, the Captain, who had asked my friend and I to “quit playing video games in the salon” and come out for some fresh air. I loved to fish, but a big boat with video games on a nice TV and all you can eat Pringles was tough to resist. Bill had his eyes on the horizon, and I asked him what he was looking for. “Birds” is all he said, as he was too focused to give me the details right then.
Suddenly Bill turned the boat and pushed forward the throttles. I remember how loud the boat was just then, and how much it vibrated as it came up to speed. ”What is it! What do you see?” I asked. ”Birds!, look at how all the birds are flying in the same direction! They’re leading us to something!” Something was right. The boat slid to a stop and I looked over the edge of the flybridge in time to see 4 or five large bigeye tuna swimming almost straight down. Bill flew down the ladder and cast out a bait as fast as he could. He was screaming in frustration that us two boys had not even moved a muscle to try to fish. We were still in shock from how quick the whole fire drill had began, and it ended just as fast. We never even got bit, or should I say, Bill never got a bite.
Later in life I spent a ton of time on the water with another captain that followed birds and watched them more than the water or electronics. We’d spend days at a time hunting for striped marlin off Southern California, and did so quite successfully. He answered my questions about birds, and then showed me first hand how helpful they were in our quest to find fish on any given day.
“Birds don’t have a 7-11 on the corner where they can get a bite to eat whenever they want, so they must follow the food.” I was told. While staring through the binoculars for signs of life, I was trained to call out any and all birds I saw, and what they were doing. A certain lingo went along with it and would be foreign to any untrained passenger on board. ”He’s got somewhere to be. Standby. Yep, he put the brakes on! On your 9:30, bout a 1/2 mile out!” Followed by me running up to the bow and getting ready to cast a bait. Translation: A bird flying hard (not lazily) caught my attention. Then is stopped mid air and dove down towards the surface. This is almost always a certain sign of a feeder. (Marlin feeding on the surface. The fishing equivalent of a “slam dunk” if you can get a bait on it.)
The most common bird out there is the Western Gull. What I like to look for is the bright white and defined mature gulls. The ones with brown mixed into their plumage are immature, and have not yet learned much more than following other birds.
![[Image: 32552867.WesternGullAd8-300x165.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/32552867.WesternGullAd8.jpg)
This is a 3rd year Western Gull, and what I’m looking for offshore.
I watch these guys fly and look for one that is flying like it’s on mission. Hard wing flaps and a sense of urgency. Gulls are also a great sign when sitting on a kelp, or on the shoreline when looking for seabass. See a bunch of these birds sitting on the water during the day, all grouped up in 80′-130′ of water, and you can be certain there is squid where they are sitting. See a single pelican? There is probably no squid, as pelicans don’t care for squid.
![[Image: Caspian-Tern01-300x231.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Caspian-Tern01.jpg)
Terns are a great indicator, and seemingly come out of nowhere.
This is a tern, and they are a great indicator for many surface feeding species. Come into an area with some life and start seeing these guys, and it is time to get serious. While terns will give away the location of yellowtail and barracuda that are chasing bait upon inshore water, it’s the bait the terns are after it might just be mackerel causing the action. Offshore, these birds diving and picking on the surface means exotics. I can’t think of a time when a spot of terns were diving offshore and it was a false alarm. Terns will sit on kelps and help make them easier to find. Again, a kelp with one of these on it is a kelp I WILL fish. Offshore you hear about “time of day” and “on the slack” or “bite time”. Turns seem to appear right at bite time, and disappear into thin air when it’s over.
![[Image: SootyShearwaterJP1-300x199.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SootyShearwaterJP1.jpg)
Shearwaters are an all around sign that there is life in the area, but not really something I’d run for.
Shearwaters are common to see just about everywhere offshore. Where I key in on these is when they are picking along a current break, or sitting on a “slick spot” on the surface. The slick spot could be the oils coming to the surface from tuna feeing deep on sardines or mackerel. I have had jig strikes in situations just like that, many times. These birds often hover just above the water with their feet touching like they’re walking on water. They are eating tiny little things I can’t see, and sometimes thrive on the leftovers and scraps after a spot of tuna or dorado have finished feeding on finbait. Not really known for diving on marlin or tuna, but more for giving away little clues that tell me “I’m getting close.”
![[Image: BIRD0051-300x208.jpg]](http://captainonboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BIRD0051.jpg)
Jackpot! Sightings of these are rare, and for me a sure sign that a marlin is nearby. The word Jaeger is German, and literally mean “HUNTER.”
Jaegers are really amazing birds. Hawklike with talons and split feathers coming off their tails, they fly with precision and purpose. Jaegers feed by following the surface fish we target, knowing that sooner or later they will chase baits to where other birds can scoop them up. Instead of getting their own meal, jaegers steal it from other birds by chasing them down with a show of acrobatics that is truly distracting to me as a captain. Every time, the pursued gull or tern eventually concedes defeat and spits out a meal for the Jaeger, which is catches mid-air and eats. I rarely see two of these at the same time, and have only a few times even seen one sitting on the water. These guys are where the action is, and I would follow one all day if I could keep up. This is my favorite of all the birds we see in So. Cal.
I do believe that at least on type of pelagic fish we target actually follows birds to help it find food. That is the dorado. I have pulled up to a kelp with a sonar on and watched the dorado go in a certain direction, right behind a single gull or tern. There was no bait on the sonar, and the water clear enough to see the dorado right on the surface, obviously following the bird. Conversely, I was off the 499 one day, between bite times, and saw a single jaeger with no other birds in sight (in any direction). I happened to look over the side in time to see a striped marlin go past on the starboard bow. The fish never made any attempt to turn or slow down, and the jaeger was right on it’s tail.
There is no question the trolling offshore can have it’s boring stretches. I find that watching the birds helps me stay alert, even of they are not sending me the right signals. For sure watching gulls, terns and jaegers has helped me catch more fish than listening to the VHF radio. If nothing else, it’s better than playing video games in the salon waiting for a jig strike.
