When jigging on Saturday, my brother had a nice Blackmouth near the boat, it ran... then it REALLY ran. The line went slack. He reeled in half of the fishes face! A gill plate, empty eye socket, and mouth with the hook still embedded in the jaw. A sea lion emerged 50 yards away and started flipping it in the air.. I hate those damn things! A couple of years back, I had one knock a native silver right out of my hand, when I had it by the tail trying to get the hook out. My buddy and I still dont reach down in the water quite as quickly as before that incident. I hate those damn things.

I'm waiting for someone to loose and arm or hand to them on the LC. Seems inevitable when releasing a wild fish. Those buggers know when to hone in on a boat that has a fish held captive. Lost two springers right next to the boat below Cathlemet last year and saw several incidents where the sea lion grabbed fish while they were in a net. Scary...

I wish it were legal to shoot those damn things. They're not even native to Puget Sound. They didn't show up here until after their numbers rebounded in California. They're ugly mofos too. At least seals are cute and have always been here.

Arklier-
Actually the California sea lions are native to Washington waters. They breed in California but forage up and down the coast to
Alaska waters. They were uncommon in Puget Sound until populations rebunded following the enactment of the marine mammal protection act.

Tight lines
Smalma

same thing happened to me at shilshole. The sealions have taken my biggest blackmouth by far. Didn't see to many sealions where I was fishing in 8-2 on Saturday. A couple of blasts from an air horn seems to help.

I think they need to enact the marine mammal hunting act I am sick of them stinky sea lions too. Somewhere around the 4th of July ought to be a good time for open season!

One washed ashore full of bullet holes off of Johnson Pt. a few month ago by Nisqually. Poor guy seems to have died of lead poisoning! Caused a real stink.......

Although I have never had it happen I would never consider popping a Sea Lion because he yanked a fish from my line. I have seen Eagles take fish also, should we shoot them, or how about all the Bears.

Yeah, but bears and eagles don't usually hang around people, and they don't take the fish YOU just caught.

It would be real nice if we could just shoot them with rubber bullets to keep them away and afraid of man......I'm sure that some kayaker is going to be killed (if not already) by a sea lion pulling himself out "on a log".

Where are the tribal hunting rights when you need them?

My partner made a seal cough up a keeper by running him over in his SmokerCraft with a jet. Scared the crap out of him, but didn't hurt him and he was back stealing fish in a half hour or so. They chased him for 10 minutes or so, and finally caught up to him, ran him over, coughed up the fish and the fish fought like heck. Once he landed it, there was not a mark on it. I saw the whole thing from my boat, it was hilarious!

It isn't just the sea lions it's the seals as well. I have fished the sound for 25 years and until about eight years ago there wasn't much of a problem with the things. It's got so bad at Possession and Pt no Pt that they literally follow your boat like a herd of cattle. As soon as a fish hits your line they all dive. Some days are so bad it's best just to quit fishing vs feeding all your fish the damn things. They have also got to where they hide under your boat and wait for you to release shakers and then dart out and nail them as they swim away. They are just as much a problem for moochers as trollers. If anybody knows a sure fire way to deal with them let me know.

had one trying to jump in my boat last spring hit it with the motor trying to get away and it fell to the bottom. now I have a sea lion phobia. I wade all the time all year in the sound fly fishing and those damn things come from nowhere and just pop up 40 ft from ya and dive and I race back to the shore. I fish the most productive spots according to the tide and there are sea lions everywhere.

does anybody know if those transients orcas are still in the canal? or if they eat sea lions?

Well hell boys, I would consider fishing for Salmon among those Sea Lions the challenge of all challenges. I might just have to go give that a try. Once you hook them its always easy to get them in, this just might add some more sport to it.

I think just ignorantly shoot them and let the crabs eat them.

lead thrower, why so much love for the sea lions?

It is quite true that sea lions and especially seals will go for an easy meal. Even when fishing from a pier or dock, those darn things will grab your salmon. I've had it happen such that the second after I "hooked" a salmon at the surface, a seal or sea lion gobbled it right up.

I used to go smelt netting with my uncle and I always will remember the time when a monster sea lion made a big hole in our net.

I will be a devil's advocate and argue that marine mammal predation on recreationally valuable species is a perfectly natural occurence that doesn't warrant the shooting of seals or sea lions. Mind you, I'm no seal/sea lion lover, I've merely come to accept the fact that we must co-exist with them.

If we started killing seals and sea lions, the food chain would be disrupted. Orcas would be present in fewer numbers, so too would sharks due to decreased prey abundance. The theoretical result would be that salmon will rebound greatly. However, the oceans and streams can only support a certain amount of life before populations start to crash. When you eliminate a salmon's predators, then the salmon becomes the king of the sea and what starts happening is that the baitfish stocks start dwindling. Baitfish also play an important role in the food chain. They consume both phytoplankton(plants) and zooplankton(animals). If there are fewer baitfish, then there will be more plankton around. When phytoplankton dies, the process of decomposition sucks oxygen out of the water. So basically something that affects the top of the food chain will affect the bottom and vice versa. Nature has always found a way to adapt. Present salmonid predator populations are either balanced or in the process of balancing out. Taking the life of any creature has its consequences whether "good" or "bad". So take your pick, kill the marine mammals or leave them be. Either option will leave a profound impact.

Don't get me wrong, I feel sympathetic for anyone who has had his/her day broken all because of "that darn sea lion".

Maybe the Orca's need to start doing there job then!

I have only had a seal take a fish once... a long time ago.

Last year I fished Johnson's Pt quite a bit and there always 10-20 hovering around at all times. Never had one incident with fish caught. Maybe I didn't notice it.

One thing for sure. I like the seals around. It means bait or Salmon!

Downirggin'

rock hopper I agree with what you said but I think they need to thin out the seal and sea lions around here. theres a inbalance around here. seal eating sharks are not to common around here , most of the orcas around here eat salmon except those transients from alaska in the canal. those seals and sea lions need about a 75% cut in the population in inland waters. hopefully those orcas do there job. I know the nets in front of chico creek took a whole mess of them this fall.

Your right Downriggin! They are a clue... just like seagulls on th water for baitfish.... Very true,..Maybe we'll see an increase in transcient orcas around here with all the good food for them?!
Good Fishing, Darin
P.S. Sea Lions are a real pain -especially at man-made features like Ballard Locks --that really screws things up.

Puget Sound Orcas are pretty much strictly fish eaters. I've been at Possession when Orcas were present in the fall chasing the chum runs. It didn't really seem to phase the seals a whole lot. In the North Sound area the seals have become very dependant on fisherman for their food source. If any of you fished Possession for any period of time you would most certainly experience losing fish to them and see others losing fish to them. It wasn't like this years ago before their population exploded in the Sound. I think the problem is that there are so many of them now that the food source isn't abundant enough for them to support themselves without their poaching habits. They are a certain drain on the resource. It's a fight now days just to get a fish in the boat. I think they need to be thinned out and kept that way.

Hoghunter,
Do your homework! Transcient pods are migratory pods that can eat just about anything -especially sea mammals. They are like the gypsy's of the killer whale clans. They're dorsal fins are slightly different on average. They spend so much time "cruisin" like ships they're fins tend to be more streamlined than our local resident orca pods. Local pods you'll notice have erect upright dorsal fins. Have you ever watched footage of the killer whales in Argentina? Well, Killer whales are cabable of doing just that -eating sea lions/seals at will. Your right about the local pods and neighboring pods they generally tend to eat salmon and other fish in our near shore/inland waters. Transcients are known and can migrate from Mexico/Baja Penninsula up to the Bering Sea depending upon available food, and ocean temperatures. Did you ever see the footage of the orcas eating the gray whale carcas off the California coast? -Pretty amazing stuff!
My two cents$ worth!
Good Fishing, Darin

How do you like this solution?

Salmon, Broads & Beer

Slabquest,

Now that's a good one!
Good Fishing, Darin

Rockfish

No love for the Sea Lions, I just feel we should not go around shooting things that we find an annoyance while fishing, that's all.

Got hit 4 times in one day fishing 8-1 in Nov. Lost 4 whole set ups

Wrist rocket and ball bearings I hear work pretty well??

Maybe someone like the WDFW should conduct a survey/poll or statistical analysis of the sea lion "stealing" factor?
my 5$ cents worth!
Good Fishing, Darin

Steelnerves-
the problem with that is, somehow they'll count it from our quota!

Elkrun,

Huh, you might be right.... That's a damn shame... Hey Elkrun, don't forget to go back to the vandalism post I responded to you.
Good Fishing, Darin

the best way to stop the sea lion problem is thru salmon conservation. by putting an end to all commercial salmon and steelhead we will bring orcas back (resident pods) to the entire sound and they will take care of fat predator-less sea lions in a hurry.... just as god set it up to be. all of you that want to pick up a gun to solve every problem in this country are morons. try picking up a PEN FIRST. believe me it works better than shooting mergansers or sea lions or indians or each other. Its about tight lines not tight faces.

I just looked at my earlier post and I guess it could be a little confusing.

Click on the link to see an interesting technique for retrieving a salmon from a seal.

The post can be read to say that broads and beer are the solution, which I suppose it is.........

I've never lost a fish to a seal or sea lion, but was on a boat at Tillamook a few years ago when a friend lost a 30-pound king to one. Incidentally, there's been a pod of transient killer whales in Hood Canal for several weeks, the kind that eat marine mammals, and state biologists are now estimating they might have eaten as many as 800 harbor seals since they arrived. Last confirmed sighting of the pod was Valentine's Day.

I hope they stop and have dinner here In Port Angeles! I can recommend some good spots! Sea Lion extra rare maybe??

Salmonbelly,

Thanks for the info! Transcient killer whales are fascinating in their behavior. Often they are meager in their conversation unlike local pods. Very rarely do they socialize with clicking and sonar talk because they wish to remain stealthy and anonomous to other mammals like dolphins, porpose, large whales, sea lions, otters --and even other killer whale families.(Which obviously allows them to sneak up on their prey) In fact, from what I know, if they announce their presence to other "local" pods like K & D in the San Juans, they could be subject to a tresspassing violation or perceived as a threat ultimately leading to a war between the two families! Transcients are the "silent - killers"!! We are still learning a lot about these guys. Like nature intended it, they probably pass through various areas when the "grass needs mowing" -or seals etc. need some house cleaning. Kinda like mouse erradication or something...... Hopefully they find some of those local "problemo" sea lions!
Good Fishing, Darin B.

If you do the math it is not hard to estimate even the minimal impact Pinnipeds (Seals/Sea Lions et...) have on the fisheries. If each one of a conservative estimate of 60,000 eats a conservative estimate of 30 lbs of fish per day that is a conservative estimate of 1,800,000 pounds just an average day or 657,000,000 pounds a year. These monsters voracious pigs. Have you wondered why the crabbing has gotten so good in the last ten to fifteen years? I believe one of the big reasons is because these pigs, when they don't have a huge appetite, and maybe just want a little dessert, eat just the bellies out of the fish. The rest goes to the bottom to feed the crabs.
I say we go back to using seal skin boats myself. That would be the natural thing to do.

And numerous bathing Quillbilly's


seriously... anyone know where in the canal and which way they were headed...

I was out in the canal two weeks ago and had a sealion cruise the shore I was fishing. It popped its head out of the water within 20' of me and snorted... I just about crapped my pants...

The thing was damn near as big as my boat and was branded with a "61" on its back...

Anyone have any history on the signifigance of the Brand...

I agree with the seal skin boats idea

King 5 just did a story on Hood Canal and the killer whales there. It might be on later tonight as well. The estimates previously reported on this thread were correct. They said 800-900 seals have thus far been consumed by these top predators. I wonder how many were sea lions? I think the name "lion" is very fitting to their appetite and routine. From the story on King 5 they said locals have been noticing the seals running scared and actually have jumped in a few peoples boats!
Good Fishing, Darin

whats gonna be really cool is when they make there way to the south sound

I hope they're still hungry and turn east when they come out of the Canal. They have a smorgasboard waiting for them about three miles to the east.

Pickled Herring,

I think that Brand number actually is the racer number for that particular sea lion. Racers start off the California Coast and on-the mark head north in a sorta "Baja 1000" style racer format. On their way they are required to consume as many salmon on the long journey to the checker board finish down near Olympia. You can capture the end of the race sometime in June. I think #61 came in third in the contest last year thanks to a good sea crew....
Good Fishing, Darin

I guess that explaines all the stickers down his side... edlebrock... bosch... pennzoil...

and goodyear tatooed on the flippers...

Yea,

Finishing third he was in the spotlight of course and sponsors abounded. I think Ballard Locks and Greenpeace and PITA were on that one..... :p
Good Fishing, Darin

A couple of years ago, it was more seals than water around the mouth of the Dosewallips -- good luck to any fish trying to get upriver. And oyster harvesting was closed due to pollution from all the seal poop