Nice! Here is one I had fun with; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E00KdfvDKY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPO6oGFnWOE&feature=youtu.beThis link shows 17 minutes of underwater video of landlocked salmon in Grand Lake Stream at spawning time this fall by Brian Foley. He took the video with a GoPro camera. It is well worth watching!
Impressive, Rick.There are a fair number of ragged tails and fungus infections on some. Any idea on the % mortality from the rigors of the spawn?
Many of the scars and ragged tails have come from either (1) females digging the nest in early November get scarred up and then get fungal infections, (2) males do a lot of chasing and bumping both pre-spawn and during/after spawning and some of it results in abrasions from stream bottom. We had no way to estimate % mortality. Every year, we used to sample 100 salmon between 10/27-31 from the hatchery's trapnet catch at West Grand Lake, which ultimately were used for the fall egg take and fertilization. We used to see 2-5% of these prespawn salmon with some distinct sores & fungus on them. Years ago, when Pete Walker was IFW's fish patholgist, we provided him with samples of those fish. I think his findings were inconclusive as to what caused those particular sores, but he gave it a common name of "salmon wart disease", with a more scientific name of "epithelial papilloma of salmon". It was likely due to the stresses and rigors of pre-spawn salmon.
Now that looks like fun! You landed him in less than 2 minutes, impressive. I got my first false albacore this fall and those fish are an absolute blast to catch, it's like hooking onto a truck and just holding on!
Back when I lived on Block Island, we had great runs of false albacore and bonito in the Fall. One year there were small, 10-20 pound, bluefin mixed in. You could tell when a school came in as everyone hooked up and promptly lost everything. I hooked 3 and landed zero. The first one spooled me. Roached a Shimano reel that Fall on those little speedsters.
