I Never Smelt So Good.

Smelt is a BIG deal out here, it's like the Black Friday of fish. The smelt run around the end of February and everyone is ready for it. I was working out in Castle Rock today (yes I want to live there just so I can tell people I live in Castle Rock!!) and the road I take runs along the river. Since I'm Sea-Lion obsessed my boss had suggested I check out the river banks on my way because when there's Smelt there's Sealions. Now, I drive up and down this road quite frequently so imagine my surprise to see this normally quiet little road lined with cars from one end to the other!! Whole families, teens, toddlers,people with cameras and tons with nets and buckets. Because that is how you catch smelt. All you need is a large fish net and a Home Depot 5 gallon bucket and you're in business. I've seen the seagulls circling the river for a few days and realized that the large schools of smelts is the attraction. 

But what I wanted to see was not stink-o-la smelt, no siree bob, I wanted to see those blubbery giants - where were they? I stopped at the park on the river first but no sealions - I asked the group standing next to me (FYI - if you move to Lands Unknown always start a conversation about where you moved from, excellent icebreaker). I was directed back to large berm about a mile back. So back in the car I went and arrived back at the berm, parking was tight! At first I was disappointed but then......

Sea lions are so loud! They bark constantly as they paddle along and you can see they're very proud they can make such big noises. I'm sure if I was a sea lion I would do it too, but that is one of the reasons people around here are not Sealion fans . People that live near where they like to hang out complain that they never shut up and they break docks since that is the favorite place to sun. While I was standing I started a conversation with the people in the pickup truck behind me - they were commercial fishermen. I told them I was from LI and it was an interesting conversation about nets and fishing. He told me in Alaska when they pull the nets they're often filled with fish and seals eating the fish! The sealions are the enemy of the locals, because they actually follow them(They follow the smelt, not the locals). The smelt migrate  up and down the coast to San Diego and the sea lions migrate right along with them, I guess you could call it fast food.....

I'm glad I'm not a smelt having to go around looking all tasty and stuff all the time. That would be annoying. You can see where they are, when there's a large school the water starts looking like it's boiling. The seagulls can't actually see them but they wait til a few surface before they pounce. I didn't see the smelt itself but will leave that for another day, there's only so much excitement one can take in a day!