The postcard was from Miami, Florida. If reminiscence serves me accurately, it was taken within the Nineteen Twenties. Within the photograph, a person in a full-brimmed hat and button-down shirt stands on the dock subsequent to a scale. His left hand is holding a rod and reel, which appeared to be a Fin-Nor or another top-shelf offshore reel of that period. His proper hand is touching his catch hanging at his aspect. The pose is traditional old-time Florida. There are millions of almost an identical photographs and postcards like this from many years previous, however this one all the time caught with me. What you’d count on to see at this angler’s flank is a large tarpon, goliath grouper, amberjack, or hammerhead. As a substitute, the catch is a big porpoise.
I’ve spent a variety of time scouring the web in search of the shot, and for the lifetime of me I don’t recall precisely the place I noticed it the primary time, although I imagine it got here throughout my desk a few years in the past whereas working for Salt Water Sportsman. What you may nonetheless discover on the web are historic photographs of well-dressed Florida anglers posing with trophy porpoises, however all of them seem like holding harpoons. The Miami postcard was the one I’d ever seen that steered the marine mammal was caught on a rod and reel. It was a jarring picture, as a result of anybody who spends any time saltwater fishing is aware of two issues: porpoises and dolphins are very considerable, however having one eat a hook by no means occurs … or virtually by no means occurs. Why not?
Choosy Eaters
Just lately, the Daytona Seashore Information-Journal ran a narrative overlaying the interactions between porpoises and anglers. A number of constitution captains are interviewed within the piece, with the writer posing the query of whether or not they’ve ever hooked a dolphin. All however one mentioned no—and I’ll get to that outlier in a second. However what has all the time baffled anglers is how dolphins and porpoises are so adept at not getting hooked. It’s virtually uncanny, as a result of they’re sometimes daring sufficient to seize a fish you’re preventing, however they do it in such a surgical method that they miss the purpose of the hook. In the meantime, as quickly as you launch your catch, dolphins will snatch it up within the blink of a watch.
I witnessed this firsthand within the Amazon years in the past with the jungle’s famed freshwater pink dolphins. They adopted our boat all day, circling wildly after we related with a peacock bass, and although they’d cost the struggling fish, they’d by no means contact it whereas it was on the road. Releasing the smaller peacocks grew to become considerably of a sport the place we’d cheer for those that managed to bolt again to the shoreline cowl earlier than changing into pink dolphin lunch. So, how do these animals know which fish has a hook in it, and which doesn’t?
Mind Video games
Dolphins and whales are geared up with echolocation talents. This implies they ship out sound waves and interpret the echoes that bounce off objects and again to them. It’s how they navigate and keep away from boats and predators. I’ve heard a idea that this built-in sonar is so robust and exact it’s going to ping off the steel hook, alerting the dolphin to not chow down. In response to the story, most anglers merely imagine dolphins and porpoises are simply extraordinarily good and capable of discern between the actions of dwell prey with a hook in it and people with out. Captain Jeff Patterson, who’s featured within the piece, theorizes that dolphins have such unimaginable eyesight they’ll see his fishing line. Captain Billy Pettigrew recounts a story of dolphins swarming his boat throughout a nighttime snook journey. If he didn’t feed them undersized fish, they’d get indignant. From the story:
“If I wasn’t feeding them, they’d run by the dock mild and scare every thing away,” he says. “They knew how one can make me feed them. They usually’re extra daring at night time. They’ll sit there, 5 ft away from my boat, all night time lengthy.”
Kiss Your Spool Goodbye
I’ve by no means actually favored dolphins. As slightly child, I used to be all in on the sharks coloring e book. Whales and dolphins? No thanks. Later, as I spent extra time fishing salt water, I realized to detest the dolphin psych-out—you see what appears to be like like busting tuna or stripers from a distance, zip over, and it’s only a bunch of bottlenoses. The variety of occasions I’ve had a strong chew shut down due to a pack of porpoises transferring in are innumerable. I’ve actually by no means had one a lot as sniff one in every of my baits, however bear in mind I mentioned one captain featured in that story has felt the tug of Flipper on the tip of his line? That was Captain Cody Moore of New Smyrna Clothing store. And it occurred to him twice.
“Offshore, I had one eat a unadorned giant ballyhoo,” Moore says. “He pulled off about 600 yards of line and broke off on the spool in about 10 seconds. Within the lagoon, I had one eat a pigfish and do the identical on a spinning rod.”
I’d guess that one of these factor occurs greater than we notice, we simply don’t hear about each occasion. However I hope it by no means occurs to me. I’d like to know the specifics of the catch documented in that classic Miami postcard, as a result of I don’t imagine there’s a trendy reel that might efficiently cease (not to mention land) an grownup porpoise, so how was this achieved with the gear they’d within the early 1900s? Regardless, preserve that is thoughts: Marine mammals are extremely protected. Don’t mess with them. If one does occur to clamp down in your dwell pinfish, lower the road. Then if you get again to the dock, purchase a lottery ticket.
