Hi Italo. Love the show. I have a question about the whirlpool. I’ve talked to a few people about fishable area and these few people say for all its size there are limited areas fish hold in numbers. When I go there people do seem to bunch in areas. Would you agree or do you buck the trend and fish different parts of the pool? Thank!
Posted on October 11th, 2017Hi George, thank you for your kind words. The people you have talked to are correct. The Whirlpool is like any other moving body of water and fish hold in very specific areas. Understanding hydrodynamics (how the water moves), and the “hard-pan” (the bottom structure) is key to locating fish in any river or stream. In the case of the Whirlpool, as you know the water fluctuates daily until Nov.1 (when it remains low). If you get to the Whirlpool at daybreak it will be up to 20′ lower. The algae covered rocks that are out of the water are extremely slippery so you have to use caution as you get down to the waters edge. That low water enables you to see what is below the surface once the water rises to full height around 9am. Both salmon and trout will hold behind structure/current breaks within 30′ out from shore. There are fish further out, but shore fishermen cannot effectively fish for them with different surface currents and deeper structure. Key areas to fish are where there is a “current-seam” created from the faster water meeting the slower water, back-currents (currents that flow slower against the main current flow), and areas of slower “slack-water” (like just north of the helicopter pad). So being able to “read” the water and knowing where the current-breaks will be created once the flow is up will be a key to locating fish. The other challenge is to get the bait or lure in front of holding fish that normally lay just off the bottom. That’s where the type of lure you are using, the speed you retrieve it at, the direction to retrieve it is all very important. Drift anglers have the same challenge in getting their drift-baits in front of the fish and have to use the right lead, right about of split-shot sinkers and right size float.
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