O' Sondador - October 15, 2006

**makoclay** · #1 10-15-2006, 01:40 PM

We went out this morning on a whale watching/fishing trip. The whales migrate offshore of Angola this time of the year. We have been wanting to go for a while, but only got a chance to go today. We went out about 4 miles, put out a spread of lures and then drove around looking for either a fish or a whale. The whales did not dissappoint. After about an hour of trolling, we saw some about a mile away so we reeled in the baits and ran towards them. We were about to get really close to them. In fact, I would not have felt comfortable any closer.

For the most part, they kept moving. When we would get close to them, they would sound and then come back up a few hundred yards away. We were able to anticipate where they would come up based on the direction they were swimming. At one point, one of them just sat still with his tail out of the water (see 1st pic). It stayed like that for about a minute or so. I think stopped and was watching us trying to figure out what we were.

It was truly an amazing experience. I know nothing about whales but all I can say is that they were HUGE!!! If I found out they were 100 feet long or bigger it would not surprize me. The small part of their back that came out of the water was much wider than the boat and you could tell that their overall girth was much larger.

As for the fishing, we only had one small dolphin but I must admit it was an after thought after the whales. Anybody able to tell what type they are from the pictures? My guess is hump-back or a blue-whale, but I really have no idea.

Stay tuned, the fishing season is just now starting over here. I look to be getting back out there much more over the next few months.

**Charles Helm** · #2 10-15-2006, 01:45 PM

Thanks for the pictures -- I have no clue on the whales though.

**Bret** · #3 10-15-2006, 02:02 PM

very cool... humpbacks!!!

**THE JAMMER** · #4 10-15-2006, 02:03 PM

Look like fin back whales to me.

THE JAMMER

**BPitcher** · #5 10-15-2006, 03:07 PM

Nice pictures!

Brad

**jtburf** · #6 10-15-2006, 03:11 PM

Cool that reminds me of a commerical running here on the Radio

"Why can't you catch a whale with a worm?"

John

**makoclay** · #7 10-15-2006, 04:08 PM

I have been doing some research and I am 99% sure that they were humpback whales. The shape of the tail is the determining feature. It says they get to be around 50 feet. OK, maybe 100' was a little much but all I know is that compared to my little 21' boat, they were big. Below is some of the info I found:

Size

A humpback whale can reach maximum lengths up to 50 feet (15 m) and can weigh up to 48 tons. A calf may be 4-5 meters long - that's up to 16 feet long at birth.

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Baleen

Depending on its size a humpback whale can have between 270 and 400 baleen plates. The plates can be as long as 80 to 85 cm (31.5 to 33.5 in.) and 15 cm (6 in.) wide.

What do they eat?</FONT>

A humpback whale eats krill and small schooling fish.

What a body!

It is easy to recognize a humpback whale because of its tremendously long flippers. The flippers can be one-third to one-fourth the length of they whale's body. The flipper can be as long as 5 meters (16.4 ft.) They have a small dorsal fin about 2/3's of the way back toward the tail.

Where do they live?

Humpback whales are found all over the world. Like other baleen whales from migrate to warmer waters during the winter and summer in the polar regions.

Humpback Whale Highlights

Male humpback whales are also known for their singing. In Hawaii for example, they can be herd vocalizing during breeding season. Humpbacks are listed as: CITES lists humpback whales as "Threatened" (Appendix 1) and the IUCN lists them as "Vulnerable."

Posted on - http://www.whaletimes.org/humpback.htm

**DeepBlueGulf** · #8 10-15-2006, 05:52 PM

Great Pics, Thanks for sharing.

Tom - DBG

**Calmday** · #9 10-15-2006, 07:08 PM

That�s very cool Clay. Thanks for sharing. We saw some from the platform last hitch but they were a long ways away.

**1hunglower** · #10 10-16-2006, 04:42 PM

Makoclay,

*** you a whale watcher now? What does that have to do with Billfishing except maybe if it was a whale shark. I hope you have'nt gone soft on us and turned into a photographer instead of billfisher. I am impressed about your knowledge on the subject, that took some major goggling on your part. What do the locals think about them whales, that could probaly feed their whole village for a month, you better watch out that shofar of yours may want to ground check that whale to eat.