Wow. I took a ride with girlfriend at about 6PM to try to catch a sunset along the water. Well, the clouds killed the sunset but when we stopped over at Niles Beach there were birds.... a whole lot of birds working the shoreline from the beach all the way out to Eastern Point. For those of you who don't know the area, thats about a two mile stretch of water that looked like a typical fall blitz. We walked onto the beach to investigate. The birds were dive-bombing in less than two feet of water. When we got close enough we noticed what they were attacking. Sand Eels! There was a massive school of them being slurped up by the gulls. There did not appear to be anything else eating the eels but I have never seen a big mass of them so close to shore. I hafta wonder what caused them to be where they were. Anyway, it was a rush that made me want it to be June in a hurry. Snapped a couple pics as I approached the shore but then my camera battery died :wall: I'll post them if they depict the scene well.

Is this unusual or no? I thought the eels stayed offshore...?

ahhhh signs of life, if not eels they might be smelt.

Ahh, what a romantic evening, you, the girl, and a sand eel blitz. Could it get any better?

Saw this at RP last Easter. Whales grubbing the bottom in skinny water for BIG sandeels. Thought that it was a sign of a banner season. Didn't happen.

Sand Eels don't mind the cold water...they're the first to come and the last to leave...

probably some cod to be caught there right now if the baits still around.

Saw the same thing today in Salem on the way home....birds going crazy on something.....didn't have time to check it out though.

ahhhh signs of life, if not eels they might be smelt.
I would have guessed smelt also.

This is what I would throw if the eels were around,,,,,

I would have guessed smelt also.

They were defineately eels. I was watching the gulls slurp them up like a kid with a strand of spaghetti.

This is what I would throw if the eels were around,,,,,

GattaFish! Where did you get those and where can i get some? Those look great! PM me if you don't mind...

THanks!

Wow!! I have never seen any sand eels up our way Spinn, that is cool. I was very close to taking a ride to the beach on my way home from work yesterday too, looks like I should have.

Wow!! I have never seen any sand eels up our way Spinn, that is cool. I was very close to taking a ride to the beach on my way home from work yesterday too, looks like I should have.


Yeah it kinda surprised me as well. I know that last season the Whales/Tuna were feeding heavily on the just a coupla miles offshore. Part of me really wants to try to catch cod off the B-water today. Took a ride by the beach this morning b4 work and the birds were present but not diving...

If they were sand eels head over to dog bar with some mackeral rigs . you might get lucky . It is almost time.

give it a try Spinn! that would be amazing if you caught some cod!

nice!