There’s no free lunch for this pod of friendly dolphins

For me, the glass is usually half full. During the closure of our boat landings, many friends went above and beyond to help me fish. Their thoughtfulness and kindness make my glass, and my heart, full.

With local boat landings now open, I have returned to my normal (every day) fishing schedule.  As I get back into my routine, things that I may have taken for granted are wonderments once again.

On Sunday morning, the water was 69 degrees and the trout bite was going off. I was catching and releasing trout at a torrid pace. After about an hour, a pod of dolphins began hanging around my skiff and eating the fish I was releasing. One of them was very distinct as it was missing the top half of its dorsal fin.

Not wanting the released trout to be eaten and for the dolphins to associate food with people, I moved to another area about a mile away. Thankfully, the trout bite was good there as well. But after just a few minutes, the same pod showed up again. I knew it was the same group because of “Shorty,” the one missing half its fin. This time, I moved a further distance away, but the dolphins found me again in very short order.

It became clear that I was not going to lose this pod. So, I began putting the trout in my release well to be returned to the water later away from the ravenous mammals. Each time I put a fish in the release well, a dolphin would surface right next to the boat and look at me. To my surprise, this went on the rest of the day. Even with the trout supply cut off, the friendly dolphins stayed with me. At times it was a bit frustrating, but a wonderment nonetheless.

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call (843) 224-0099.