An angler in British Columbia was on the losing side in a tug of war over a Chinook salmon.
Cal Robinson with Blackfish Charters said he was fishing with two clients near Stephens Island, British Columbia, Monday afternoon when they spotted two killer whales.
Robinson didn’t think much of the orca sighting until his clients each hooked a Chinook salmon.
“[The orcas] were a ways away from us and as soon as that rod popped up from the downrigger, that whale did a 90-degree turn and swam right for us,” Robinson said.
When they saw the orca heading right for the boat, Robinson said he told his clients to reel in their lines as fast as they could. One client was able to get their salmon into the boat, but the other angler got into a tug of war with the orca over the salmon.
“We were just telling him to reel, reel, reel, as fast as he could. The line was just peeling off the rod so fast we couldn’t get anywhere with it,” Robinson said. “He was reeling, and nothing was happening. We knew the orca had it.”
By the time they were able to get their catch to the boat, all that was left of the Chinook was its head and some guts.
“I’ve never seen anything like that myself,” Robinson said.
Robinson said some of his friends who are whale researchers watched the video of the encounter and determined the orca that took the Chinook salmon was a member of the northern resident killer whale population.
Robinson said he knew the encounter wasn’t very common, but he never expected the video to gather so much attention online. He said he has had people contact him from as far away as Australia and Geneva about the encounter.
