Editor's note: "The name eulachon (occasionally seen as oolichan, oulachon, and uthlecan) is from the Chinookan language and the Chinook Jargon based on that language" (from Wikipedia). All these name variants refer to (Thaleichthys pacificus), a smelt (Osmeridae) of the Northeast Pacific Ocean and Coast.
Phil Griffith wrote:
[My son Ross Griffith and I] were trout fishing both the Homathko and Southgate Rivers mid April 2018 and observed oolichan in both rivers. The trout were feeding on them heavily, and we observed a few dead ones on the bottom of both the Southgate and Homathko.
There were about a dozen of these oolichan, in groups of 2 or 3, dead in the shallows. The trout we were catching were gorging on them (and barfing them up when hooked) and the mergansers looked like they had eaten their fill. This was about 5 km above the main Homathko camp, which is probably 3 km above maximum high tide water.
The one trout we kept (3-4 lb dolly varden which was gill hooked and bleeding) had 4 in it's stomach, and two or three other trout (smaller ones 1-1.5 lbs) had the the oolichan tails hanging out of their mouths. A number of bigger trout vomited digested fish that were 6 or 7 inches in length. These all had a cross section similar to an anchovie, and were definitely not small salmon or trout.
Ross also saw 2 dead on the bottom of the Southgate, and one of the trout we caught had a tail hanging out of it's mouth.
There were numerous mergansers on the river, but it looked like they were gorged, as they were mostly resting and not feeding heavily. The seagulls were present, but were not picking up the few dead oolichans that were in six inches of water.
In my opinion, we saw the end of the oolichan run. The trout were very fat and healthy, and looked like they had really good feed for the past couple of weeks.
I was a hunting and fishing guide in the area from the mid 80's to early 2000's. I am very familiar with the fish and wildlife in the area. I am a board member of the local SFAB with Jeremy, I am a board member of the Tyee Club of BC and a board member of the Campbell River Salmon Foundation. I am active in salmon enhancement and am an ardent angler and hunter. I am 52 years of age, and my son Ross is 19 yrs.
5 years ago, we jet boated and fished both the Homathko and the Southgate (in early May) . At that time, a number of the dollys we caught had the tails hanging out of their mouths. The fish were partially digested, but I suspected they were oolichans. I asked a number of the long time Bute residents if they knew of these fish, and received only blank stares. I also asked a couple of older members of the Homalco band, and they did not know.
We plan on being back in that area spring of 2019 on our annual trip. Let me know if you want more pictures or samples. I plan on asking the Homalco Band if we can access the Orford River to see if they are also present there.
Ramona de Graaf wrote:
Many thanks for these photos and the observation! Indeed these appear to be oolichan, Dan Penttila provided key diagnostic features and his expertise. I have bcc'd this to others for their input.
A few years back, I had an observation of capelin spawning at the mouth of the Homathko River, and I will revisit those data.
I know so little about this amazing part of the Strait and thank you so much for this; perhaps those who know this area much better than me will find this observation helpful (I have bcc'd this to many). Obviously spawning populations of oolichan anywhere in BC, particularly the south coast, are of significant importance.
Jeremy Maynard wrote:
The Southgate flows into the head of Bute Inlet from the east. In the map below it is the smaller valley on the centre right.
Copied below is a recent e-mail from Chris Bunn (cbunn@mcinc.ca), who provided the capelin report from nearby.
Best part of 20 years ago I had a client land a 25 pound chinook in late May, near Paradise Creek almost half way up the inlet on the western shore. It was plugged with some species of smelt, never did figure out exactly what they were and haven’t seen anything like them since (not that I spend much time fishing the inlet).
References**
Hay, D. and McCarter, P.B., 2000. Status of the eulachon Thaleichthys pacificus in Canada. Canadian Stock Assessment Secretariat.
Schweigert, J., Wood, C., Hay, D., McAllister, M., Boldt, J., McCarter, B., Therriault, T.W. and Brekke, H., 2012. Recovery potential assessment of eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) in Canada. DFO Can Sci Advis Secr Res Doc, 98.
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