Sight never seen before on a lake, have any of you folks come across this? (Page 4): If they are being attacked by predators they usually form up a tight little ball...

Bobfromfremont Loc: Fremont Ca

kandydisbar wrote:

Interesting. Quite the sight for whatever reason. Is it possible some larger fish you didn't see were targeting them?

If they are being attacked by predators they usually form up a tight little ball

OldBassGuy Loc: Temecula, CA

Ranger188 wrote:

OBG,

I saw the same thing a Skinner earlier in the week! Closer look showed they were Trout, and looked like they were trying to spawn…

They plant the trout at Skinner at the Kayak dock except when the lake is low, then they use the main ramp. Where we saw this happen was really too far for the trout to travel as they are usually gobbled up by stripers or big bass.
Nope, these were LMB's.

hyounger56 Loc: La Mesa, CA

Fredfish wrote:

Did they have some baitfish, or Crayfish corralled in their circle Garey? I've seen saltwater fish do that, but on a bigger scale.

I read somewhere it's a effect of Toxic Algie in the water that makes them do that. IDK?

Heeb Loc: Pleasant Hill, CA.

Scaley sheep!

PaulFish Loc: Southern California

Baby fish for sure

nutz4fish Loc: Colchester, CT

OldBassGuy wrote:

While fishing Skinner yesterday, was coming around this point in about 4-10 feet of water with somewhat of a rocky bottom. Had a nice bass follow my bait all the way to the boat. Couple of minutes later, we look down and see about 10-15 fish swimming rapidly in a very tight circle (maybe 2' across). Then quite a few times anywhere from 4-8 doing the same. These fish were in the 2-5lb range. Did land my big fish of the day there with a drop shot. W

When this popped back up, I remembered Whirling Disease in fish, so I looked it up. Supposedly limited to trout, salmon and grayling. Maybe it has spread to other types of fish ?
Who's our botanist?

Sierraman73 Loc: El Dorado County, Ca

Probably spawning Carp. Carp begin spawning in April. Male and female carp spawn by swimming side by side. A female Carp has up to seven males fertilizing her eggs at any one time, although three to four males is average, and spawning may occur over several days. I have seen this several times near the shore of lakes. Typically, you will see a lot more than 2 fish swirling around.

Ranger188 Loc: So Cal (Orange Co)

Here is a brief video of the fish we saw last week. Looked like Trout. They were near Launch Ramp 2…

Attached file:
(Download)

HBM

OldBassGuy wrote:

While fishing Skinner yesterday, was coming around this point in about 4-10 feet of water with somewhat of a rocky bottom. Had a nice bass follow my bait all the way to the boat. Couple of minutes later, we look down and see about 10-15 fish swimming rapidly in a very tight circle (maybe 2' across). Then quite a few times anywhere from 4-8 doing the same. These fish were in the 2-5lb range. Did land my big fish of the day there with a drop shot. W

I have seen it in Fla before with gar fish I saw hundreds of them all circling around cypress trees. Love is in the air.Bobby

ranger632 Loc: Near Yosemite Park Ca.

Ranger188 wrote:

Here is a brief video of the fish we saw last week. Looked like Trout. They were near Launch Ramp 2…

Mating

Jeremy Loc: America

OldBassGuy wrote:

What is the old Buffet song: Fins to the left, Fins to the right!

The other one by Jimmy Buffet that comes to mind on the fish topic here is: Why don’t we get drunk and screw?

Jeremy Loc: America

If we had to do this it would be a dizzy challenge to really get in there. Maybe that’s part of the reason. Survival of the fittest. If some fish end up dizzy their genetics 🧬 don’t end up carrying on.

OldBassGuy Loc: Temecula, CA

Ranger188 wrote:

Here is a brief video of the fish we saw last week. Looked like Trout. They were near Launch Ramp 2…

The ones we saw were going about five times that fast and more in the school in a tighter circle.

Retrieverman390

Sounds like spawning behavior. What was the water temp at the time?

RuffplayOR57 Loc: Klamath Falls, OR

OldBassGuy wrote:

While fishing Skinner yesterday, was coming around this point in about 4-10 feet of water with somewhat of a rocky bottom. Had a nice bass follow my bait all the way to the boat. Couple of minutes later, we look down and see about 10-15 fish swimming rapidly in a very tight circle (maybe 2' across). Then quite a few times anywhere from 4-8 doing the same. These fish were in the 2-5lb range. Did land my big fish of the day there with a drop shot. W

I agree with most other replies, a Spawn thing. But I will say I’ve Never seen anything like that. I’ve had a “mate” follow a fish I’ve hooked to the Boat, but nothing like you were a witness to. Sounds like you got a treat!