“Any day you see a dolphin, is a good day!” Bertie Gregory

and thats according to one of the best ocean documentarians.

Sure, dolphins have that friendly smile and are everyone’s favorite sea mammals, did you know that they are also one of the smartest ocean predators?

Dolphins a Closer look premiered on Nat Geo, Disney +, and Hulu

OK, let’s go back to the title of this post:

What is a bait ball?

This is a bait ball!

A pod of dolphins circling a bait ball. (credit: National Geographic/Bertie Gregory)

A tightly packed bait ball, with circling dolphins and shearwaters. (credit: National Geographic/Bertie Gregory)

Imagine the way a dog may herd sheep into certain pattern, the dolphins do a similar thing.

By “herding” schools of jack mackerel, they create a ball of fish, gathered for eating.

And they are not just feeding themselves.

Birds called shearwaters, above track the movements of the dolphins and know where this bait ball will be located.

The beauty of this natural occurrence is that the bait ball is pushed to near the surface allowing the birds to dive in and feed, while the dolphins also get their fill.

Of course, there are times that a whale may just charges the ball and get their fill.

In addition, sometimes sharks will get the word and dive in as well.

Host, Bertie Gregory, filming a blue shark. (credit: National Geographic/Jeff Hester)

The trick to shooting all of this depends on a keen eye, and a knowledge of the signs.

Bertie Gregory is a master of the oceanic documentary and has been studying the feeding aspects for years.

Bertie Gregory in dive gear with an underwater camera sitting on the edge of a small rib preparing to dive. (credit: National Geographic/Zubin Sarosh)

Traveling to the Azores, the main transport carries the crew with the captain and his second, along with Bertie, his 2^nd camera, Jeff Hester, a sound person, and his director, Adam Boyle.

Once they see the dolphins speeding in a pack (yes, they do leap out of the water!) they move to a fast boat, more like an inflatable to get to the location in record time.

Captain, Paulo Gaspar, steering the rib with underwater cameraman, Jeff Hester and host, Bertie Gregory, as Bertie directs the way. (credit: National Geographic/Adam Boyle)

Diving in, they capture the feeding and share with you the whole process.

Underwater cameraman, Jeff Hester and host, Bertie Gregory, ready to dive. (credit: National Geographic/Adam Boyle)

For shooting, they use a Red video camera with a Canon lens, and a Go-Pro for some additional footage as you can see. Go-pro point back to Bertie to catch his “in the moment” reaction. And his enthusiasm and excitement of capturing all of this reaches out through the screen to you.

I know it did for me!

The aerial vid is all DJI.

As for audio, not only do you get the above water commentary when on the larger boat, but underwater they use a waterproof mic system where Bertie communicates with Jeff Hester, who can only nod or point – not 2 way,  and the folks on the larger boat who get the full live commentary.

Host, Bertie Gregory and crew on board the rib. (credit: National Geographic/Adam Boyle)

Pretty sweet set-up.

When we discussed the newer small cinema cameras coming out, Bertie said that actually the larger, chunkier rigs are better underwater. The size and weight allow for smoother footage, as the viscosity and drag of the water lets the rig glide easier, like a gimbal

A smaller set-up could make for shakier video. The larger filter in front of the lens is there to compensate for the underwater distortion.

The whole operation took about 5 weeks, and of course, like any documentary, when you go out, you are never positive what you may discover.

The masterful eye and instinct of Mr. Gregory assure the viewer that you will get a true exciting look, and all that nature has to offer.

Sometimes a hitchhiker comes aboard. Just a bit of a change up.

Host, Bertie Gregory, enjoying the company of a booby. (credit: National Geographic/Danny Copeland)

One thing they also know is that, when you are out there, weather is factor, especially in Sept/Oct, so they make sure to get back to home base, after each successful session.

The crew return to base at sunset, with volcano, Mount Pico, in the background. (credit: National Geographic/Bertie Gregory)