 In the past, strong salmon runs passed through on the way to the rivers on the mainland, but they have all but disappeared as have the once plentiful bait of candlefish and herring.Most of the fishing in southern end of Whidbey Island takes place on the western side, in Possession Sound, Mutiny Bay, or Double Bluff.Saratoga Passage was named by Charles Wilkes, during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, for the "Saratoga", the flagship of Thomas MacDonough during the Battle of Lake Champlain of the War of 1812.