Sorry for the delay on this report... been busy with family last few days! Caught 6:00 AM ferry from Mukilteo and headed for Bush Pt. Arrived at about 7:00... area around the boat launch was "elbow to elbow". Walked about 1/4 mile north on the beach to finally find a spot to fish. High tide was around 8:30, and didn't see much action until the tide changed... saw perhaps 15 to 18 Pinks caught until about 10:00, then everything went quiet. As soon as the sun rose above the trees and hit the water, the fish became scarce. A conservative estimate of the number of fishermen (and women!) was 200, squeezed into a half mile of beach (I counted 50 within 100 yards of myself). My best opportunity was missed because of my own stubbornness... I started out with a pink Rotator with a mini-sardine hootchie. Every fish I saw landed was on a hot pink Buzz Bomb. Finally, about 9:00 I switched over to a Buzz Bomb... first cast, had a fish follow to the beach... about 5 casts later, "fish on"... nice big Pink, made several runs, then up and down the beach... some people don't know enough to get out of the way, the fish literally swam between the boots of one fisherman... finally got the fish on it's side, then saw that the hook was in the corner of it's mouth... Uh, oh... trying to pull it up onto the beach, the hook popped off and the fish swam off to fight another day. A big Pink, I would say, in the 8# to 10# range... in fact, saw several landed that were that size... looks like some big fish in this year's crop! Had one more fish follow to the beach, then by 10:00 all action ceased.
Did not see another fish caught off the beach... by 11:00, there were only 20 or so fishermen left... even less by noon. Tide began coming back in about 2:00, and a number of boats closed to within 50 yards of the beach, some anchored, but many just drifted with the current, casting Buzz Bombs parallel to the beach, or out from the beach and they were taking quite a few fish. Looked like the bright sun had caused the fish to head for deeper water. Saw fish jumping, but most were at least 100 yards off the beach. Left the beach at 5:30, a few more fishermen arriving, but no fish caught to that point.
All in all, a great and beautiful day to spend on the beach. Saw several seals and a couple Sea lions hunting fish, an eagle or two and lots of wonderful scenery. August is going to give us a lot of great fishing!!! PTL!

N E 1 FISSION

7/30/2013 10:05:00 PM

I'm still trying to get my 1st pink from shore, ocean/river. 2 yrs ago was my 1st time, got a longer pole, 8'6", going to try braided line also. Combat fishing scares me, but I guess I need to get used to it for me to acclimate to ocean/rivers. I also need to be more flexible in choice of lures, see what's working and change, Props for getting out there,..and yes, the sights are beautiful,..

Stansjoy

7/31/2013 6:03:00 PM

NE1... Love to hear from you! I fish a lot from the beach... Whidbey offers some of the best. Last Saturday was the worst I've ever encountered. I usually go further north, been a while since I fished Bush Pt. Beaches at Fort Casey and just south of the park are never so crowded... in fact, if you have a Discover Pass or are willing to pay $10.00, you can park at the Fort and walk down to the beach, usually lots of elbow room there. Don't neglect Carkeek, Picnic Point, Mukilteo beaches... usually lots of room there too. I fish with 8'6" and 9' poles... have used braid and it is great as well. Keep trying, you'll get 'em! PTL!

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