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It had been a couple of years since my previous charter out of Ilwaco for salmon. On that occasion we had gale+ winds, but the fishing was awesome! This time around, I checked the reports more closely, and they sounded good. I secured my reservation with Seabreeze Charters ($125 for 8 hours). We launched the sturdy 43’ Delta (Ankeny Street) at 6:00am sharp with Skipper Joe Cook and Deckhand Pat. I watched Pat diligently prepare a large number of hooks on leaders, then baited them with Anchovies. After about 30 minutes or more of travel out of the Columbia, past the bar and ocean bound, it was time to drop our lines. There were five of us fishing on each side and three off the stern. Trolling depth was 15'-24' with Delta divers. We caught salmon in waves of two, three or four. I had a rather large Coho (12lbs?) that gave me a great fight, not wanting to give in while someone else had a more cooperative fish-on, that found the net first. My fish was landed and safely released since it was a native coho. I caught and released two other natives also. Finally kept a Jack coho that was legal. The sum catch of all anglers reached 22, then the catch was all native coho or nothing for a while. This gave us enough time to view two humpback whales that came to visit. We limited out finally at 26 salmon after six hours and headed for home. I think our boat did better than most thanks to the skipper and deckhand.

RiverDog

8/19/2016 10:21:00 PM

Nice report. Chartered as well. Saw a whale spout on our way out. We (grand kids and I) were on a 50 f t. Charter, the Pacific Dream, with Pacific Salmon Charters, Inc. on Thursday morning. There was a significant ebb at 5:15 A.M. with a full moon and beginning sunrise. The skipper delayed departure a few minutes, and we crossed the Bar with only one "chummer". The trip was pretty-much straight out and we got a whole day of fishing. All the fish were Coho, but we had to release all the "Wild" fish. In the end, everyone had their limit, I had two happy grandchildren. The oldest (17) can now fillet like a pro. I'll be busy processing for a few days ( not much goes to waste). I'll smoke the cheeks, all fins, spine (carcass) and belly pieces.( I paid for it, I'll enjoy it...No waste!) I'll smoke a few fillets, too. BTW, the roe was still on the immature side for me to make Salmon Roe..."Caviar". Oops, that word is reserved for the big "S". I don't care for "mooching", and our boat trolls all the time for salmon in an efficient way. Loved the trip. Also, I can't imagine trying this with my 20 footer. No hassle, and so much fun.

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