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Have been in a drought of fishing possibilities what with lakes in a funk due to warm water, and no salt salmon fishing this year (thanks WDFW - BTW, have heard that salmon returns are in the neighborhood of 400% of forecast. Screwed by WDFW... Again!)
Made a reservation for bottomfishing a couple of months ago... figured that late September would be prime. Left home at 2:00 AM and arrived in Westport about 5:00... time for a quick breakfast at the only open place in town, then headed for Deep Sea Charters for check-in. Was scheduled to fish on the "Slammer" with Capt. Rhett Weber. Boarded the Slammer about 6:30, found that the boat was nearly booked, 19 fishermen (and ladies) of a possible 20 spots (lots of opportunities for human interaction when untangling lines!)... left port about 7:00, brief stop to fill live well with anchovies and headed north... past Ocean Shores... about a two hour run. It was a glorious Fall day, a bit of a north wind all day, produced some large swells, but warm a bright all day long. A sign on the Slammer advertises "Light Tackle Bottom Fishing"... had no idea what the would be, but was intrigued by the 6' to 6 1/2' light graphite rods with 3500 series Shimano spinning reels attached.
I have fished bottom fish in many, many ways... plug-cut herring, jigs, flies, squid... but never have had as much fun as I would this day. When we reached the destination that Captain Rhett had targeted, he instructed us on our fishing procedure... rods were terminated by a 2oz banana weight and a single hook (about a 3/0 I suspect). We were to put the point of the hook through the lower jaw of the anchovy and up through the nose, allowing the fish to swim freely... we were to open the bail on the reel and let line out until the line went slack, close the bail and set the hook and reel like crazy. We began fishing about 8:45 and by 9:30 we had the boat limit of 190 Rockfish. Fish were thrashing all over the deck... fishing was as fast and as furious as I could have ever imagined! Reeling in a 4# or 5# Black Rockfish on a light rig is really a hoot... by my count, I brought in 14... others on the boat struggled more with the concept. We ended up with over 200 fish caught, because the two deckhands fished as well... most were the Black Rockfish, although there was a smattering of Blue Rockfish, and about a dozen Yellowtail Rockfish. The surprise catch of the morning was what the deckhand called a "Horse Mackerel"... he said he has a friend who owns a restaurant and will love the fish because it is top quality for sushi.
On to phase two: After stowing the Rockfish gear, the deckhands brought out much heavier rods, terminated by 12oz banana weights and a two-hook mooching leader. Reels were loaded with heavy braided line. Another run of an hour or so, then the hooks were baited with chunks of squid and we were instructed to lower the bait til it reached bottom, then reel up 5' or so, wait for the tell-tale sign of a bite, set the hook and then lower the bait again to try to pick up another: target, flounder or "sandabs". As soon as we reeled them in they would go into the live well. Took me a while to catch on to the technique, but I ended up catching six 10" to 12" flounders. The surprise this time, was when I reeled in a "bonus" fish, a Petrale Sole of about 25". I think the Captain and the crew were more excited about that fish than any other that were caught during the day.
On to phase three: After putting a sufficient number of flounder into the live well we traveled another 45 minutes or so and were instructed on the technique for Ligcod... putting one hook through the upper lip of the flounder and pinning the second hook through the back, we were to lower the bait to the bottom then reel up about five cranks of the reel... we were instructed to keep prospecting for the bottom every 45 to 60 seconds to keep the bait very near the changing bottom profile. Another thing we were schooled on, was to not set the hook... let the fish swallow the bait... count to 30 then reel "like crazy". Within fifteen minutes we were on the fish, and several fish were flopping on the deck before I had my first bite... pulled out a little slack, counted to thirty and "reeled like crazy"... took a while, but finally landed my first Lingcod of the day, a gorgeous fish of about 10#. During the next hour or so, I had several bites but couldn't get a hookup. Then, just before the Captain said, "reel 'em up" to go home, I felt the headshake and bite of another Ling... I fed a little slack and patiently counted to 30... "reeled like crazy" and ...fish on! It was the last fish of the day and everyone had to wait until I got it to the gaff... a great Ling of about 18#. It was now 2:30 and we had a two hour boat ride back to Westport.
Final tally of the day for 19 fishermen, over 200 Rockfish, 25 Lingcod, 1 Horse Mackerel, 1 Petrale Sole.
I love the Ocean, have since I was a kid. Fished it often with my dad... Westport, Ilwaco, LaPush, Neah Bay, not to mention countless trips on Puget Sound. Of course, during the day I thought often of my father, who left for Heaven over six years ago... he would have loved the fishing today! With me it is a fascination with all the marine life that teems the ocean water, and the surprise that comes in catching a different species than that targeted. Today I saw Sea Lions, Seals, a distant pod of whales (couldn't identify, but saw their spoutings and splashes on the horizon) and hundreds of bird species.
Had a fantastic day, went home with nearly 50lbs of prime fillets... and always makes me happy to prove that you can, indeed, "teach an old dog new tricks"! PTL!

snatchinglips

9/27/2016 9:10:00 PM

Great report and fishing trip. Congrats

The Quadfather

9/27/2016 9:14:00 PM

Great story, Stan. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to see you getting away from the skanky late summer water of the urban lakes, Lol.

JoshH

9/27/2016 10:08:00 PM

Sounds like a fantastic outing!

N E 1 FISSION

9/27/2016 10:34:00 PM

Great story, brother & I might try Westport or Neah Bay,...and yes, sad agency that WDFW

Bob R

9/28/2016 5:45:00 AM

"quote"
Have been in a drought of fishing possibilities what with lakes in a funk due to warm water, and no salt salmon fishing this year (thanks WDFW - BTW, have heard that salmon returns are in the neighborhood of 400% of forecast. Screwed by WDFW... Again! "unquote"

There may be salmon in numbers in some areas, but the Chehalis River and other Grey's Harbor fisheries are SERIOUSLY in trouble, returns are even lower then projections. According to Fawn Sharp (chairperson of the Quinault tribal council) there is no conservation issue in Grey's Harbor but tell that to the salmon. Numbers for tribal fishermen and sport anglers are seriously below projected numbers which already were pathetic. Lake temps. were cooling down in the last 3 weeks, at least according to my thermometer. The bite was on, at least for us. Nice report on bottom fishing, though. Bob R

afk

9/28/2016 6:42:00 AM

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing. Andy

Stansjoy

9/28/2016 7:16:00 AM

Thank you all for your comments! Had a great time... I really do love my fishing opportunities. I really don't mean to be a contrarian, just very, very frustrated with the political nature of the controversy regarding the rights of the sports angler. We rarely hear the real truth about what is really happening. Meanwhile the natives and the commercials are making a haul. With all respect, Bob, if there is anyone I distrust more than the WDFW, it is the tribal spokespeople!

FishingTenor

9/29/2016 12:39:00 AM

WOW. That sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing the experience.

AJ's Dad

9/30/2016 10:02:00 PM

The "Slammer" is a can't miss boat. I have fished with Capt. Rhett on two different occasions and he has had us on fish all day both times out. A friend of mine introduced me to this boat and he never goes to Westport to fish unless he's on the Slammer. Rhett weber really knows his stuff. Sounds like you had a great day! Congrats

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