Westport bottom fishing

J

joechiro30

New member
We are heading to Westport this weekend for lings and rockfish. Any tips on tackle and location would be appreciated. I Have never fished Westport before.

Joe
Tomcat 255 2006
Twin suzuki 150
 
Joe, It all depends on the weather and tides as to where I bottom fish. If The conditions are good I like to drift over the sunken jetty using jigs. If I have to run north to the rock piles I usually end up off of Pacific beach.
The sunken jetty holds lings, sea bass and the rest of the tasty critters.
If I have time I like to go to the Ocean Shores side and catch a few flounders
for ling bait. Starcraft Tom got me using the flounders for ling bait. Nothing works a well as they do. When I don't have time or just tired from salmon fishing I use jigs. The best part is you never know what you are going to hook.
 
Any charters fishing this weekend will be fishing for yellow tail, seabass and lings. If they are anchored in 150 feet of water or less, they will be fishing for seabass (black rockfish) and an occasional ling. If they are out in deeper water and drifting they probably are fishing lings or possibly yellowtail. Highlite them with radar and you have their spot. Just move in after they leave. Give them space, as they are making a living. I use flutter jigs (or plastics if I'm using a spinning rod). Pipe jigs with big hootchie skirts for lings.
 
forrest":2mkw5cgc said:
Any charters fishing this weekend will be fishing for yellow tail, seabass and lings. If they are anchored in 150 feet of water or less, they will be fishing for seabass (black rockfish) and an occasional ling. If they are out in deeper water and drifting they probably are fishing lings or possibly yellowtail. Highlite them with radar and you have their spot. Just move in after they leave. Give them space, as they are making a living. I use flutter jigs (or plastics if I'm using a spinning rod). Pipe jigs with big hootchie skirts for lings.
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Yellow tail rockfish?
 
Is there a depth restriction? And how heavy jigs are needed there?
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Read your regs. Size of jigs depends on current, wind and how good you are backing your boat into the current and wind.

Yellow tail rockfish?
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http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/groundfish/RockfishGuide/Rockfish_Pages/Yellowtail_rockfish.htm

Can you anchor out there? And if so any tips on where to anchor?
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You can anchor anywhere if you have enough rode. Tips? You mean coordinates? No. Highlite the charters with radar and you will have their spots. They are fishing above rock piles as rockfish are suspended above rocks. The lings are off to the sides of the rockpiles waiting to ambush prey. The lings are also in high current areas where the water sweeps the prey to them as they lay and wait. That will be a gravel or cobbles bottom. Use you sounder to find the rockfish suspended above the piles. The thicker the bottom return shown on your sounder, the harder the bottom.
 
joechiro30,

Let me give you a little more understanding. First drive up into the Cascades and notice the ridges running east/west. Now pretend that all the valleys are filled in with sand and only a few high rock outcroppings are visible. That is basically like it is offshore. Now those rock outcroppings can be anywhere from a quarter to a half mile wide (some are only 20 feet wide). The school of seabass can be anywhere on that rock outcropping depending on the current and where the bait is. It's up to you to find them. There can be more than one school on a rock. The school can move while you are fishing as well. I had coordinates given to me yet never caught anything because I just went to that spot and fished. Sometimes I would get lucky but most of the time I would come up empty. I started highlighting any charter that was anchored and I would go back to that spot after they left and try to see what they were doing. Many times I would see nothing so I would look around and started using my sounder to identify rock structure and fish suspended above it. Coordinates only get you close, you have to find the little buggers. Sometimes a rock will have hundreds of fish one week and nothing the next. Don't know why. Keep in mind it is not like fishing up at Neah Bay where you can fish along the kelp beds and do well. Good luck. PS: There is always the sunken jetty or along the edge of the south jetty. You gotta watch the tides as that is called the slop hole for a reason.
 
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