Fishing out of Westport

 

For the uninformed, tales of the Chehalis River bar at Grays Harbor near the town of Westport WA. can be intimidating, although sometimes rightfully so.   For a small boat, a 17’ or 18’ with a deep hull would probably be considered minimal.   If you watch the weather, time & tides, & understand good boating practices,  there should be no real problems.  But if you happen to try to go out when there is a big run-off, or it is windy, this bar is not a Sunday afternoon cruise in lower Puget Sound.  Experience is invaluable in any situation, and many first-timers here may want to go with someone who knows the area, or at least follow them out and stay in radio contact.  

 

Fishing here you will need to observe WDFW marine area 2 rules, with the bay east of a north/south line thru buoy #13 after September 1, using 2.2 rules.

 

The name of the town of Westport is actually the community at the stop light, while the town of Westhaven is at the boat basin, but the whole area is generally referred to as Westport.  In 2002 there was a bulletin board set up near the Westport launch pay station where there were updated GPS locations of where the charters were recently fishing.  This was apparently established to help target the Chinook & allow the Coho quota to not be attained until later in the season.  However if the fishing currently was not that good, the old numbers were known to stay up for considerable time, creating long empty runs.

 

If help may be needed, VHF channel 16 is the Coast Guard distress channel, with the more commonly used channel 68 being the fishing chatter channel, while the charters usually monitor channel 79.

Getting There #1:      To get to the only launch in the area, as you come into town on Montesano Street, after you pass the airport on the right, there are a couple of small seasonal stores on the right, and next will be a Chevron service station at an intersection.  The name of this station is The Hungry Whale, at it, turn to the east (right) on Wilson Street and the launch is about 2 blocks straight ahead.  The trailer parking lot is on the right.  The Coast Guard station is between the launch, parking  & the water.  The launch is owned & maintained Port of Grays Harbor.  It is a good 3 lane concrete ramp, with loading docks, there however is no freshwater wash down available.  Launch fee is $5.00.   For a link to a map of the marina click HERE.   

 

 

 

The port office is at 327 Lamb Street, which is north down Nyhus Street past the fish processing plant & the shipyard & into town about 2 long blocks. Their office is open 7 days a week, 8AM-5PM, (closed for lunch) phone 360-268-9665.  You can phone ahead & reserve dock space.  Moorage price without electrical hook up for a 15' to 24’ boat is $8 a night.  If you book ahead for 7 days, you get the 7 days for the price of 6.  They do have a seasonal special of 3 months moorage plus a seasonal launch pass for $350.  If you come in from the water at the first basin entrance, a sign on the breakwater lists VHF channel 71 that you can contact the port office.

 

During the heat of the salmon season, the recommendation is to call and reserve dock moorage if you plan on being there for more than one night.  Or if for one night only, then the guest moorages are on float #6 or #21. Or in the first 3 or 4 berths on the ends of most of the other floats.  Pick a spot in the evening, go up to the marina office and if after hours, fill out the moorage ticket, put your money in the envelope & drop it in the box.  Then go back & put the stub on your boat so the port employee knows you have paid, otherwise you will get a pink notice left on the boat.  

 

With the current salmon season closed Friday and Saturday, that means the only week-end day, Sunday, is a zoo at the launch.  Even though the launch is a 3 lane unit, put in can be a long wait unless you are there early, as many just simply are not prepared or do not understand how to get things organized. The preparation line is to the right side of the road bordering the parking area.  The pay station in in this same area.  The preferred procedure is to stop here, pay & put the envelope in the box, remove your tie downs & get the boat ready to launch.  Then follow the boat ahead of you, making the LH turn at top of the launch, which puts you in line to back down & launch.  DO NOT hedge in from the north side of the launch even if you intend to use the north ramp.

 

The launching line sometimes extends back Wilson Street past the Hungry Whale, down Montesano Street and can take 45min to an hour if you get there at 6AM.   So, when approaching the Hungry Whale, there may be a boat or two stopped there getting bait or gas, but look down Wilson Street’s left side to see if a line of boats & trailers is there, if so, that is the put in line. 

Take out can be worse, because of all the boats going home Sunday afternoon.  The take out line can be backed up to the Hungry Whale at noon, & by 5PM can extend south to past the airport.

You can launch your boat Saturday evening and tie up to your berth and then have no hassle at the launch on Sunday morning.  However sometimes this late Saturday evening launching can also be congested, but not as bad as Sunday morning zoo.

Many dedicated fishermen will plan on fishing Sunday and Monday.  The Monday morning launching and afternoon take out is no problem at all, as there is little competition then as compared to the Sunday zoo.

Trailer and parking space can also be a major problem in situations like this, if there is good weather & the fish are in.  So you may plan on getting there EARLY, (5:30 AM ish) do your fishing & out of the water EARLY (before 3PM) on Sunday afternoon.

Bait, both fresh and frozen can be had at the Hungry Whale.  However fresh bait has to be reserved at by about 3 PM the afternoon the day before you need it.  Their phone is 360-268-0136.  One recommendation is if you call the order in, is to have the person taking the order to read it back to you, specifically your name, the DATE WANTED and the quantity.

Getting There #2:  There is a launch at Ocean Shores.  This launch is a concrete ramp with high concrete sides.  You are backing down a chute.  Last information was that the end of the concrete there is a 8" to 12" drop off.  And at low tide (about 1.0+ ) you may even have a hard time staying in the narrow, shifting shallow channel out of the basin.  The bottom near some of some of the marker pilings has shifted to the north in places as the basin has a tidal flow that constantly shifts the bottom. it is rumored as of 2004, that this ramp is being rebuilt.

Fuel:  The Westport fuel dock is float about #1, just south of the long high piered fish buyers stations.  This fuel dock is closed on Sundays, so if you are moored in the basin & are planning on fishing on a Sunday, depending on your fuel capacity, you may have to fuel up Saturday afternoon.  The fuel dock does not open until 8:30AM on Monday.  If you trailer your boat, the Chevron station, the Hungry Whale, at the intersection of Montesano street & Wilson Street, where you turned to go to the launch has fuel.  The only other one that I am aware of is the Mini-Mart on hiway 105 at the "Y" from Aberdeen that turns north on Montesano street & goes past the Ocosta school & then into town.

Tackle:  For those of you who forgot something, or lost gear, Englund Marine has one of their well stocked stores right across the street from the launch parking lot.   They are normally closed Saturdays & Sundays, except during the summer when they are open on Saturdays.   I have however seen them open on a Sunday if they are having a parking lot sale.

Weather:  For further information on ocean conditions, how to understand the marine forecasts, & crossing the bars, see the other article published here on Ocean Fishing from a Small Boat.

 

 

 

At the start  of the normal salmon seasons, (usually the first week of July) the weather may still be somewhat unpredictable. If they give us a early Chinook season like they did in 2002 & 2003, you can expect to stay on the beach a few days because of bad weather, & even up to the end of July.  As the season progresses, the weather tends to stabilize up to the end of September or so, but the ocean salmon seasons are usually ended by then.

 

It is advisable to listen to VHF Weather channel 4 for an updated marine weather report.  

 

The Coast Guard tower that flies the marine weather warning flags is out near Half-Moon bay, or west of town near the recreational park at the base of the South Jetty.  It is advisable to look at this tower to see if small-craft warnings are flying before launching if the weather is, or has been questionable.   Remember that the Coast Guard is there for your protection, they are not there to hassle you, they are really trying to save your life.  And many of us who are only on the water occasionally, while they are on it every day.  They may ruin your day of fishing by not allowing you out when you intended to go, but you will more than likely be alive to try it another day when the weather is better.

Many knowledgeable  boaters use this general rule, if looking at, or listening to a marine weather forecast, if the sum of the Wind Waves + the Height of the Swell exceed the Time, in seconds, STAY HOME

Here it can be foggy all day offshore, but it will usually be clear during the regular salmon season on shore.  Later during the bay fishery, it can be foggy at least up to noon inshore.

 

The wind if there is any, will be coming from offshore & usually from the northwest or even the southwest.  If you are trolling, after the wind picks up in the afternoon, it can get hard to control the boat unless you  put the wind on your stern.  The wind will many days pick up & be up to 15 MPH about 1 to 2PM, then later in the evening will usually slow down again

The recommendation is that anyone using these waters, acquire a marine chart of the area, look at it enough before you head out so you have an idea of the water depths, and keep the chart, or photo copies of it on the boat.

If the ocean is rough enough for the Coast Guard to close the bar, you WILL NOT be able to fish for bottom fish or even drop off crab pots inside the south jetty.  They have the authority to close the bar in a rough condition from 1 mile on each side of the mouth to upriver to the mouth of Johns River & then across to Damron point at Ocean Shores. 

 

If they do close the bar, it is for your protection.  There will be flashing lights at the Coast Guard Station at the launch & at the water side of "The Point".   At the launch there is also a note to tune in AM 1610 radio (a low powered local broadcast) when the lights are flashing.   Most closures not associated to extended bad weather will be only for a period of time until the tide has changed & the bar has settled down, unless there is a storm.  These same closures WILL also NOT allow you to re-cross to come back in if the weather is bad.

 

 If it is later in the season (the end of July) a few salmon tend to "Dip In" the river mouth with the incoming tide & then be flushed back out with the outgoing tide. You can fish for salmon inside up to #13 while the ocean is open.  The season east of #13 does not open for salmon until September 1.

 

PFD's: It is recommended that while under way, especially while crossing ANY bar, that Personal Floatation Devices be worn by ALL on board ANY small craft.  The reason for this is, that if you get in trouble ON THE BAR, & something happens, it will happen so fast that you will not be able to get to, much less even put a life vest on.  The new inflatable suspender type PDF's are comfortable to wear & should accomplish the desired effect.

 

Heading out: Leaving the boat basin from the launch, head straight out through the slot in the breakwater piling, then hang a left & head north for the end of the short rock breakwaters at the point.   DO NOT GO EAST OF PILING MARKER #7, as it designates the edge of Whitcomb Flats.  As you enter the main river off the point, there are a couple of rock breakwaters.  Just outside of these, there is a shallow bar of about 15-20’ depth, you may encounter a turbulence here for a couple of hundred yards depending on the tide.  Once you get beyond this little bar, the main river deepens and the water flattens out. There is a small red can buoy "4 T" in the middle of the exit channel. Head toward the "4 T" buoy, then turn to the west and head out the main river.

It is suggested that after you enter the main river & can see west with the south jetty on your left in the distance, head straight out the southern middle of the river to #11, the next one will then be #9. This #9 buoy is beyond the end of the south jetty by about half a mile. If you are going to encounter any roughness it will be about this #9 buoy to beyond #8, which is about 500 yards. From #9 you want to head toward #8 but depending on the currents & roughness off the old submerged jetty, you may have to hold slightly north of it. When you get beyond the old jetty turbulence, you then can head close to either side of #8.  At #8 you can immediately swing to the left & head southwest toward #6. Buoy #8 & buoy #6 are fairly close together. After you head toward #6 you will usually be beyond any bar wave conditions.

Distance from the launch to buoy #8 is about 5.5 miles. From the end of the existing South Jetty to buoy #8 is about 1.5 miles. Buoy #8 is about equal in a westerly direction as the end of the North Jetty.

 

 

 

 

Crossing the Bar:   As mentioned before, the actual bar will be from about buoy #9 to just beyond buoy #8 under most conditions.  Timing of the tide can make a great difference as to whether you may encounter a flat bar or a rough one.  If there is no wind, or about a 10mph one, when you try to cross and the tide is slack or within an hour after, you MAY be able to cross at 25 mph.  However if you try to cross 3 hours either way & in the middle of a tidal exchange, things WILL be different. 

 

The one thing that will get you in more trouble than any other thing is SPEED.  This is not a boat race, hold your speed down if it is rough, and then cut the throttle as you ride over the a crest so that you do not slam the bow of the boat into a trough on the backside of a crest. 

 

This river, like most rivers on the coast, you will need to be observant of the tides if operating a small boat.  Tidal exchange is the key to crossing any bar.  Probably the ideal time to cross is on either high slack,  or low slack, or an hour before to two hours after it.  However the time of this tide many times does not allow you as a fisherman, to cross on one high tide & come back on the next high tide 6 hrs later during daylight hours. 

 

 

From this table you can see that the maximum flow will be the middle 2 hours of an exchange.  This equates to the bar being roughest at that time. 

 

Under normal condition the roughest bar will occur on the middle of an outgoing tide when the river is rushing out & being resisted by the ocean.  Usually if nothing else is encountered, (as wind conditions) on the outgoing tide, the bar will be roughest from about 3 to 4 hours before a low tide. All else taken into consideration, he bar usually tends to not be as rough on the incoming tide,. Again the flattest of any tide will be the 1 hour before to 1 or 2 hours after the tide low or high listed on a tide book.

 

It is also my opinion that the main flow of the river & the fastest, either in or out will be in the center of the channel.  Therefore it is recommended to stay away from the center  of the river on anything other than a slack tide.  You don't want to hug the south jetty either, as there could be a slightly slower "rip" somewhere away from the  center.  Look for it, but you will have take into account that it may change with each tide.  

 

The tide exchange will govern how rough the bar is going to be. The low tides will have one real low tide each day & the other low tide will be somewhat higher.  Look at the tide book & compare the difference between two tides closest to the time you intend to cross.  From a fisherman’s standpoint, if we look at the Pacific Beaches tides for July 13, 2002, the high tide is 8.4’ at 3:33AM & the following low tide is –1.0’ at 10:26AM, you therefore have a 9.4’ run off.  The next high tide is at 4:59PM at 7.7’ with a difference of 8.7.  For the inexperienced, this is not a really good week-end to try to cross on your time-frame.

 

Using the above figures, if you want to fish & cross at about 6:00AM, this means you will be bucking the roughest section of the bar at that time.  You may consider waiting a couple of hours.  This bar was crossable at 7:30AM on this day with no real problem, it was however a little snotty. You then can come back across about anytime from up till 8PM with little problems because you will be coming in on the incoming tide, into high slack & beyond.  If you cross during  the mid tide you may encounter incoming swells pushing you in.  These swells will probably never be right on your stern, but quartering, & usually from the NW.  You will be going slower than they are, so his means as these swells will catch up with you, & pass under you.  You will be rocked to the right as it rides up to you, & then to the left as it passes under you.  This can get dangerous if you are going too fast.

 

Another situation can be looked at for August 4, 2002.  The high tide is at 10:31 AM & is 5.6’, with the next low tide at 3:27 PM at 3.1’.  This gives a runoff of only 2.5’. With this low runoff, it means you can cross the bar about anytime you wish during normal fishing hours.

 

If any roughness is to be encountered, you will be able to see it better from inside looking out, as you can see the white water off the tops of the waves.  Coming back in, you are looking at the backs of these waves & can not see if there is any white water coming off the tops.  Therefore the water looks calmer when you are outside looking in.

 

One thing to be on the outlook for is commercial crab pots if the season is still open.  I have seen them in numerous quantities in the main channel and all over just outside of the entrance, possibly more on the north side than south though.  You will even see them at times out to about 200’.  When passing a crab pot, try to pass by it on the lea or downward tide side to ensure that the pot line does not tangle your in prop.   If in somewhat shallow water these pots do not have line weights & the line may be long & floating on or just under the surface.  This can be a bad situation for a casual fisherman who is not VERY VIGILANT if it gets tangled in the prop.  They are usually placed in a string, parallel to the beach.  Each crabber uses a different color buoy.

 

Crossing The Bar Going Out:  If crossing when there is some roughness, you need to have your hand on the throttle at all times.  When you ride up a wave, cut your power so that you rock over & down the other side.  It is also best to try to do this at an angle other than straight head on, as the boat will roll slightly making the ride easier than hitting the water on the back side like a ski jumper.  The main thing here is pick where you want to go, use enough power to get you there & maintain your headway, but cut back on the crests, then re-power for the next one. Quartering the waves, you might not be able to head exactly where you want this way, but it will be a lot smoother & safer. 

 

Once you decide to go, don’t get part way out and decide it is too rough and then try to turn around in rough chop. This could very well broach you if a wave catches you broadside.  If however you do get in this situation on an incoming tide, your best approach may be to slow down enough to yet maintain steerage & let the waves push you backwards enough to a point where you then can then turn around. 

If you are not sure when you get close to the rough water, DON'T GO THEN.  Lay back under slow power, watch & observe if & where other boats are crossing & the conditions they are encountering. 

 

If the tide is at a ebb, & you are want to head north, then head for just outside of the North Jetty.  You can cross within a couple of hundred yards of the end with no problems.  However you need to be aware that over the past 20 years or so this area just outside of #5 & north, has sanded in and has a water depth of 30’ or so.  If the wind, tide and water conditions are from the West or Northwest, with the ocean forces doing their thing, this shallower depth sets the stage for a rough sea until you reach about buoy #3 and the water depth drops off to 70’or so.  This roughness is usually is not as noticeable on a high or low tide change. 

 

Heading Back From Outside:  You can navigate here without a GPS, but it is a lot easier with one.  To head back in by compass, you of course will have to mostly reverse your outgoing course.  Watching your water depth can also be a help because this region has no drop-offs, just a slight slope to the bottom until you get way out.  Finding your way back may be somewhat helpful if you refer to your chart.

 

If you run straight west & fish quite a while, you do not know which way the drift is on that particular day, and when heading in, unless you are familiar with the landmarks near the beaches, you may be on the wrong side of the harbor when you run back eastwardly to come in.  The drift however is normally toward the south.

 

Coming in, if you can see the Olympic mountains with snow on them & they look somewhat due East of you, you are way North. Heading on in, when you get in close enough to see the shore well enough to pick out landmarks, if you happen to be way north, there are a couple of hills in the background called “saddle mountain”.  If you are on the north side slightly, the casino which will be the largest light brown complex on the north beach will stand out.  There are 2 other hotels/motels south a mile or so from the casino.  Next the condominiums at Ocean Shores will be visible behind the beach, with the north jetty just south of them.  If you are coming straight in, the white  shipyard buildings will show up in the town close to where you launched the boat.  

 

And if you are slightly south, the Westport water tower will be more visible, this is when viewed from the water a dark tank jutting above the  trees.  In the old days before it got painted it was nicknamed the "Rusty Bucket".  From the south if you are not that far out, you should be able to see the south buoy line, as they run at a southwesterly direction & GH, the last buoy is about ½ way to the Willapa River entrance.  Or if you are south & are out farther you can not see the buoy line. You will see the shore, & if you are off the mouth of the Willapa, you will see the higher land that drops off & stops at Willapa Bay.  Farther north along this shoreline, you can pick out a couple of clay banks behind the cranberry bogs of Grayland.  If you happen to be way south, the landmarks are totally different as you will be looking toward the Willapa valley & the northern tip of Long Beach, called Ledbetter Point.

 

If you are coming back in from the south, when you get close enough to land & distinguish  buildings. You want to head for #8.  From the south your visual head to landmark will be the condominiums of Ocean Shores.  If you head for the headland to the right of the condo's you will be heading more toward the end of the south jetty.

Crossing The Bar Coming Back In:  This will be pretty much like going out, with the exception you will usually be riding in on a wave instead of heading into it.  The situation can also be different if there is a tide & or wind involved where you will have to quarter the wave.  You can be riding the back of a wave like a surfboarder but on the back side.  It will run out from under you & the next one will have you surfboarding, many times at a angle.  You will then have to straighten up the boat so that when you are being pushed into the trough of the next wave you are going straight with the wave.  You do not want to be in the bottom or trough at an angle.  The most common thought seems to be "I will straighten up soon".  You  will need to power down somewhat.  With the normal wave conditions here, you will normally be tipped to the starboard, your response should be to sharply steer to port under mostly full power, so your stern is at a 90 degree angle with the wave.   As soon as it passes under you, straighten out & get back on your heading again.  Some boaters will get on the backside & have enough power to stay there & ride it all the way across.  This can work, is a very smooth ride, but be aware that IF something goes wrong, it will go wrong VERY FAST, as these waves are usually doing in excess of 30 MPH.

 

There is also a situation of a "Trailing Sea".  In this situation you will probably be bucking some chop, a slight crosswind & the waves are coming in on your stern.  With the waves coming  in like this you won't have the steerage you would like & if the stern of your boat is low, you may need the bilge pumps running.   Here is where you may have to go where you really did not intend to go for a ways, & then quarter the other way to get back to your intended course.

 

The above information is not to scare you off, just to make you very cautious and possibly realize that you have to be VERY OBSERVANT as to all the conditions around you.  I might just be leaning slightly over more on the side of safety, but I don't want a greenhorn to this area to think this is a ride in the lake.  I have known people who have fished out of here that just launch their boat & go out, do not look at the tides, & don't own a chart.  My opinion is that god does look out for fools at times & I have personally seen situations where angels were sitting on both shoulders of these types of people.

 

For more information on weather, bar crossings & general ocean conditions for a small boater click HERE.

 

GPS/ Plotter:    It is recommended that small boats acquire a GPS, (even a handheld) learn how to use it and put in some locations to come home to.  Here it can be foggy all day offshore, but will usually be clear during the regular salmon season on shore.

It is recommended to use as a head in location, from the north or straight out, buoy #3  (46-55-00, 124-14-82)  if coming in from south then head for #8 (46-54-32 , 124-11-00).  You should also probably enter “A” buoy (46-55-04, 124-06-86) to get back to the basin, although the fog will usually clear off once you get inside the river.

 

Salmon Locations:  The bulk of these Westport salmon will probably be Columbia River fish, migrating from the north, so the school will tend to move in that direction (southerly) as the season progresses.  The salmon will concentrate where the bait is, the best will be where you find shrimp, which the herring will be feeding on.  The salmon will be feeding on both. 

 

 

 

If fishing tends to be slow, when you catch the first salmon, cut its stomach open to see what it has been feeding on and try to match your bait to these stomach contents.

Currently, for the last few years early in the season, a mix of both Coho & Chinook seem to be concentrating in 200 to 240’ of water 270 degrees west from the harbor (46-56-55,  124-25-78). When running to this spot, watch your depthfinder for bait & salmon starting at about 150' or so as there is no sense of overshooting a school of fish.  The above location is about 18 miles from the boat basin.  Early in the season, (first few weeks) they tend to be from there to slightly north of this location, then they start moving south as the season progresses. 

If this northern location does produce, then shift to the south.  Start at the GH (Grays Harbor entrance buoy) which is the most southerly of the south buoy line.  It is in reality not that far north & west of the Willapa entrance.    GH buoy is about 4 miles SW of #8 on the bar.   Make a pass or two there. There have been many fish pulled  immediately around this buoy.   Start here & work west just as recommended for the northern location.    This is worth looking at both early in the season as well as later.  We have, the last of the season, pulled a nice 32# Chinook here, mooching 20’ deep, targeting Coho, on a steelhead rod and spinning reel & 12# line, late in the afternoon.  The fish that hang around here late in the season apparently are Willapa fish that are just waiting for the right river conditions to develop.

You will find the Coho from right on top to down 15-30’, however we have pulled one at 130’.  The Chinook will also be in the top 30' water column if early in the morning, the day is overcast or is foggy.  Later if / when the sun comes out the Chinook may decide to move down to from 50’ to the 100’ + level.

 

There are also a small amount of Chinook that later in the season that lay in 15' to 40' of water off the north beach. This will be from just north of the north jetty up to the casino above Ocean Shores.  Some of these fish can go into the 40# range.  But there are not a lot of them.  If the normal fishing areas are not producing for whatever reason, this is an option.

At times, salmon can be found around buoys #6 to #2, so don’t just run offshore because your buddy said that is where he caught his last weekend.  Stop in and at least take a look or make a pass along the south buoy line before you make a long run to open water.

 

 

Another salmon location farther south, is just off the Willapa River mouth (46-44-88, 124-18-80 in about 185’ of water.  This however is a rather long run south.

With most depthfinders, if the fish are not schooled & in the top part of the water column, you will probably not be able to see them on your fish-finder unless you are watching it constantly.

 

Gear/Tackle:   About any salmon tackle can be used here, depending on your method.  Mooching was the method that brought Westport up to the "Salmon Capitol of the World" in the 1950 & 60's.  This consists of using a 2 to 6 ounce kidney sinker tied to the terminal end of 25# monofilament mainline, & 6' monofilament leader with a double hook, 3/0 4/0 mooching tie.  These mooching leaders are usually 25# test & can be tied as a sold or a slip tie.  

 

The slip tied ones are usually used if you are using whole herring for bait.  You can then thread the hooks into the bait & pull the rear one forward to put a bend in the bait to give it the proper roll.

 

The solid tie leader is usually used if using a "cut plug" herring, as the angle on the bait gives the rolling action.

 

Trolling with downriggers is probably the most popular fishing method with the average trailered sport boat.  The depth will change depending on the specie of salmon targeted, & can range from 20' to 150'.  For Chinook, you may start out in the early morning or overcast days by only dropping it to 30'.  However the usual target depth will be from 50' to 70'.  Later in the day you will probably have to go to 100' to 120'.   I start with one at 50' & the other at 70', if this does not catch fish drop them another 20'.

 

Bait can be cut plug herring, or herring in a bonnet, behind a Hot Spot flasher or a Fish Flash.  These attractor colors will usually be green/glo for the Hot Spot, or quilted chrome, green, blue if for Chinook.  You may want to change to red if targeting Coho.  Those who prefer to drag hardware will usually add behind the attractor, a Coyote spoon in green/white glo, Cop Car, or Army Truck colors in 3.5" & 4" sizes.  Another good setup is a white glo or green spatterback hoochie behind a #4 lime green Spi-N-Glo about 32" behind the flasher.

 

Apex plugs in chrome, mother of pearl, chrome/blue or Army Truck colors do very well in sizes 4.5" or 5.5".  Of course you should add some Smelly Jelly in either herring anchovy, sardine or anise. 

 

Once you find fish, you could switch one downrigger to a 5 or 6" Tomic plug (white) with smelly jelly.  Run this about 60' behind the clip with no flasher.   These are usually used when targeting large Chinook.

 

If this does nothing then try a large herring behind a flasher on the downrigger & change it every 20-30 minutes with scent.  If things slow down keep moving west with the max usually about 260', some even go out to 300', but this is a long run as the slope of the bottom is very gradual.

 

Late Fall Salmon inside Locations:  After the ocean fishery, (marine area 2 closes), the season, marine area 2-2, opens east of buoy #13.  This buoy is about straight between Westport and Ocean Shores.  To fish this location, launch as usual and go out past “A” buoy.  Number 13 will be north of there basically on the center of the river.  Fishing will concentrate from just east of #13 to upriver on a high incoming tide.  This is essentially a mini version of the Columbia River Buoy #10 fishery.  Here, this time of the year, the Coho will probably dominate.  However there are some large Chinook heading up the Chehalis, Satsop, Humptulips, etc., so your chances of picking up one of them is possible.

The Humptulips River empties into the bay off the north side east of Ocean Shores. You can also try this channel for salmon.

It is advisable to enter in the GPS locations for these buoys, as this late in the year it can be foggy up until noon at times, if you intend to fish the lower bay. 

 

 

You may have heard of the fall Chinook fishery at Johns River.  This is a small river that empties into the Chehalis from the south shore, just upstream from Westport.  Much of this fishing is in the South Channel (15’ of water) from upriver of the Johns River #8 about a mile, to back to the range markers at #SC and the main shipping channel near #24.

To get to Johns River from #14, the main river shipping channel heads east, and at #21 a northeasterly bend to #25.  You can enter the South Channel between #SC buoy and #24.  Just to the east of #24 are the range markers for the upper crossover channel.  Johns River empties into the south channel a little over a mile east of #24 at it’s own marker #8. 
 

There is a launch on Johns River, just upriver from the Hiway bridge at Markham. The launch is on the old Hiway just east of the current one.  It is however not recommended for larger prop boats, as the channel out to the Chehalis South Channel is shallow at low tide (5’) and narrow.  If you do decide to use this, stay to the west of #1 & #3 markers, and follow the small trees that have been pushed into the mud by local fishermen.

 

 

Fishing here is usually a slow troll just off the bottom with a Fish Flash and a large plug cut herring.  Floating weeds can become entangled in the line & gear, so it is advisable to pull in every 15 min. or so to clean the weeds off.  The tide usually preferred is the incoming high to half way back out.  However don’t pull out and leave just because the tide has changed. 

Upriver of this area, to Cosmopolis can be fished for these late fish, but it seems that most of them will wait in tidewater until the river conditions are right, and then quickly move on upriver, and not much interested in taking a bait.

There are Coho raised in net pens inside the Westport boat basin off the point.  The info that I have is the pens are owned by WDFW and that the Kiwanis Club is the sponsor with the local high school pupils feeding the fish as a project.   These fish are released here and return in the basin in the fall.  There is a special season for them.  Charter boat personnel tell me that you can buy live anchovies from the bait float, hook one in the back, fish off the docks & just let it free swim.  If these salmon are there you can have a ball.  This is just another attractor for the local businesses after the main summer season is over.

 

Bottomfish Locations:  There are not any islands, and very few uncharted rock reefs, and no kelp beds to attract bottom fish in this area.  Some sport fishermen will bottomfish inside the end of the South Jetty, or the bulk of them will go out and then pull in behind and south (outside) the South Jetty, & fish for sea bass & lingcod.

 

There are a few underwater reefs along the north side.  These are few & far between & most are small enough that even if you find them, it is a chore to stay near enough to them to be into sea bass or ling cod.  Some of these rocks are no larger than a car.  The boat operator will not have a chance to fish as he is busy maneuvering the boat.  You will have to find the direction of the drift & put the motor in reverse to back the boat into this drift so you can stay in a position enough to either fish the top or to the leaward side.   These GPS number locations are closely guarded by the charter fleet & not normally available to the sport fishermen.  These small reefs are not shown on any charts & apparently were found only by accident if a skipper just happened to be looking at the depthfinder when the boat cross over the top of one.

The main bottomfish location is usually north quite a ways and off of  Moclips. (47-13-48 , 124-19-49).  This location is in 100’ of water, but the fish can be found out to 200’.  Do not go to this location & set down hoping to be on “the” spot.  The bottom here is gravel, and it seems that this is a spawning spot for candlefish or small baitfish in the late spring and early summer.  The sea bass and lingcod will tend to move around to where these baitfish are.  So you will have to get near these possible spawning beds, and then move around while watching the fishfinder.

 

Crabbing Locations:   There is one thing to consider here in the river, is that you need plenty of pot weights & lots of line out, as the currents will pull a single pot float under if you drop it off on a low tide & come back to pick it up on a high tide that has lots of exchange.  You will come back and swear that someone has stolen your pot.  But the float is just under water.  You might have to come back next weekend at a low tide to try to retrieve it.  However with the tidal currents, it may have been pushed even a couple hundred yards. One method is be sure the pot is weighted.  Some will use old cast iron window weights & 2 floats.  Another trick passed on by a Westport RV owner is to tie and old soda can with a small rock or two inside the can, inside the pot to make an attracting noise. 

The old standby crabbing spot used to be half-moon bay by the Coast Guard tower.  However recently this area’s bottom seems mostly covered with the green slimy aquatic vegetation later in the season and mostly void of crab, either by over harvesting or otherwise. It may be wise to take a GPS location of where you dropped them off, just in case you fore whatever reason can not get back to pull them & have to have someone else retrieve them for you.

One crabbing spot would maybe be in Elk River, which is the body of water you enter just as you exit the boat basin from the launch.  You might run to the right slightly, (south) up this small river to get away from boating traffic coming into the launch, and try a pot or two.  However you may want to say on the east side of the channel, as just around the harbor's upriver entrance, much vegetation has been encountered.

Another location for crabbing would be the flats upriver from #14.  This area is a large area that covers most of the center of the river and is about 25’ deep from #25 on the south to the Ocean Shores channel on the north.  This area  is used by some commercial crabbers also, & it is possible that your pots could get pulled along with theirs.  If your pot is not exactly where you left it, look another 100 yards beyond, as if someone pulls it, the drift will take them about that far before they can drop it off again.

 

If you get back in & go to pull your pot, & can not find it, there is a possibility that someone else pulled it & dropped it wherever they were after they raided it.  Therefore you may have to do a little searching.  I would rather drop my pots in a more secluded place where everyone else doesn't travel.

 

Sturgeon Locations:   One thing that is unique on this river is that it is open for sturgeon fishing 24 hours a day.  There are launches at Aberdeen, Cosmopolis, Friends Landing and Montesano.  Most of the sturgeon fishing occurs from Aberdeen upriver to Friends landing below Montesano.   However there should be about the same opportunity in bay here as in the lower Columbia River.  It is suggested that you try some of the troughs around Sand Island or Goose Island.  Or even the upper part of the South Channel, or in the back side of Whitcomb Flats off Elk River.  There appears to not be much of this type of fishing done in the bay, maybe simply because there is so many other fishing opportunities during the summer, and winter winds could set the stage for it too rough to keep an anchored boat steady enough to hold the bait down.

 

Most of the lower river tidewater sturgeon fishing is usually is out of the Cosmopolis launch.  This is located at the east end of the short side street next to the police department, which is located close to the Weyerhauser mill on the main Hiway through town.

 

There is also bank fishing done at this Cosmopolis launch area.  Most of the boat fishing will occur either below the launch or upriver at the next 2 bends.  The second sharp bend has a deep hole where many boats do anchor.

 

During the winter when a high runoff is in process, you can slip into the 2 soughs, Preacher or Blue Slough.  These give both the fish and the fisherman a little protection.

 

There are not as many sturgeon in this river as the Columbia, and the Quinault Indians do net them usually at the  2^nd bend above Cosmopolis.  Therefore I would recommend trying to fish below or above this netting area.

 

Miscellaneous:  After the crabbing season ends, you may still see a few “lost pots”.  These can usually be identified by the float being rather black from algae and is usually is only visible at a low slack tide, as the rope has lots of seaweed & algae growing on it, dragging the float under if any tidal movement is there. 

 

These pots will usually be sanded in.  I have tried to pull them, with only about a 60% success.  If you try, you need to tie the pot line off (but with some slope, not right above it) to one GOOD side stern cleat, & with partial power, let the boat twist & keep the power on until you rotate the pot a few times.  If everything goes OK, you may speed up slightly for another round or two.  What you are trying to to is to loosen the pot & find the one side that the pot's line is attached & with the boat on the opposite side, have enough leverage to tip the pot up out of the sand.  BUT have someone with a sharp knife handy as if it is sanded in & a wave catches you, it could pull the stern under.

 

History:  My fishing out of this port dates back to 1951 or 52 when, as a young boy I would go out with my uncle who lived in the Grayland/Westport area for many years.  We would take his 7.5 or 10hp outboard, and rent an open 16’ cedar strip boat from Heally or later an 18’ plywood boat or Bar-View.   These boat rental businesses were situated on the point then.

 

These days were before depthfinders were common or even affordable, and many of us never had a compass onboard.  The charters  & some commercial trollers had marine radios, they also used CB radios, which were then nick-named  “Mickey Mouses” because they were not that reliable then.  You had to learn on your own where to go and what to do to catch fish, as our rental boats of course didn’t have radios.  The fishing gear was a 6’ mooching leader with a slider top hook, as we ran whole herring, (cut-plug herring was not heard of then) a 4 to 6 oz. kidney sinker and a short stout rod.  Rods were short, solid fiberglass, 5’ to 6’ with a 7’er being long, as they were a carry over from the stout bamboo rods used for the wire lined dodger trolling setups.  The newer reels were usually Penn or Ocean City star drag, non-levelwind type.   Most of our mainline was Cuttyhunk as monofilament had just started to come in standard usage, but was not totally accepted as a mainline yet.

 

We never targeted Coho, as Chinook were rather plentiful and the season ran from the first of May to the end of October, with no season quota. The fishing method was to drop your bait to the bottom, reel up 2 or 3 feet & drift with the tide.  If there was no wave action, then you simply raised & lowered the rod tip to generate bait action. You would occasionally drop it down again to see if you had drifted into deeper water, or crank it up if you were dragging bottom. Then if you got nothing, or if the birds were working within sight, pull in & make a run back, or to a potentially better spot, and start your drift over again.

 

A few years later when the large charter boat fleet was based there, just getting out of the harbor or the main river could become a challenge if you happened to be leaving at the same time the 240 or so charters were also heading out.  The wakes from these charter boats were great enough that a small boat had to really be on the outlook, as it seemed the skippers never looked back at the little boats.  At times we thought they seemed to think of us as pests to be exterminated.  Your only hope was to get behind one of them & stay close in their protected wake.  One thing you could do however, if you did not know where the fish were, was just to get behind one & follow them to there they were going.  The bad part of this was you did not know how far out they were headed on that particular day and maybe you didn’t have enough fuel to even return for this kind of a run.

 

The charter boats were nicknamed the “puker fleet” for a seemingly good reason by the the townspeople & the commercial fishermen .

 

There was so much diesel exhaust fumes that the air was darker & it was not hard to tell the direction the boats went.

 

The South Jetty in those days went to within a hundred yards or so of buoy #8.  With our little boats, we could hug the inside of the South Jetty to it’s end & then go between it and #8 and be in the open ocean without much exposure to the bar.  We would usually watch the tides & try to go outside a few hours before high  tide change & be back a few hours after the change, there usually was no need to wait until the next change as fishing was usually very good.

 

Most of the outside fishing was from buoy #6 to #4 and occasionally we would have to venture WAY OUT to #2 buoy.

 

At that time, there was a deep slot just inside of the South Jetty.  We could fish outside in the ocean & then after the high tide changed we would slide inside to finish the day here.  Many a Chinook was pulled in this slot without going near the bar in the latter part of the season.  There was also good bottom fishing here, many black sea bass and some nice lingcod were pulled.  Occasionally we would hook into the bottom that moved, & after about an hour you would get to see what you had.  Usually it was a large sting ray with wings about 8' wide.  Mind you our boats were only 16'.  The word then was CUT THE LINE QUICK.

 

The original South Jetty was constructed from a railroad on top of driven in piling. This jetty has been rebuilt twice since those days & never back to the length of the original jetty.  Therefore, I would be very cautious crossing over between the end of the existing jetty and #8.  There are still considerable submerged rocks, causing a turbulence off the end off the jetty and out toward #8.

 

The North Jetty never extended much beyond the beach.  These days were before Ocean Shores was a town.  Later the north jetty was rebuilt and extended somewhat.  The North Jetty end still does not extend much beyond the north beach.  In the early 1970s if we were heading out, we could cross the river over to the north side and head to the end of the North Jetty, then move around the end to open water off the Ocean Shores beach with little exposure to the bar.  This has now changed somewhat as the north beach has sanded in considerably, making for a shallower rougher passage at low tide.

 

In the late 1960's to mid 1970's I commercial trolled out of here with a 22' inboard boat.  We were called "Kelpers".  We were small, 20-24'ers, which had no ice capacity, limiting us to "day trippers" which meant we stayed closer to port, and since kelp grows in shallower water, hence the name.  In the early years we could use any gear, including sport poles, of which I ran 6.  Later we had to use only trolling "Girdies" (much like heavy downriggers)  of which I had 2 hand operated ones.   Then later yet, we had to go to barbless hooks.  Many a large Chinook were pulled off the north beach in 15' - 20' of water right behind the breakers with the sport poles.

 

About 1975 there were 270 charter boats running out of the Westport Marina.   Now the summer of 2007, 32 charter boats compose the fleet.

The charter industry reached its peak here in 1977 when 267,000 people a year flocked to these boats for a day of deep sea fishing. The industry went “downhill” from there until the late 1990s, and the industry has been fairly stable since then.

There are a variety of things that brought about the decline, including natural stocks being overfished, the effect of the Boldt decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that dealt with tribal fishing rights, shifting ocean conditions — such as currents and temperature — that impacted the survival rate of salmon, and new fishing quotas that affected season lengths and bag limits.
 

As of the year 2001 there are only 28 charter boats operating out of Westport.   The year 2007 saw an increase to 32 charter boats in the fleet.  And a GOOD Sunday will have up to 400 personal boats hitting the water here in search of salmon.

 

Copyright © 2004-2006 LeeRoy Wisner  All Rights Reserved
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Last updated 01-27-2006  Last Updated 09-17-07
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