Assistance with Hali fishing in Port Townsend Area

BONES · 05-24-2006, 01:03 PM

We are heading to the Port Townsend area for the up coming holiday. I am planning on hali fishing with the neighbor of my sister inlaw. Weather permitting...

I have not yet talked with him so what should I plan for as far as gear, weights, etc..? What depth up there? I have fished the ranch here at a little over 500 feet with anywhere from 40-48 oz. We used shad, herring , squid.

Any thoughts or direction would be helpful. Thanks, Tim

slabhunter · 05-24-2006, 01:39 PM

I like to stay 300ft or less.
Weights described should put you in the ballpark. It's been a few years since I've fished there but we used to run towards Low Pt. and work back to Freshwater Bay on the flood tide.
31/36, Greenpoint, and the southern part of Coyote Bank are shallower fisheries and very popular on the derby weekend.

The dogfish can be bad at times; you may want to try some artificial squid or slabspoons if you encounter them.

Good fishing,
Hans

Edit: Sorry if wrong. I was thinking you would be running to fish the PA derby. Disregard if that isn't the case. :blush:

There is a NOAA bouy close to there for conditions.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46088

jigmaster · 05-24-2006, 04:29 PM

See www.salmonuniversity.com go to Straits of Juan de Fuca...then in column on left click on Sequim or Port Townsend..Good luck

tomictime · 05-24-2006, 05:24 PM

IMHO, better than Salmo U is the fish-n-map..lots of good spots. You will need less wt than 48 oz. Good advice on jigs, always fish at least one and at least one bait.

JD

jigmaster · 05-24-2006, 05:39 PM

Spreader Bar and bait unless dogs are there, if so switch to jigs and plastics...Thanks JD

jigmaster · 05-24-2006, 05:42 PM

Hans, Thanks for the Hein Bank Buoy info...

Bill Monroe · 05-25-2006, 08:25 AM

Definitely Hein Bank...west of Whidbey and Smith Island...careful of the Canadian line, though...Caught a 45-pound ling at Point Wilson once and have seen small rowboats tow halibut to shore from the east shore at the point....

Paddler · 05-25-2006, 01:31 PM

We just returned from fishing the Strait. Not good. Fished with bait (Shad, very kindly provided by Glenn, aka Jigmaster, and a big thanks to him, herring, squid and octopus, plus jigs for five days, not one halibut. We covered ground, fishing Constance Bank, Coyote Bank, the flat between them, the Rockpile, Green Point, Race Rocks and Sooke Inlet, and fished depths ranging from ~80' on top of Constance down to a little over 400'. We didn't need more than 32 ounces to reach and maintain contact with the bottom, and mostly got by with 16 ounces.

Not sure if we were doing anything wrong, as it was our first time, but it was slow for everybody. We talked to a guy who caught 8 fish during the BC tournament two weeks before, and he was fishless that day. He talked to the charter guy who won the tourny with a 197# fish, and he was also skunked.

The first two days there were small craft advisories, with winds of 15-25+ knots and windwaves of 2-4', but the following days were nice, with tides generally less than one knot max. Talked with the fish checker, she said that the fishing had "picked up" on Sunday to ~0.5 fish/boat, which means we were underachieving. I figure we should have caught ~2.5 halibut for the trip.

Think I need a new boat, this one has a skunk aboard. Seriously, that was one of the bright points of the trip, in that the boat performed perfectly, and handled the poor conditions very well.

I can't advise about Hein or the other banks in US waters, but I know that Killer Bee spent a couple of fishless days over there a few weeks ago. Maybe he'll chime in here. Good luck, and take someone with local knowledge with you. You may have trouble if you fish blind.

jigmaster · 05-25-2006, 02:18 PM

Hi John, Just got back in from Dungeness and was skunked today and on Monday...Caught several Dogfish

Here's the great news though Dan Schieve of Sequim caught a 78" Hali

up here last Sunday that translated into 254#

....Too bad he didn't catch it during the derby...First place for sure

It has been slow for most up here.
Hewescrafts are great boats, glad to hear it went well with the new boat...Glenn

Eagle-day · 05-25-2006, 04:11 PM

Bones, it's real slow here in Port Townsend, one fish that i know of last week. Remember that theses fish are migrating out to the ocean from the Sound, Call Mike at the "Fish-in-hole" (360) 385-7031 for a report, good luck

BONES · 05-25-2006, 04:28 PM

Well, change in plans. The guy I had planned on fishing with hurt his back and he wont be able to make it. I am considering dragging my boat up there. It is a 19 foot Hewescraft Riverunner. He told me he would give me the gps numbers I need. I am thinking of putting in at Sequim Bay at John Wayne Marina.

But looking at these reports I am not sure its worth the gas to take the boat up there. I also read that there is a derby out of Port Townsend over this weekend (crowds ?). But if I do take the boat I would like to find someone to go that knows the area and how to fish hali as I only have one rod setup for myself. Open for thoughts/options. You can call my cell if you want (503)805-9616. I sure appreciate all the info so far. Thanks again, Tim.