Westport Report

[Roeboat]

You probably already know this, but Westport is just plain hot for salmon now. I fished with three others the last two weekends and limited each time. The weekend before last the fish were in close with the high tide and when I checked with the fish counter lady she informed me that of the 36 boats she had checked, 34 had limited. Last weekend the number of boats out seemingly quadrupled. Last weekend was tougher as the waves were much larger and the low morning tide seemed to push the fish farther out. I got into them thick about 14 miles out and the fishing was fast and furious. Silvers are about 12 pulls down (20-25 feet) and the kings 25 pulls (45-50 feet). You have to release several large feisty native silvers each trip. The new Gamakatsu barbless hooks are just plain awesome. They work much better than pinched barbs and at this time I'd like to say I think they lose fewer fish than the barbed version. I am using the 3/0 size for the trailer and a 1 or 1/0 for the lead hook. The wide throaty bend of the new hook holds awesome even with fish getting air, rolling or twisting. Thumbs up to the new Gamakatsu hook from a born skeptic. I was mooching plug cut herring with 4 ounce weights. Happy fishing to all of you.