Newport - 4/5-4/7

Phil Layer · 04-02-2002, 10:06 AM

I'm planning on a run to Newport this weekend. I should be able to crab Thursday night and if the seas allow, head out for some bottom fishing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I understand it is still a bit too early for salmon. I may have a seat open on Friday if anyone is available.

Any advice for bottom fishing out of Newport will be appreciated.

Anyone else planning on being there this weekend?

Pilar · 04-02-2002, 10:38 AM

Moby, we may be there too if weather allows. I'll be on 'Puffin' as the trailer on 'Pilar' is indisposed until I get an axle.

I'll let you know when we decide what goes on. The Rockpile is the destination. Charter boats get Kings from the opener April 1 til the end of the summer. We just have to figure it out.

yon't to?

wak'm&stak'm · 04-02-2002, 04:17 PM

Hey you all.............Of coarse it changes over night....But the commercial boats have been having 30 to 40 fish days on the north end of the pile. I noticed a lot of boats away from the dock.
This morning it was flat and it looked like the place to be, but the NW'er was up by 10. It is interesting how this spring the NW'er has been blowing so much, without the heat in the valley.
I am taking off for Medford but I can tell you what it looks like Thursday morning since it is just out the window.

[ 04-02-2002, 05:18 PM: Message edited by: wak'm&stak'm ]

Phil Layer · 04-02-2002, 05:50 PM

Pilar,

Tell me when and where and I'll be there.

Whackem,

Thanks for the encouraging word. I'll look for your Thursday post.

Phil Layer · 04-03-2002, 05:26 AM

I read a post that razor clamming is good at Agate Beach as well.

Have gun. Will travel!

Could be an awesome, belly bustin' weekend. Are we blessed living here or what?

Pilar · 04-03-2002, 05:49 AM

Hey Moby, don't we need minus tides to clam?

We're planning our adventure this evening. I'll post late tonight. We have to figure out whose boat, etc...

Pitch Pocket · 04-03-2002, 06:21 AM

The predictions for the coastal waters show Thursday as the best day and winds and swells increasing Friday Saturday & Sunday.

THU
NW WIND 15 KT. S OF NEWPORT WIND TURNING S 10 KT LATER IN
THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

THU NIGHT
NW WIND 10 KT TURNING S 15 KT EARLY. WIND WAVES 3
FT. W SWELL 4 FT.

FRI
S WIND INCREASING TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 5 FT. W SWELL 6 FT.

SAT
SW WIND 20 KT. WIND WAVES 4 FT. W SWELL 8 FT.

SUN
S WIND 25 KT. WIND WAVES 5 FT. W SWELL 10 FT.

Does it look like the weekend will be too rough?

Pilar · 04-03-2002, 06:53 AM

It's all about the wind. If it really blows that hard on Friday, then it won't be much fun this weekend :whazzup: .

Phil Layer · 04-03-2002, 10:03 AM

Pilar,

What is an acceptable wind to get you to head out?

Pilar · 04-03-2002, 11:45 PM

Moby, I go by trend more than any other thing.

In general any predicted wind > 15kts could be a problem. Having said that you should know that they often predict the max winds possible that day and are often wrong. If the Ocean is small, IE: it adds up to less than 7, then a wind as big as 20 kts will not cause a problem.

By adds up to I mean add the Sea and Swell predictions together.

Wind 20kts, Swells NW at 7 period of 11 seconds, Seas 4 ft.

This then adds up to 11 and with that wind I would stay home. If you went there and the wind did not blow that day you would find 6 - 7 swell and no sea (chop), a beautiful ocean everytime.

What to do, you ask?

Learn to judge the forecast and watch the trend. Seas decreasing and wind dropping are good. Swell is important too but it is a very long term deal. It usually does not change much over the course of the day. You can check bouys or web cams or even call your buddy at the coast, right Wak?.

'Puffin' likes to call the CG station and ask them. I'm sure they have enough to do already but they are usually friendly and willing to help a safety conscious boater.

Another thing is wind direction. East wind is a good thing and tends to make the Ocean lay down near shore. The NW wind we have every summer is an afternoon thing. It can be calm in the morning and then blow like hell all afternoon after it warms up in the valley and the wind machine gets going.

A S or SW wind usually is a storm condition.

The last thing is the infamous calm before the storm. You have to get the timing right but often the Ocean is calmed as a storm approaches. You just have to make sure you don't get caught when the conditions rapidly worsen with the arriving storm.

A good way to practice is to check the forecast and then on the next day watch the bouys and get the actual conditions. The Stonewall Bank bouy is a good indicator of conditions at sea, south of Cascade head.

Hope this helps Moby.

Phil Layer · 04-04-2002, 12:19 PM

Not looking the best for this weekend but I am heading over later tonight. I'm hoping to make a run out to the rock pile at first light weather permitting, of course. If not, there are lots of crabs in the bay there.

Phil Layer · 04-07-2002, 02:58 PM

Friday, the ocean was pretty rough so I stayed in the bay and bagged a few crabs.

Saturday, three friends and I got out onto a very flat sea and headed south to Seal Rock. There, we nailed 38 black bass, 2 cabezon, 4 lings and 3 chinook in four hours of fishing. The salmon hit the jig heads on the bottom. That was a first for me.

Just another day at the office!

Life is good.

Deepslayer · 04-07-2002, 07:16 PM

I have fished by Seal Rock many times and have never got a salmon :depressed: Congradulations!

Where abouts where you? How deep was the water?
Thanks in advance :smile:

,Ed

Pilar · 04-07-2002, 09:44 PM

Ok Moby, thats a great teaser, fish on you might even say.

Tell us how to catch kings on bottom fish gear. Jig head and what a white worm? How deep and what kind of structure? On the bottom or at what depth?

Nice bag and thanks for the report.

Phil Layer · 04-08-2002, 05:51 AM

Needless to say, I was a bit shocked to hook a salmon there too although I have not fished there before. What is really weird is there were four of us in the boat fishing with pretty much identical setups and my rod got all three of the salmon. One other rod had a big one on but lost it.

We were in 60 feet of water a wee bit north of the rocks and probably a half mile west of the rocks.

Jig heads were relatively small with clear tails with a tinge of green or pink in them. My lure (the salmon hooker) was pink.

It was such a great day for me I almost feel guilty. Almost.

Pilar · 04-08-2002, 06:01 AM

There's that pink worm again!

We'll be down that way this weekend or next looking for the 'Big Juan' you lost. Normally we find quite a few Kings out at Stonewall bank. But I have heard that they relate to rocks and rocky shore so your success is not a total surprise.

Good job and thanks for the tips.

Threemuch · 04-08-2002, 08:36 AM

Before you needed circle hooks, a popular jig for salmon in CA was a Gitzit. It's a tube jig, 1 oz or so, and we would tip it with a strip of fish.

White was always the color. But Pink might fish really well if the fish were feeding on krill. What was in their belly?

KB

Threemuch · 04-08-2002, 09:45 AM

Moby or anyone else-

Where is Seal Rock? Any Numbers? I may be able to head down there this weekend. Otherwise I will go out of Garibaldi.

Kurt

Phil Layer · 04-08-2002, 09:55 AM

Kurt,

I have the numbers at home and can get them for you later. But, I really don't think you will need them.

Seal Rock is 8.2 miles south, just off shore. If you have a mapping GPS, they are probably marked on the map for you. They are on my Garmin eMap.

There will be many charters headed that way, I'm sure. They leave the dock at 8:00.

I didn't get to see what the salmon were eating. My buddies took care of the fish while I ran back into the bay to drop my crab pots.

By the way, I got 18 crab on Friday and 2 on Saturday. Everyone I spoke with complained that the crabbing had been really bad there. I think my 18 keeper day was just a fluke. I used turkey legs.

Good luck!

Stoyjun Princess · 04-14-2002, 10:42 AM

Hot dog, what a day that was. We all had a great day of fishing :grin: limited the boat on bottom fish, but Moby was HOT with the Chinook, 3 nice ones on bottom fishing gear

And My husband, (lost it) his new name... broke his line on a big, big Chinook :depressed: . This is his second big fish his line has broke on, he is due for the next one. It was only 15 lb test we were fishing with that day. But who would of thought we would hook into salmon.

We are going back to Seal Rock next weekend, hope the seas are flat.
We did notice that the bite was the best before the wind picked up.