Heceta Bank

[Gregotis98]

I'm thinking of going where I've never been before, Heceta Bank. I know some of you have been out there before and I want the goods, man.
What's the bar like on the Siuslaw, I've only fished the river for fall fish and have never seen the bar. I've been out of Depoe Bay, Garibaldi, Newport, and Astoria before, and feel fairly confident in my boating ability, but hate going out of new places for the first time. The run from Newport looks a little far and would rather take off from Florence.
I know there's halibut out there but have no idea where, and I don't suppose anyone would like to share with the rest of us? I know people don't like to give out #'s, but from what I've seen in the past with tuna and some bottom fish #'s, all of us have been pretty cool with them. Also is there any tuna action out there? I would think there's some upwelling and bait fish too. This just might be a pipe dream, but would love to make a run to Heceta Bank with some of you guys or even by myself.

Please help

Seeing as how you are half way to KF do you need a deck hand?

[fishwhenican]

I wouln't recommend crossing the bar at Florence, to make a run out to Heceta Banks you may not be able to get back in. They were supposed to dredge it, but you know where the dredges funds are???
I spoke with a guy from Pacific Pioneer Charters (link on i-fish) at the Eugene sports show about the banks. 1. It is only 2-3 miles further from Winchester Bay than from Florence ( Winchester is crossable far more often than Florence). 2. With a north wind in the afternoon, the run back to Winchester is "downhill". Winchester Bay is only 30 minutes south of Florence. He also said that they fish the south end of the banks for halibut, and said "just follow us out if you want, we will even let you know how to run the drift". They also do some tuna runs from there, but I don't recall the warm water getting as close to shore as it does at Depoe Bay or at Port Orford.
I am considering a Halibut trip out there this year, Additional company would be welcome.

[ 03-03-2003, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: fishwhenican ]

[Gregotis98]

I just finished reading the bar description on the State Marine Board's website, and think I'll scrap the Siuslaw run, but might be willing to go out of Winchester. I can't imagine that it get's much pressure out there now that the commercial boats will be gone. I've never been down as far as the Umpqua with a boat, how much traffic goes in and out of there? Are there many charters? I'm still waiting for the opener dates on halibut, when are they due?

[kenai]

Halibut opener dates are May 8,9,10 &15,16,17 . I cant remember the days if the qutoa is not met on these 6.

[Gregotis98]

How long have these dates been set? I must have missed the info, Time to put the dates on the calendar at work.

[Orca]

Good idea to pass on Florence. I seem to hear nothing but trouble there.

The halibut dates at this point are "proposed", but very likely to stick. See Halibut.

Winchester is pretty much a salmon port, and there are a few charters and guides working the area. When salmon fishing is hot, there are a lot of boats coming in and out.The Strike Zone (with several boats) has mentioned that they go to Heceta for Halibut and it has been good to them. Haven't checked the chart, but I believe it was about 30 miles out. I am sure there is very little fishing pressure compared to Newport. This may make you Drool.

I really like Winchester, but the bar will close sooner than Newport, and gets wilder on the ebb. I believe that Halibut will be found early on the RockPile this year, but I could be wrong. I also plan to take a prospecting mission up north of Newport in late April and see what lives there.

[ 03-03-2003, 09:42 PM: Message edited by: Orca ]

Greg,
I have only fished Winchester Bay on weekdays and it isn't too crowded.

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

The distance you must go to find halibut from Florence is further than Newport. If you look at a bathyscapic chart you will see that the continental shelf is much further out than at Newport and that is the area where tuna are to be found. The Siuslaw bar is trecherous depending on tides and winds and unless you traverse it often, can be extremely tricky. I suggest you stick with works for you and where you have the knowledge and avoid it. The distance to Heceta Banks from Newport or Florence is pretty much the same depending on where you want to go. If you leave from Florence, you may find you must go to Windy Bay to get back in. Unless you have the boat to handle the seas, I think you best avoid it.

[Capt. Rich]

Orca and fishwhenican are correct. There are halibut on Heceta Banks. Originally the charters ran down to Heceta Banks from Newport to fish for halibut. If you go in the Newport Tradewinds office you will see a sign that Bert made to let people know that that they didn't always go to the Banks.

Our office rediscovered some of the halibut spots on the banks and did quite well last season. Winchester Bay is a good port to embark from if you are going fish the banks in the spring. You have the winds to your back coming home and usually the winds are lighter in the morning going North.

What I meant to say is that there will be a steady stream of boats going to the halibut grounds and you have to make your own mind up if you want to go that far. The first couple of miles is usually the roughest as you have the coastal tidal influence.

As a responsible charter operator we must warn people that the second opener weekend, May 15, 16 &17, is on a major minus tide in the morning. The USCG may have the port closed to small vessels.

Unfortunately our office is booked for the May halibut dates. We are a six pack operation. I guess we can toot our horn too.

http://www.pacificpioneercharters.co...nd-halibut.gif

[tailchaser]

I used to fish out of Florence a lot when I was young, but they did some work on the jetties there and half of the rocks ended up in the water instead of on other rocks. To say the least it shallowed up the crossing a lot and it was hard for dredges to clear it because of the size of the boulders they use on the jetties. So it more or less killed the sport angling there. I do know of 4 or 5 boats that head North from Winchester though for Heceta. It's a pretty long run, but now adays it's getting longer for all of us. I'm going to start fishing out of Port Orford myself, since it's only 19 miles to the halihole from there. And it's a north wind at your back on the way home.

tc

[skein]

Tailchaser,

Tell us more about Port Orford. I've never "slung" a boat before, but we, too, are thinking about that area. We also understand there's also some pretty decent diving in that area. Got any info on launching, taking out, etc?

Thanks

Skein

[tailchaser]

The whole process in Port Orford is really much more painless than people think. There are two slings (one for a typical sport boat without pad-eyes, and one that's set up for the common users w/ pad-eyes welded to the boat). I actually like using the sport sling because you're the first in line usually to get in and out because commercials tie up the line most of the time on the other sling. You pull the boat up with the proper angle for the sling. Tie it off to the concrete anchor and pull off the end of the boat about a foot and a half to slip the first sling under the transom. Slip the other one under the bow section and you're in the water in a couple of minutes. You have to get all of your stuff together before this happens though because there's only a really small dock. You have to back out of the sling get people on board and get out of the way for other boats.

As of the fishing it's usually fantastic. The area is barely touched by sport fishing and I haven't fished near another boat there yet besides people with me. I've yet to chase tuna out of there but the warm water currents usually come close to there and Cape Blanco before bouncing out a little before Bandon and Coos Bay. The halibut hole we fish is directly off of Cape Blanco SW of Bandon. It's a fairly large area and covers about 20 miles. The north end of the area is 32 miles from Coos Bay and the wind is in your face on the way back. Makes for a nasty day. From Port Orford, it's only 19 miles to the South end of the same area and the wind is at your back on the way home. I have all the GPS coords. for the area and it's definitely where I'll be come the opener. I also know of two spots from commercials where you can catch flatties under the 180' curve. I gave them to a buddy to check out and they landed two in an hour. So the fishing is pretty much limitless.

As of the diving, it's a notorious place for it. There isn't much sand around so turbidity in the water is pretty low. Typical sight distance is around 30'. I actually have a dive license but due to fifty friggn other hobbies I have I haven't done it much in the last couple of years. If you want any more info just let me know.

tc

[Popeye]

TC....how big are the halibut down there, and how deep is the water? Do you have much trouble with limits? I might entertain running south from Newport

[tailchaser]

The smallest fish we kept was 45 lbs last year. The two times I went we averaged right at 49-50 lbs with one fish topping 69. We hooked into a couple of monsters but never did see them. One broke off and the other was the only fish to get off my hook all year on the circles. I guess to get big, lucky is one of the requirements. They're the same stock of fish that are up at Newport and Heceta. The fishing is typically 375-450' and no limits are not a problem if you get out there. I had a pool on board of how long it would be until the first hookup last year and the winner was 90 seconds from the time it hit bottom. On average we hooked into 20-30 fish a day. Typical size fish was around 32 lbs or right at the limit. It's a pretty darn good area that's big enough to fish a lot of boats. Rarely is another boat within 500 yards of me while I'm out there. However, I did have a troller come within 50 yards of my boat dragging his nets. Talk about ticking a person off. Not a single boat was within sight distance of me on either side. Anyhoo, I used to fish the Newport fishery when I was younger but it's getting pretty crowded from what I hear. The rockpile used to be a long way out back then!!

tc

[fishwhenican]

Skein, I have made about 2 dozen dives out of Port Orford, although it has been a few years. My dive partner has 4 kids, who all seem to be doing the same kid sports at the same time. Needless to say I haven't been diving enough recently. If you are interested in talking about going, shoot me an e-mail - or - I'll see you in Newport on the 15th?

I stll remember the diving bird that "flew" past me, 55' deep, on a dive down there.