Anyone fish for Blackmouths or Silvers in the Winter in the Central Sound?

[South Sound]

I was thinking about heading out with the boat to Jeff's Head. I usually do not fish the salt in the winter. Does anyone have any suggestions for Blackmouths or Residents. I know most people fish down South for Residents, however I would rather stay closer to home.
Thanks.

[TomB]

find a place where a shallow shelf drops off into deeper water. Then fish there as the tide is carrying stuff off the shelf. Motor up over the shelf and drif over the dropoff casting a heavy sinking head with a baitfish pattern. Slow retreive actually works well.
-Tom

[Bob Triggs]

FYI: Saltwater Area Nine (9) Closed December 1st.

[South Sound]

Yeah I saw that. I looks like I can fish 10 until 9 reopens, then go to 9. Just jumping area to area. Definately a benefit of living in Kistap. We have multiple areas all around us.

[wet line]

Legal winter blackmouth are generally deep in close to 100 feet of water and very near the bottom. Large numbers of sub legals will often be found in closer to shore and shallower water. Yes there is the ocasional legal in close and shallow but it is a rare fish.

If your personal ethics allow you to intentionally target sub legal fish go for it.

In nearly 40 years of fishing a great deal for winter fish less than 5% of legals caught were in shallow water

Dave

[Stonefish]

Dave,
There are three places I know of in the sound where you can catch legal sized BM off the beaches in the winter. You'll hook more resident silvers then sub-legal blackmouth. It can be great fishing when the fish are there, but most of the time it is famine.
Brian

[Jeff D]

If you can find a spawning bed for herring or candlefish, you'll be able to find legal blackmouth in shallower water. Port Townsend bay can be good for guys jigging/mooching in water as shallow as 50 - 60 feet. Points of land jetting into Admirlty Inlet blackmouth will come up shallow to feed, such as Bush Pt and Lagoon Pt. on the Whidbey side. May be the same at Marrowstone and Pt. No Pt. I've not tried this on a fly, but these are traditional mooching areas when area 9 is open, and if you can get your baitfish pattern down in these tide rips, you have a shot at finding fish.

Good Luck!

[Preston]

I have, as have some of my friends, encountered blackmouth while fishing for resident coho from the beach during March and April. I've always suspected that this may coincide with the spring sand lance hatch which might bring them into water shallower than they would normally haunt. My largest was a 9 1/2 pounder at Lincoln Park.