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Neah Bay report

2K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  wetline dave 
#1 ·
I fished Neah Bay this weekend with Anil and Hutch. We left Saturday night, camped at hobuck beach, then fished Sunday and Monday.

We started out sunday by making a 24 mile run to Umatilla reef, which is basically between La Push and Neah Bay. The weather made the ride pretty bumpy, it took us around 90 min to get there. Once there we hooked up with quite a few rockfish. We had hoped to get into more lingcod, but only boated one. This was a new spot for me so I don't feel like I explored enough to find the great fishing that I expected. Next time I might take a gear rod with me to help find some lings, either that or invest in a depth finder.

The second half of Sunday was great, we ran back north near tatoosh island and procceded to pick up a bunch more rockfish, some cabezon and one or 2 more lings. As the sun was going down we found a particular spot where the current was flowing very fast over a forest of kelp and through some partially submerged rocks. As we were drifting by we noticed some rockfish were jumping and creating nervous water. Anil quickly changed up flies to a floating clauser, which is similar to a popper. He tossed it out and I put the boat into reverse which in combination with the fast current kept the fly bouncing along the surface, within a few seconds he had a rockfish explode on his fly. We repleated this technique quite a few more times, it was very entertaining watching them come flying out of the water to nail your fly.

Sunday morning we headed back out to Tatoosh and fished the sea cliffs along the cape, the rockfishing was again superb. We got a lot bigger fish this time, with a few in the 5-6lb range. It took anil a few tries but he eventually landed a rockfish on 8x tippett and a 0/0 rod, not an easy feat when the recomended gear to use on these is a 7 or 8wt with 15-25 pound leader.

Solomon also landed a nice cabezon with a green mouth which I'd never seen before, I've seen some green tinted lingcod but not a cabezon.

If you want to check out some pics from the weekend they can be found at
http://fishing.surrealistic.net/index.cgi?mode=album&album=./2005.5.30

-I
 
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#4 ·
Ibn,
I checked out the pics, and they were amazing! I couldn't believe how huge that black sebastes was. Was it over 10 lbs? How old do you think that rascal was? I'd be willing to say it must have easily been over 15 yrs old. Maybe over 20? What a stunning rockfish! And that green-mouthed cabezon was very cool, too. Anil sure hooked you guys up! Sweet, sweet, sweet!
 
#5 ·
ceviche said:
Ibn,
I checked out the pics, and they were amazing! I couldn't believe how huge that black sebastes was. Was it over 10 lbs? How old do you think that rascal was? I'd be willing to say it must have easily been over 15 yrs old. Maybe over 20? What a stunning rockfish! And that green-mouthed cabezon was very cool, too. Anil sure hooked you guys up! Sweet, sweet, sweet!
I think the largest fish we got was pushing 6 pounds, I've never seen anything larger then that, but I know Anil has seen some 7 or 8 pounders. Very cool fish and fun to catch, I enjoy fishing for them more then salmon sometimes.

I've got a lot of respect for the rockfish and the lingcod out there. Even though the limit is 10 fish/angler in marine area4 I rarely keep more then 3 fish. This trip we didn't keep any. I really wish they would change the limit out there, 10 seems like a lot of fish to harvest. I hate seeing a full boat pull into the marina with a cooler full of 60 rockfish.

Anil did introduce me to Neah Bay but I wouldn't say he hooked us up. I go out there at least once a month, usually more, and not always with him. Don't get me wrong, Anil rocks and is great entertainment and has a wealth of knowledge, not to mention I always seem to catch more fish when I fish with him. :)
 
#6 ·
Ibn, great report. Sounds like a lot of fun.

How did you like the "hobuck beach" camp ground? I'm thinking to camp out in a tent when the Coho are in this summer and it will be my first time staying in the Neah Bay area. What amenities does it have or lack that you thought important?

Another place that I have heard some about is Snow Creek, or Cape Motel and RV Park: have you ever checked either or them out or heard about them ?
 
#8 ·
salt dog said:
Ibn, great report. Sounds like a lot of fun.

How did you like the "hobuck beach" camp ground? I'm thinking to camp out in a tent when the Coho are in this summer and it will be my first time staying in the Neah Bay area. What amenities does it have or lack that you thought important?

Another place that I have heard some about is Snow Creek, or Cape Motel and RV Park: have you ever checked either or them out or heard about them ?
I've stayed at the Cape many times, and at Snow Creek. I like Hobuck the best, however, it's a bit of a drive from the marina. Hobuck was 12$ to camp, had outhouses, not sure if it had showers or not. It's on an awesome beach and was filled with surfers who share similar interests as me ptyd :cool:

The cape is nice because if you moore your boat you can walk down to it. The owners can be kinda snotty at times though, and it's a little more expensive and gets packed with ******* fishermen. I've never had an issue there or anything, but some folks might feel uncomfortable.

Snow Creek is a bit spendy and IMO is further away from the good fishing water. The launch is a beach launch to, not a nice one like the Makah have.

I'll be there quite a bit this summer, I will likely split time between the cape and hobuck.
 
#9 ·
D3Smartie said:
ibn... what kind of tubes are you using out there? do you like them better than the straight clousers? Do you use anything to create space between the tube and the hook?
thanks
David
I use anils shock and awe pattern most the time. I always use about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of junction tubing to attach the hooks. Not sure if that answers your spacing question. I usually tie my flies on a 1 to 2 inch section of tube.

Clausers work fine to, but I find that I get snagged up more often with clausers. I like being able to switch up hooks with tubes. It's not unusual to hookup 10 fish in a short period of time and have your hook bent out, it sucks to have to toss a fly for that reason. You can also use wider gap hooks that seem to help with more reliable hookups. Hooks rust, tubes dont. Tubes! Tubes! Tubes!

Any sort of baitfish pattern will work out there. I prefer something with a weighted head to get the jigging motion, the shock and awe really works well, and I've compared it with quite a few other patterns.
 
#10 ·
ibn,

trust me, a depthfinder will be a much better investment than a gear rod if you want to play around down south. i believe it's a much more consistent lingcod spot because the bottom tends to be more level (less vertical than the strait). you can find some spots that stay a consistent depth over a large area.

there are places down there so loaded with fish it's truly nuts... but check out your charts and keep an eye on the depth.... there's some places that get crazy with fish right as you get washed onto a pinnacle.

but i think it's been too long since last august (saying rockfish are more fun than salmon :eek: ).... you are in dire need of a salmon fix. i know i am.

imo, the cape is the best place to stay. a quick walk to the boat in the morning beats a drive anytime. of course, i disagree with the assessment of the owners... but i know them well and they are great people. don't forget that gordy has and continues to be one of the main people fighting for our seasons (as friggin' short as they are) at neah bay.

chris
 
#11 ·
flyfishneahbay said:
ibn,
...there are places down there so loaded with fish it's truly nuts... but check out your charts and keep an eye on the depth.... there's some places that get crazy with fish right as you get washed onto a pinnacle.
No kidding! The first spot we pulled into was a large cluster of partially submerged rocks. I've got an 8hp kicker and it was all it could do to keep us out of them in the current. The tides were pretty extreme last weekend. I never felt like I was in real danger but I was really suprised with how much throttle it took to hold us.

flyfishneahbay said:
but i think it's been too long since last august (saying rockfish are more fun than salmon :eek: ).... you are in dire need of a salmon fix. i know i am.
I know! I know! We saw a comercial boat pull in with some large kings, just seeing them made me twitch. What's your take on the Sunday/Monday moratiorium on Salmon? Are you going to fish out of sekiu at all instead?

flyfishneahbay said:
imo, the cape is the best place to stay. a quick walk to the boat in the morning beats a drive anytime. of course, i disagree with the assessment of the owners... but i know them well and they are great people. don't forget that gordy has and continues to be one of the main people fighting for our seasons (as friggin' short as they are) at neah bay.
Yeah, I will probably end up staying at the cape quite a bit this summer. In the owners defense we usually roll in around midnight or later, and they're always busy, they probably see us as just another anoying customer :) I'm sure they're good people, and that's cool they're working for a longer season.
 
#13 ·
the sunday/monday deal stinks... but it was the only way we were going to be open in august this summer. as for going to sekiu.... in one word... NO. gonna try to play with some other offshore fishies.... plus going from neah bay to sekiu is like going from heidi klum to star jones.

chris
 
#14 ·
wet line said:
And Anil was fishing with a 0/0 rod and 8x tippet. Are you crazy or just obsessed LOL? Sounds like a Capt. Ahab/Moby Dick syndrome to me! I sure hope that isn't the rod I secretly fondle in your shop!

Dave
Yes that's the rod. It sure is purty. First time I saw that I wanted one. But I just can't spend the money.
 
#15 ·
I wanted to use this forum to officially announce the introduction of the 88's club. In the same spirit as the famous 20/20 trout club (a 20" or larger trout on a size 20 or smaller fly), the 88's is the equivalent for the Rockfish connoisseur. To become a member of the 88's, an angler must land a Rockfish of 8" or larger on size 8x tippet.
Where the 20/20 club is an informal collection of anglers who claim ownership of the title based on honor, the 88's are an official society and applicants must meet criteria before any of the rights and privileges of club membership can be expected. The following is a list of rules and criteria that must be met before your application to the club can be considered:
1. Tippet size must not exceed .003" (8x) in diameter.
2. A shock tippet of no greater than 6" may be used
3. Only the applicant angler may handle the rod and reel during the fight.
4. A signed and notarized statement from at least 2 witnesses.
5. A photo of the fish must be submitted along with the leader that was used.
Once the aforementioned criteria are met, the applicant should send the necessary documentation along with a nominal ($200) clerical fee to Puget Sound Fly Company.
Please make checks Payable to Anil.
Anil Srivastava
www.pugetsoundflyco.com
Board of Governors 88's
 
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