Northwest Fishing Reports

Hi guys, the family and I are headed up to Neah Bay during the second week of August for some fish'n...we always target the sea bass and kelp greenlings and after we get or limits then we go for lings and cabezon....my question is, what baits work best for the Cabz i have caught them on jigs and on 5 inch swimbaits on the bottom, but there has got to be a better way to target them..... would a chunk of herring be a better bet or would I just get other fish with that?.... any help would be greatly appretiated....bear in mind we probably wont go past the mushroom rock....and will probably fish around tatoosh and wada...and maybe duncan rock...and seal rock if I get the urge... thanx in advance for your help .... Brandon.

Brandon,
Try a 4 to 5 oz jig head with a 8" worm or a scampi (twin tail). Use any color you like they all work. I like white for Cabezon. Stop by and see me at my boat the "Cabazon" on C dock, Slip #9. I will give you some ideas on some areas you may want to try. Good luck. Tom

Do a forum search for ling there is a lot of info on both species....

You can also try using little purple crabs that you find along the rock shore as you drive out to Neah Bay. Crabs are the main diet of Cabezon. Fish them along the kelp beds and you should do well especially out by Tatoosh. We catch a bunch on regular black leadhead jigs too. I am really looking forward to getting back out to Neah Bay this season.

SeaRun1

SeaRun1 wrote:You can also try using little purple crabs that you find along the rock shore as you drive out to Neah Bay. Crabs are the main diet of Cabezon. Fish them along the kelp beds and you should do well especially out by Tatoosh. We catch a bunch on regular black leadhead jigs too. I am really looking forward to getting back out to Neah Bay this season.

SeaRun1

Under the new rules that went into effect April 1, it is now illegal to harvest those shore crabs for bait. Also illegal to harvest pile worms and various other "unclassified marine invertebrates"

I believe we are still using the old rules until April 30th.

Shad_Eating_Grin,

Could you provide a location of the changes you found regarding the shore crabs and pile worms. I have a feeling that you may have confused the harvest and use rules for state park regulations and marine preserves. Current regs read as follows:

UNCLASSIFIED MARINE INVERTEBRATES Each harvester must have a separate container. Possession limit is one daily
limit. No Shellfsh/Seaweed license required. Caution: for Shellfsh Safety and Department of Health contact information see pages 122 and 125. No harvest in State Parks or Potlatch DNR.
ALL AREAS MOON SNAILS Year-round No min. size. Daily limit 5.
NUDIBRANCHS Year-round No min. size. Daily limit 2.
ALL OTHERS Year-round No min. size. Daily limit no more than 10, all species combined. (Includes
PACIFIC GRACEFUL CRABS, STARFISH, SAND DOLLARS, SHORE CRABS,
SNAILS, MARINE WORMS, etc.)

This was in the new proposed rules G-Man. I hope they make some exceptions, like for graceful crabs, limpets etc. I don't see the point of it personally.

I can't see them banning the collection and use of pile worms, mole crabs and shore crabs for saltwater fishing. IMO, limiting folks to 10 each is enough of a restriction.

I had success a couple years ago using squid I had caught beforehand.

#7. Unclassified Marine Fish and Invertebrates
Proposal: This proposal would close all harvest of unclassified marine fish and invertebrates.
Explanation: Unclassified marine invertebrates consist of animals such as starfish, sand dollars,
shore crabs and unclassified marine fish are animals such as blennies, tubesnouts and tide pool
sculpins. Existing regulations prohibit these animals from being taken in a commercial fishery and
limit recreational harvest to two unclassified fish (per species) per day and 10 unclassified
invertebrates (lower limits exist for moon snails and nudibranchs) The intent of this regulation is to
provide additional conservation benefit to these species. The current harvest is not actively managed
or monitored. Eliminating harvest would provide a precautionary approach to management of these
species. A second benefit would be improved populations of these animals at public beaches to
increase non-consumptive use of these resources through viewing, photography and education.
This proposal would not change regulations regarding the collection of shells. For example if this
proposal is enacted, no collection of live moon snails would be allowed but a person could still collect
the shells of dead moon snails.
Staff Recommendation: Adopt as proposed.
Commission Action: Adopted as proposed.


http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/rule_propo ... 12_ces.pdf