Northwest Fishing Reports

can't wait for ling season this year i was just wondering if anyone has any good spots to fish for them or cabazon my dad and I always fish inside the shilshole marina and catch a lot of fish but i would like a more legal place to fish

Yeah I'm waiting on that too, going to try spots around the sound for lingcod and rockfish more this year. Only places I've really lingcod fished at was at Neah Bay and over by Bremerton. On the note on places where to go, has anyone fished for rockfish or lingcod around that buoy off Ediz Hook in Port Angeles? We were halibut fishing and I never knew by that buoy it was a rocky area that went up to 30-40 feet because we never halibut fished that close to the buoy and noticed it on the gps on the boat, seems like it would hold some rockfish and lingcod there.

for ling cod the edmons ferry teminal is a good place but it is also not legal

Area 7 - San Juans! Can't wait!

Hey guys, Make sure you check your regs carefully before Bottom Fishing in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands this year.
Beginning May 1, Rockfish may not be retained in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. (Areas 6 thru 11 and 13) Another change
this coming season is there will be no fishing allowed for Bottom Fish deeper than 120 feet of water (excluding Halibut). You will
be able to fish Lings shallower than 120 feet. There are several good areas for Lings in Puget Sound, San Juans, and the Straits of
Juan de Fuca but for my money Neah Bay is the best, especially early in the season which opens April 16.

Rockfish is closed in areas marine areas 11 and 13 will be closed to protect rockfish,

Gotto protect those fish for the commercial rapers.Much like the crabbing in this state.

So areas 1-10 will be open for rockfish

Areas 1 through 5 will still be open for rockfish. Areas 6 through 13 will be closed for rockfish. Starting May 1.

Rockfish are cool, although it seems to me like darwinian theory would indicate they are supposed to die off anyways... LOL but who knows, after a decade of closure the population may come back strong.

what are the waters like in Neah Bay? weather dependant, is it like boating in the south puget sound or worse? I have never been up there and am thinking about taking a trip.

I've only been to Neah Bay once for lingcod, rockfish, and halibut. After that experience I never wanted to go back up there but I guess my dad has said that's the only time it's been bad when they've headed over there every year. Rather then that he said it was typical how it is at Port Angeles and not that bad. When I was up there we headed out on the bad day to Swiftsure Bank and I thought we were going to die. We were in our 21' boat out in large swells where you couldn't see ahead of you when you were at the bottom of the swells except the water and then had those wind waves too. Only time I felt sea sick too, but if you're going out just for rockfish and lingcod, I doubt you have to deal with anything that bad if you're going out to Tatoosh Island and those areas. If you do go out there for a few days trip just make sure to listen to the forecasts the night before for how large the swells are going to be, the weather, and the wind.

I've seen swells like that just as barges go buy at Shishole... even that can be scary. Our boat is about 20.5ft, Lund Fisherman 2000 series. good boat, but still gotta be aware of the conditions, thats why I wondered.

Turkey season and Lingcod season in Neah Bay are the same weekend (openers)... there are ticks a plenty in turkey country this year. I've never got a tick in a boat...

if anybody has seen closed the rockfish in the sound? please send me the link! it kinda ruines my summer fishing already if there closing them!:scratch: :shaking: :rambo:

Does lingcod open the same time as halibut? If so you better make reservations on a room soon at Neah Bay. Fishingboy I don't know if they're actually closing it, I remember some post had proposed rule changes for this year but I'm too lazy to look that up. I know someone posted something before talking about them thinking about closing rockfishing in the puget sound, not sure if it's happening this year though.

fishingboy wrote: if anybody has seen closed the rockfish in the sound? please send me the link! it kinda ruines my summer fishing already if there closing them!:scratch: :shaking: :rambo:

Rockfish are being considered for addition to the endangered species list. They need the protection. Bringing them up from depth is generally fatal. The proposal would prohibit fishing deeper than 120 feet. You'll still be able to fish, just not in water so deep. Hopefully rockfish weren't your favorite species to go after, and if they are, think about it this way: Stop fishing for them now, and hope they come back, or keep fishing for them, and guarantee they won't come back.

I don't get why they're doing the 120 foot thing, I've had it where some species of rockfish out at Neah Bay were full of air when we were fishing in 40 foot of water. I guess if you're going to release the fish, just remember to bring in the fish slowly so they don't get bloated with air.

33ft = 1 atmosphere underwater. If I remember right, pressure on your lungs increases by 1/3 for every atmosphere, so I dont' see why air anywhere else in the body (rockfish) wouldnt' have the same issue even in water as shallow as 40ft.

Rockfish are suppoesd to die off most likely, they reproduce tooooo slowly. BUT! I am all for preserving them if possible. they are just too cool to look at and are actually very tastey too I think.

I catch them at kingston from 5-35 feet deep!

Dustin07 wrote:what are the waters like in Neah Bay? weather dependant, is it like boating in the south puget sound or worse? I have never been up there and am thinking about taking a trip.

Its a whole different ballgame than the Puget Sound. Neah is right on the most northwestern point of the peninsula. Thus, any winds will be far worse since it is practically open ocean, plus the ocean swell you have to deal with.