Westport October

I'm gonna be staying at Greyland State Park by Westport from the 22-26, and I think I'm going to be bringing my Revo. This is my first trip to Westport, and I want some advise. From what I've read on other postings on the forum, I should be targeting black Rockfish and Cabezon.  Anyone know a good place to launch from for someone relatively new to kayaking? Any good spots to get into fish? If anyone is gonna be over there during the same time and want someone to fish with send me a PM.

There is a "sunken" jetty on the Ocean Shores side and the South Jetty off of Westport. I have not fished the "sunken" jetty so I will just speak for the Westport Jetty. Currents can be strong out at the South Jetty I would highly recommend not going out there on an outgoing tide. Bouncing jigs off the rocks or a cast and retrieve near the jetty with jigs are productive techniques but by no means the only ways to fish there.

The launch at Half Moon bay isn't a full-on surf launch but especially at low tide can be tricky. The waves just dump straight onto the beach. But other times it is very mellow just depends. Head to the south from the parking lot towards the jetty for easier launching if straight out from the parking lot looks too rough. Half Moon Bay is next to a watch tower, before Westhaven Park.

Everybody has their own limits, but westport might not be the best option for someone relatively new to kayak fishing. The current can absolutely rip out there and conditions can change quickly. I hope you're successful at finding a kayaker with experience there (or at least somebody to join) for your first trip out. Best of luck and stay safe!

You dead set on bottom fish? That time of year is primo for coho in MA 2-2. No waves, lots of middle teen coho, the current is still ripping, but won't pull you into the open ocean. Just throwing out some other viable options here [emoji48]

     Ravensfan,
 
 There are a ton of options right now on the coast. You've been told of a few so far... but let me throw some more at you.

 1. John's River for salmon.

 2. Elk River for surf perch.

 3.North River and Smith Creek for salmon and SRC.

 4.Chehalis River for salmon. Plus any tributaries.

 5.Willapa River for salmon and sturgeon.

 6.Tribs off the Willapa.......Nehmah, Naselle, and Palix Rivers for salmon.

 There are a few other options that are viable if you stay at Grayland State Park. PM me if you have any specific questions about any particular water. Odds are pretty good that I have fished the waters down here and might be able to help you hook-up. Might even join in on the fun..............

            Mark

Thanks for all the advise! I will probably be trying Grays Harbor or one of the rivers mentioned instead of Westport.  What kind of setups are effective for Silvers in that area? I'm used to trolling with a flasher and hoochie or coho killer spoon up in the sound. Are the Nooks all up river by the end of October? I would love to get a fat chinook in the yak!

Search salmon university using key words John's River, or Bay of Pigs. There's some good info for Grays Harbor. Chinook are closed there, but coho are 3 a day, and typically BIG!

If you're going to launch at Westport my advice is to avoid the surf launch. The way I've done it is to use the Westhaven State Park parking lot. Ferry your kayak over the hill directly north of the parking lot and launch at the beach on the other side. If there's shore breaking waves just launch more to the west where it is more sheltered. If it's too rough to launch there then it's probably too rough to even go out to the jetty or cross the bar anyway. If you're going to explore the water between Ocean Shores and Westport be careful about the 10 foot steamroller waves that sometimes seem to come out of nowhere and create whitewater for several hundreds of yards. You have to keep your eyes peeled in this area or you could get into trouble. Under the right conditions, it's not much to even think about, other times you might be wondering when you're going to get KO'd by the water conditions.

Thanks for all the advise! I will probably be trying Grays Harbor or one of the rivers mentioned instead of Westport.  What kind of setups are effective for Silvers in that area? I'm used to trolling with a flasher and hoochie or coho killer spoon up in the sound. Are the Nooks all up river by the end of October? I would love to get a fat chinook in the yak!

  There are still Chinook in the Humptulips River and they are legal to keep there. No so out in the harbor itself.
 
  Set-ups : Pulling spinners (Flash and Glo) is probably the most popular method of fishing most of the rivers.
                 If you fish the harbor off John's River--- stay with your flasher, dropper, and herring
                 Pulling plugs i.e. Wiggle Warts , Kwikfish, Mag Lips and others should all work too.
                 If you don't want to troll---free drifting salmon eggs can work in the right places.

   For rivers in the Willapa area---- you can keep hatchery kings. I don't have any fresh reports but I know of a few folks that are hitting North River and Smith Creek pretty hard. I'll try to get out on the upper Willapa tide water this week and post up the results.

                          Mark