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Casting from a jetty is the quickest way to donate gear to the rocks. If you want to fish from a jetty use a small jig or bait, with bobber and bobber stop. You need to drift above the rocks. Otherwise you'll just keep losing gear.


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Casting from a jetty is the quickest way to donate gear to the rocks. If you want to fish from a jetty use a small jig or bait, with bobber and bobber stop. You need to drift above the rocks. Otherwise you'll just keep losing gear.


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Yeah, that!
It's an old hack, but some folks save and use their old spark plugs to use as sacrificial casting weights. Add a few dropper loops above for bait. could use plastics also, but I prefer bait. Any time I've used bobber that worked was at slack tide when there was no current.

Part of the fun of the nearshore rockfish and lingcod fishery is that these are generally very aggressive, actively feeding fish that will take a variety of baits. Experimenting and finding some options that work well for you is part of the fun, at least for me.

That said, I know that it can be daunting for people who haven't been out a lot and maximizing your on-the-water time is important. Lots of good options have been mentioned here already; plenty to get started. Additionally I recently professed my love for Big Hammer swimbaits which have become my #1 go-to for nearshore groundfish.

Also to make note for jetty fishing, braid in not my friend.  Seems to cut and pop way too easy when ran across the sharp rocks.  Mono seems to work better for me with abrasion.

Also to make note for jetty fishing, braid in not my friend.  Seems to cut and pop way too easy when ran across the sharp rocks.  Mono seems to work better for me with abrasion.

Really?  Cool!  Good to know.  I used to fish from the jetty but couldn't manage to land a hooked fish when the rocks sliced through the braided line.  I think I'll fill a spool with Maxima and try it again.

Also to make note for jetty fishing, braid in not my friend.  Seems to cut and pop way too easy when ran across the sharp rocks.  Mono seems to work better for me with abrasion.

Casting from a jetty is the quickest way to donate gear to the rocks. If you want to fish from a jetty use a small jig or bait, with bobber and bobber stop. You need to drift above the rocks. Otherwise you'll just keep losing gear.

 
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I've never jetty fished here in the PNW but I'll have an opportunity to try these techniques this weekend when I take my FIL to the Newport Jetty for the afternoon tide swing (Safety precautions & weather permitting 1st of course). I've rigged him up with 20lb mono line, a 2 oz bobber to drop various 1-2 oz. BH swimbaits, herring, &/or lancers.
The past few years I've done a lot of bobber doggin & drift fishing for steelhead & matching a weight to the drift/current. I'll be running my heavy steelhead spinning gear with top shot of 25lb mono, 1 oz bobber to "no snag" weight dropper to a 18-24" leader w/ herring/plastics/mooching rig. I also have some of those large bubble bobbers that you fill with water for adjusting weight & buoyancy. I hope to match the natural current & stay fairly snag-free but we'll see.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend & hope everyone gets to feel some tug on the water.

My experience snagging and losing gear while jetty fishing is on the retrieve. 

Usually I am standing on a rock at least 3-5 feet or more above the high splash zone. 
With that, I am quite a ways above the water and not usually able to have the rod tip be directly over sand, but instead retrieving over submerged rocks.  Those are the line grabbers, and the fish holding rocks that I can't usually see exactly where to pull my lure/bait through.  So, with that I usually cast out and retrieve slow enough to keep the lure just off bottom, but speed up the retrieve and lift the rod tip as my offering comes closer to the submerged rocks below me to clear them.  Doesn't always work as planned as the swells change the speed and lift of the lure/bait and can get driven right into the snag zone anyways. 

Jetty fishing is fun and can be quite rewarding if you time it right.

A simple tip to make things easier on you:
I wear one of those cheap sports bag backpacks with the drawstring top, and light rope shoulder straps. These are awesome for holding small tackle boxes, lunch, water etc.. rather than try to carry all your gear out there in a bucket that can get tipped over and everything falls between the rocks into the drink. Get yours at your local Goodwill for a few bucks or less.

One more thing I would HIGHLY advise to anyone fishing jetties on the Washington/Oregon coasts.  Wear your kayak PFD.  It does 5 things for you depending on the time of year you are fishing there.

1. Can save your ass if you fall or get swept in.  Both are very REAL possibilities. 

2. Can cushion a fall on the rocks.  The extra padding can save you from getting the wind knocked out of you.  BTDT 

3. It gives you a place to store terminal tackle, leaders, phone, licence, snacks, sunnies, etc..

4. Cold or wet weather days it acts as a nice thick thermal layer to keep your core warm.

5. The coolest function for wearing the kayak PFD comes into play while you are climbing around, up and down over the big rocks. Many are slippery, steep or at odd angles that having your hands free would be your best option while traversing.  What I do is break down my 2 piece pole and secure the tip and butt ends like I would for storage, and then shove the handle down between the PFD and my back behind my neck.  It is actually very secure there and keeps my hands completely free for ease of climbing around on the rocks. 

I wear one of those cheap sports bag backpacks with the drawstring top, and light rope shoulder straps. These are awesome for holding small tackle boxes, lunch, water etc.. rather than try to carry all your gear out there in a bucket that can get tipped over and everything falls between the rocks into the drink. Get yours at your local Goodwill for a few bucks or less.

And you would have had one of those stylish bags had you been at the TBMD2 tourney.  First 30 registered folks got a captains bags that would fit your description EXACTLY!!
 

That's what I am talking about.  I have a variety of them from Goodwill with oddball advertisements on one side.  I just wear it with the advertisement facing my back.

I'm by no means a fishing God, but I have caught hundreds of Lings and thousands of rockfish.  My top 2 favorite plastics are Big Hammers and sluggo in 6".  I've caught many fish off the jetty as well, I usually use the BIG Hammers there with a light enough head that my jig isn't going straight to the bottom.  Occasionally you will lose one, but I'll lose a jig or two for a limit of sea bass any day.  As far as colors go, Pacific choose on the BH, bubblegum or rainbow trout on the sluggo.