Pt. Defiance report......sloooooooooooow

took the big red 'yak out to do some fishin' this evening.  on the water at at Owen's at 6pm and trolled out to the point. didn't mark any fish on the fishfinder until i reached the point itself.  found some big bait balls at about 135 feet in 190 ft of water and jigged some pt. wilson candlefish darts all around them for about 45 mins with no luck. only a few bigger fish hovering above the baitfish.  the tide changed at 7:30 and made it a bit choppy for a boat that only weighs 70lbs and sits 6 inches off the water so i decided to troll back to Owen's with the outgoing tide.  found small schools of fish in 130 feet of water at 35-80 feet deep.  trolled right through them with a flasher & hoochie and didn't even get noticed.  paddled around a little more finding a few stray fish here and there in as little as 16 feet of water.  probably not salmon though.  

there were a bunch of other boats around but i didn't see a single net fly in the 2.5 hours i was there.  some of them waved, some of them laughed at me and some looked a little curious.  except the a-hole in the Trophy with twin outboards. he was going full tilt boogie right through the middle of all the boats and not caring much about the other folks at all.

finally got all the bugs worked out of my gear.  i switched the to sliding weights that you loop onto the mainline with the brass wire.  i can't remember the proper name for them at the moment.  the sonar/GPS worked this time too!  i screwed up the transducer install last time and had to redo it.  works like a champ now.  that made me pretty happy.  it's nice having that extra info so i don't waste time in empty waters.  and of course, got a good workout too.  now i just need to get some blood in the boat!

on a side note, the harbor seals were EVERYWHERE!  there were tons of them playing and splashing around the clay banks.  they would circle around me about 40 feet away just waiting for me to hook up.  ticked me off knowing that if i did catch something, odds of a seal grabbing it were pretty high.  someone let the orcas know that there's a smorgasbord waiting for them in MA11.  

i'll try it again either this weekend or maybe tuesday or wednesday next week.

Let me know if you go this weekend...I tried brace pt. and lincoln park point (whatever it is called) last monday...but the wind was up and the waves were big...very hard to jig effectively in those conditions...did catch a rockfish half the size of the white dart jig i was using (still amazes me how those little guys get there mouths over the hooks)...
Came to work today and the admin assistant showed a picture of her husbands king he caught yesterday off of lincoln park point...they are there...just gotta put the time in i guess...I think morning is more productive but I really don't know anything about this so

i'm going to try to go out around 10am on sunday.  i'll launch at Owens beach again and toll out the point, jig a while and troll back. i'll probably spend 3 hours or so out there.  have a commitment i have to make in the afternoon.  early morning are supposed to be the best but i'm not a morning person at all.  high tide is at 9am which means big bait balls around the point after that to throw some jigs at.  weather looks nice too. NWS calling for light wind and 1 foot or less wind waves.  probably a little choppier around the point but not much i wouldn't think.  lemme know if you're up for it.

Bobby

I have yet to get up there and check out that area - my fiancée and I are thinking of making a drive up to the Seattle area next month. I am curious as to how far into the PS you can find rockfish and lings. From what I've read on the boards, I remember talk about good sized (or used to be?) lings in the Seattle area, but are they in as far as where you were in this report?

I have yet to get up there and check out that area - my fiancée and I are thinking of making a drive up to the Seattle area next month. I am curious as to how far into the PS you can find rockfish and lings. From what I've read on the boards, I remember talk about good sized (or used to be?) lings in the Seattle area, but are they in as far as where you were in this report?

Lings are closed and the rockfish limit is the first one you catch. What I would recommend is casting buzz bombs from the beaches for coho and pinks. It can get super hot and probably some of the funnest shore fishing that you can do.

Z

  I don't know, but I think that for salmon season it's worth it to at least go through the motions of being a morning person. Even if you aren't. Half the time I just roll over and shut off the alarm when it goes off and consider that fishing for the day, but when I do make it out it's a beautiful thing. 

  I don't know, but I think that for salmon season it's worth it to at least go through the motions of being a morning person.

The grey light bite is worth getting up for.  Some days that 30 minute window is the only time they are on the chew, especially as they get closer to fresh water.

-Allen

Lings are closed and the rockfish limit is the first one you catch. What I would recommend is casting buzz bombs from the beaches for coho and pinks. It can get super hot and probably some of the funnest shore fishing that you can do.

Z

Good to know.

I've caught a bunch of fish on the Nehalem before first light. Most fish I've seen caught down there are hooked before 8.

i wish i had the energy to get out there at 5 am or something but i on;y get one day off a week and i use sunday morning to try to catch up on all the sleep i didn't get during the week.  i'm certainly down the evening bite though. 

Bobby

I've caught a bunch of fish on the Nehalem before first light. Most fish I've seen caught down there are hooked before 8.

As they say, "If you can see your bait it's too late."

Z