Visitor looking for places to fish/crab over the 4th of July Weekend

Hello brother NWKA'ers,

  I'm a member of NCKA in Northern California, and new to this board.  I recently got into the sport of angling and diving off of a kayak, and decided to bring one along when we visit relatives in the Tacoma/Olympia areas over the 4th of July weekend. 

I'm hoping that one if you guys could point me in the right direction on a place to fish and/or crab for Dungeness.  It would be great if there is a place to do both.  I've heard so many great things about the fish and crab in this area, I'm hoping that someone can me the ropes.  Feel free to PM me with suggestions or if you guys are interested in meeting up.  I'm open to any place in the Sound or along the coast, just let me know!

Looking forward to hearing from/meeting some of you guys.

There are a lot of big dunge's taken out of the Nisqually River delta every year. Make sure your traps are weighted though. The current can get pretty nasty out there. The delta supports a healthy population of Starry flounder too. It's one of my favorite floundering holes. All you need is an assortment of jig heads ranging from 1/2-1oz, and some small Gulp grubs. I really like freshwater jig heads made for walleye fishing since they have much smaller hook sizes/finer gauge wire then their saltwater weight equivalents. These flounder have small mouths, so you get far more and solid hook ups with smaller sticky little hooks. Westport, Ocean Shores, and Cape Disappointment are all with in a 2 hour drive. All 3 have good Rockfish, Cabezon, Greenling, and Lingcod fishing along with good crabbing. They will all be PACKED around the 4th though. Not sure of my plans for those days yet, so I might be around to fish with you. I cut and pasted the WA game and fish crabbing rules for you. The Nis delta is in marine area 13. It's a few miles East of Olympia.

PUGET SOUND
Marine Areas 4 (east of the
Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5, 6, 8-1,
8-2, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13
Marine Area 7 South
(See map next page)
Marine Area 7 North
(See map next page)
DUNGENESS and
RED ROCK Crab
All Dunge ness
crab kept must
be immediately
recorded on a
catch record card
in ink (see page
16).
Open for all fishing methods at 7:00 a.m. on the opening date for each Marine Area.
Crab gear must be removed from the water during each weekly closure period.
Any additional opening dates will be announced in October. Refer to Shellfish Rule Change toll
free Hotline, (866) 880-5431, or visit http://wdfw.wa.gov.
Open July 1-Sept. 5, Thur. through Mon. only.

Hi ravdakot,

Thanks for the quick reply.  I haven't caught a flounder in years.  The bay down here used to be really good for them, but I wouldn't eat anything out of there now.  Can I PM you about the details? It sounds like it would be a hoot to do a combo flounder and crab trip.

I've heard that dunge's can be caught at Westport too, would that be a decent place to go as well?

Thanks again, can't wait to get in the water.

Westport, Ocean Shores, and Cape Disappointment all have good crabbing and fishing. They will all be PACKED around the 4th though.

I suppose anywhere we go will be packed for the 4th of July weekend, oh well, it is what it is! I'm hoping a kayak will give me a little more of an advantage than the landlocked masses 

Yeah, a crowd won't be hard to find on or off the water. Feel free to PM me with/for details.

If you can still find a place to stay there was always lots of crab around Potlatch Park in Hoodsport. Nice diving the canal. Never fished it though. I'm sure somebody local can give you the lowdown.

If you can still find a place to stay there was always lots of crab around Potlatch Park in Hoodsport. Nice diving the canal. Never fished it though. I'm sure somebody local can give you the lowdown.

Just north of the park there is a water station that dumps fresh water into the canal. You can't miss it. I have dove it a few times. The crab like hanging out there. I'm not sure if it is the fresh water or if it is dumping food there for them to eat, but there were lots of keeper crabs. The freshwater mixing with saltwater makes a cool effect underwater too. It looks like waves in the water. Just don't trust your compass. There is a lot of metal in the water. I swam around in circles for a while before I figured that one out.

Hood Canal is great for crabs, but has been closed to fishing for several years, due to low oxygen level fish die-offs.

If I had more than a day, I would head up to the west end of the Straits (MA 4). Salmon and crab will be open and there is decent bottomfishing. Mostly, I would pick that area because I know it better.

For a day trip from the Oly area, either Westport or Cape Disappointment would be fun.

If you can still find a place to stay there was always lots of crab around Potlatch Park in Hoodsport. Nice diving the canal. Never fished it though. I'm sure somebody local can give you the lowdown.

What luck, one of the places we may be staying at is fairly close to there.  When you say diving, are you referring to scuba or freediving, and how deep?  I am fairly good at freediving, but have never gotten a scuba certification. Would it be good to try this place or that pumping station and drop some crab traps off of a kayak?

One other thing that would be great is if there is somewhere to fish off shore that we are most likely to catch fish......any fish.  We have a couple of youngsters with us that I think would enjoy it, but not the sitting patiently for hours with beer in hand part! 

I think they would also enjoy digging for clams, which may make more sense because I only can bring up one tandem kayak. I really appreciate all the advice you guys have given, this is going to help make the trip fun for everyone! If you guys ever get down here in the bay area, I'll try to return the favor.

If you (or the kids) don't care about what's caught, just use a snall bait rig off almost any beach and you'll catch sculpins and maybe flatfish or sea perch.

We have a mix of state and private tidelands and environmental concerns close beaches, too. The place to start is here- http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/beaches/

I think we may make a day out of Westport.  Does anyone have experience kayak fishing/crabbing there?

One other thing that would be great is if there is somewhere to fish off shore that we are most likely to catch fish......any fish.  We have a couple of youngsters with us that I think would enjoy it, but not the sitting patiently for hours with beer in hand part! 

I think they would also enjoy digging for clams, which may make more sense because I only can bring up one tandem kayak. I really appreciate all the advice you guys have given, this is going to help make the trip fun for everyone! If you guys ever get down here in the bay area, I'll try to return the favor.

Coos Bay can provide fishing, crabbing & clamming. Sunset Bay has a State campground (fills up quick in summer) as well as excellent opportunity for calm launch & paddle area for kids to learn. Several of us know the area pretty well & could likely get you into some black r. f.  & maybe some crab. The area has great accommodations for camping or RV. I could probly hook you up for an RV site even during July 4th. PM if interested.

The typical launch at Westport is the beach at the base of the jetty. Half moon beach if I remember correctly. The best fishing is on the sunken jetty out past what you can see of the existing jetty. The ebb current gets real nasty out there. Your best to time the tides so you paddle with the last of the outgoing, and drift the incoming back as you fish. Not sure where to drop your crab gear from that launch, but ConeHeadMuddler is our Wetport local. Hopefully he'll chime in.