Seiku halibut

[baldopepper]

Got it done on our halibut and lings last Saturday, but took a beating doing it. Went on out offshore to find em and while it was fishable it was a long ride out and back coming out of Seiku.  Pipe jigs were the top producer but spreader with a rainbow was working on the butts but not the lings.

[KNOPHISH]

Nice! Offshore like all the way to the ocean? How many did ya drive over to get there. Heh heh. been itching to get up in a friends new boat.

[baldopepper]

Went out to the corner of the closed area, yes that's the ocean. Tried a couple of drifts closer in but no good. The inshore guys got their bass and small lings,but had very little luck on halibut. Better off to wait for better weather and the fish to move in. My sore rear end kinda wishes I'd waited. LOL

[MADMAX]

Too far out for me
18 duck with a 115
I’d bet it’s at least a 25 out and 25 back to seiku

[baldopepper]

It's 14 just to neah and about another 25-30 from there. Wouldn't recommend a smaller boat trying until the conditions are better. There were only 4 or 5 boats out there and all were 25' or bigger

[fishngamereaper]

Ya 14-15 to tatoosh and 35 to the SW corner.

Not a bad run once you get used to it .

I'm buying my time we won't start fishing till June .. better wx and better fish.

Glad you found some...wx has been iffy at best.

[JKEEN33]

Any size to them? I almost went, but weather was questionable.

[baldopepper]

Keep an eye on the quota, charters in area 1 have a big push on trying to get part of the 3-4 quota transferred over to them. They claim with the covid closures quota won't get caught in the north areas

[metlhead]

How was launching at Seiku? Busy and crowded? Also, are you legit to catch MA4 rockfish and land back at Sekiu? Bottomfish rules have become difficult to decipher for the occasional user.

[Magnum_Willys]

Went in buddys boat outa westport, got our halibut but lings no show.  Halibut smaller at 20#.

[fishngamereaper]

How was launching at Seiku? Busy and crowded? Also, are you legit to catch MA4 rockfish and land back at Sekiu? Bottomfish rules have become difficult to decipher for the occasional user.

Cq is always crowded these days . It's manageable just gotta get there early if you don't have moorage.

Yes you can land rockfish caught in 3/4. Just don't stop and fish inside tatoosh if you have certain legal fish from the outside.

[Wetwoodshunter]

I have been launching at 4:30 am. Normally it is a 1-2 boat wait.

[baldopepper]

Last two weeks have been surprisingly quiet. Moorage not hard to find at Olson's and virtually no launch wait time. Not sure if it's the so-so fishing reports or the weather that's keeping the crowds down. It will drastically change when salmon opens up

[hiway_99]

The fishing on the outside has been pretty good.  We've managed to limit the boat every day for butts and lings.  Definitely have to pick thru the butts.  Theres lots of really small fish out there.  The biggest problem with masons is getting fuel if you have moorage.  It took me until 10pm one night to get fuel.  I watched one guy pull his boat to fill it up and relaunch that night.  The weather has been better then forcast from noaa. 

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[Kola16]

Where are you guys getting your mileages from? It's 60 miles from Sekiu to the SW corner 23 miles just to Tatoosh! The lines have been short and moorage was not hard to find on the opener, which was different than last year. Definitely more than 5 boats at SW corner on the opener though. Good to hear that it has thinned out. Size wasn't great for halibut, but keeping rockfish offshore was pretty cool and resulted in huge rockfish fillets instead of seagulls pecking out the eyes I'm thinking Westport might be the better option this weekend due to saving 40 miles round trip...

[fishngamereaper]

Plotter is set on NM, on a smooth day you travel less than on a rough day. I was just going by my average NM per trip.

Some days it varies by a couple miles.

If your just looking straight line miles than ya, its close to 60 as a crow flies.

Hopefully part of the quota doesn't end up in Westport. Mainly because Im selfish and like fishing Halibut when salmon is open on the north coast. Last year we had some epic trips.

[baldopepper]

You guys are probably more accurate on the distance. I'm on my son inlaws boat and I think he tells me lower milage to keep me happier. I do know couple of his charter skipper friends stopped by and both mentioned neah was 14 miles and I know tatoosh is still a ways beyond that. We did ki kick back quite a few small butts trying to get some size, but still settled for some decent but not big fish

[Kola16]

Plotter is set on NM, on a smooth day you travel less than on a rough day. I was just going by my average NM per trip.

Some days it varies by a couple miles.

If your just looking straight line miles than ya, its close to 60 as a crow flies.

Hopefully part of the quota doesn't end up in Westport. Mainly because Im selfish and like fishing Halibut when salmon is open on the north coast. Last year we had some epic trips.

Oh yes. Units matter for sure. In my mind I jumped straight to miles I agree on the quota situation! Salmon and halibut days are the best hands down!

You guys are probably more accurate on the distance. I'm on my son inlaws boat and I think he tells me lower milage to keep me happier. I do know couple of his charter skipper friends stopped by and both mentioned neah was 14 miles and I know tatoosh is still a ways beyond that. We did ki kick back quite a few small butts trying to get some size, but still settled for some decent but not big fish

I do that all the time to anyone in my boat...except I do the opposite. Tell them that it's longer and watch their faces droop

[metlhead]

Pounds wise, what seems to be the kick back/keep threshold right now in the various MA4 spots?

[baldopepper]

Didn't weigh any, but guessing average keeper around 25 lbs. Looking at the few others on the dock(charters both limited their people also)  that seemed to be about the average keeper size, didn't see any of real size.

[DUCKDUDE]

We fished SW corner on Thursday and i would say the average was 25-30#'s.  Fished inside at pillar Point on Saturday and got three by noon with the biggest being 70#.  Fish checker at Van Ripers said it was the biggest he had see all season.  Plus it was awesome not running a million miles.

[metlhead]

What is the status of the ramp? Did the state ever pick up the ramps and parking?

[Kola16]

What is the status of the ramp? Did the state ever pick up the ramps and parking?

Never noticed any problems with the ramp in the years I have been fishing there? Parking is "fun" though at times

[fishngamereaper]

What is the status of the ramp? Did the state ever pick up the ramps and parking?

Ramp is same as always. Rough and usable.

The land transfer has not gone through yet. Maybe if it did they would finally dredge and improve the ramps...but doubtful..

[Huntin Hounds]

I will be going to Sekiu for the first time in June. Hopefully there is some halibut quota still left for our trip. We will be staying at Van Ripers and mooring the boat at their docks. When I got my reservations they said Mason's has fuel but it sounds like a pain to get. Can someone tell me what to expect for refueling the boat or should I just bring several gas cans? I have an 80 gallon tank in my boat but I wasn't planning on running 60 miles out. Is that how far you guys normally go?

[NRA4LIFE]

We ran out about 50 from Sekiu.  But there are closer spots, just not as productive.

[fishngamereaper]

You don't have to run 50-60 miles..

There a hali right in front of the bay .or east towards PA or west as far as you can travel.

Their will be quota left..

If you fuel mid morning to mid day normally not a huge line.

Or you can pull the boat and trailer fuel it at different spots in town ...I would avoid the gas can to the boat scenario..the Marina owner's frown upon that...

[Huntin Hounds]

Thanks for the replies. We will just get in line for the gas docks, that seems the easiest. If the weather is decent we might run out a ways and do some exploring. Ever have any problems leaving your boat moored and stuff going missing?

[MADMAX]

Thanks for the replies. We will just get in line for the gas docks, that seems the easiest. If the weather is decent we might run out a ways and do some exploring. Ever have any problems leaving your boat moored and stuff going missing?

Mostly at Neah bay you get the theft, but who knows nowadays
if you cant live without it, lock it up or take it to your camp or motel
 

[metlhead]

Made the run out today. Fished around the corner and south, pretty shallow. 3 limits of various rocks, all our lings, and my wife caught her first halibut  23lbs. Fiasco at the ramp taking out with some old fella ramming two boats and screaming profanities. Almost nailed my boat, but got a good shove off.

[Yinzer]

Total newb on buts and lings and was looking to fish pillar point tomorrow, any suggestions?     

[fishngamereaper]

2-3lb weights, big tide heavy current. Prepare to back troll if fishing 300' plus...

Fish are where you find them down there...I have holes that are 150' and some that are 450'. 

And there are really no deep water lings down there...more likely to hit some true cod and skate's.

[fishngamereaper]

Hate crowd's but couldn't pass up the wx so we made the run...

[Yinzer]

Nice catch, we were o for 4 Saturday.   First time out and figured out a lot of things we were doing wrong.