Only 6 sea bass!!!?

[Black Plague]

man! this has maybe been beaten to death...but geez, we will be out at Neah Bay August 9-14 for some fishin...I guess you can only retain black or blue rockfish...unless you are out past the Banilla tatoosh line....no other rockfish may be retained...like quilbacks, china rockfish, copper rock...etc....and you can only have 15 bottomfish total ...good thing there are a dozen of us going...

[ouchfoss]

I actually went out to Sekiu a week ago and between me, my cousin and his friend, we only caught 10 black sea bass between the 3 of us for 2 days worth of fishing. We actually caught more copper rock than black sea bass, I wanna say it was like 20 of them for the 2 days plus we actually got a 9 lb yelloweye but had to toss him back even though he was dead from being reeled up from 200 ft.    Seems to me that there is alot less of them out there then there used to be a few years ago ( or maybe we just suck at fishing  ). We actually caught way more lingcod than anything else, plus we each got our halibut too.

[PolarBear]

That 9 lb yelloweye was probably close to 30 years old.  What a waste.  You think the regs suck now just give it 5 years and there will be 0 fishing for any kind of bottom fish other than lings and halibut and their limits will be cut down to nothing.

[dirty24d]

[plus we actually got a 9 lb yelloweye but had to toss him back even though he was dead from being reeled up from 200 ft. 


Isnt it only legal to fish 120 feet and above for bottom fish other than lings and halibut? To protect the rockfish?  Thought i read that in the regs this year.. Maybe I misread anyone care to clarify that?

[PolarBear]

Yes but I think that it only applies to the Puget Sound and San Juans.  I'll haver to go look it up.

[dirty24d]

yeah that sounds about right. but not sure if it specified. dont have my regs ..

[BigGoonTuna]

pretty sure it applies to neah bay and sekiu too.

this is one of those regs that's there for a reason.  i doubt we'll ever see fishing for canaries and yelloweye opened up again, because they spend their whole lives in one area and can live for 200 years.  there's yelloweye down there that have been alive longer than washington has been a state.

how many rockfish do you need to bring home?  they aren't exactly tiny little things, unless you like keeping the 10"ers.

[PolarBear]

All marine waters EAST of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, fishing for bottom fish deeper that 120' is prohibited.
I caught a 35 lb yelloweye in Alaska and was told that it was probably well over 100 years old. 

[Sneaky]

You can fish deeper than 120 feet FOR halibut, and any other fish you catch have to be returned to the water. The rules are getting out of hand, less fish so pack all the fisherman into one area? doesn't make sense to me unless they are trying to create a situation of less fish in order to shut it down totally.

[Dansk]

There are still plenty of fish.  Last weekend's haul out of Neah bay.  Couldn't find the picks of the chickens- landed a boat full of small halis as well.

[Dustin07]

There are still plenty of fish.  Last weekend's haul out of Neah bay.  Couldn't find the picks of the chickens- landed a boat full of small halis as well.

is that your boat or did you have a guide? nice harvest. I would love to get out there once.

[ouchfoss]

You can fish deeper than 120 feet FOR halibut, and any other fish you catch have to be returned to the water.

The spot we were fishing was about 200 feet and once we each had our halibut I believe it was technicly illegal to be fishing in anything over 120, or at least thats what we were told.

Yeah it really sucks to kill that fish thats older than me and then have to let the seagulls have it. They are a damn pretty fish too, I wouldnt mind getting one mounted if you could legally keep one.

I have several pics so I'll just start my own thread.

[Sneaky]

We were fishing the dump and caught several nice tru-cod and lings that had to go back. Thing that gets me is pulling into neah bay for fuel and watching the trawlers dump orange fish into totes  Not saying they should waste the incidental catch, but if yelloweyes are really in as bad of shape as the department suggests, there should be something down about the tribal trawling in washington waters. Heather Reed, WDFW bottomfish manager, basically told me it was up to the tribes and out of their hands.

[Dustin07]

You can fish deeper than 120 feet FOR halibut, and any other fish you catch have to be returned to the water.

The spot we were fishing was about 200 feet and once we each had our halibut I believe it was technicly illegal to be fishing in anything over 120, or at least thats what we were told.

Yeah it really sucks to kill that fish thats older than me and then have to let the seagulls have it. They are a damn pretty fish too, I wouldnt mind getting one mounted if you could legally keep one.

I have several pics so I'll just start my own thread.

you could still get a mount made, you don't need to keep the fish. just take a picture of it and get the measurements. I'm told the replica type mounts last longer, don't stink, and cost less anyways than a true skin mount.

[ouchfoss]

How much would a mount like that cost?

[Dustin07]

I don't know, ping Michelle and see what she charges:

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,25082.0.html

[lokidog]

Get one of the venting tools from Cabelas for about $20.  They may not be 100% successful but they are better than 100% dead! 

The other thing to watch out for is that you do not fish for your lings before fishing for halibut in water deeper than 120'.  I think they could ticket you for having them on board when fishing in a closed area (ie. deeper than 120).

The ultimate goal of the state is to stop all fishing so the tribes can continue to rape and plunder at will.....   

[Dansk]

There are still plenty of fish.  Last weekend's haul out of Neah bay.  Couldn't find the picks of the chickens- landed a boat full of small halis as well.

is that your boat or did you have a guide? nice harvest. I would love to get out there once.

http://www.excelfishingcharters.com/
Guided.  My buddy's uncle is the owner/operator.  Great guide and reasonable prices.  We had a blast- he knows exactly where the fish are. 

[Black Plague]

wow this really took off since I first posted...glad to see I am not the only one bothered by it... how big of a boat do you need to make it out to the garbage dump? we've got a 18.5 ft Lowe roughneck and some other 18 foot boat with a little bit higher sides...we usually don't head too far out...just curious. it will be the roughnecks first ocean trip, so...we will see what its like. P.S. we rented the 12 footer with the little kicker motor on it at Neah Bay one year...will be glad not to be in that one again...way too slow, and no room to put anything...

[Dustin07]

I wouldn't have thought to take a flatbottom/roughneck out myself, but if you were safe in the 12ft i guess you'd be OK, but with that huge open bow I sure would be careful in case the seas kicked up on you. would be easy to sink that think I'd think.

PS the roughnecks are a sweet boat though... I have been eyeing them for duck hunting.

[Black Plague]

yeah its my dad's boat and that's exactly right it is a really great boat for duck hunting and is very wide and I think that width is what makes it soooo stable, its not exactly flat bottomed like some are but you are right in that it isn't a deep V by any means...

[Dustin07]

just seems like it would make a good bucket up front to scoop up the waves, know what i mean? be safe...

[the shootist]

I've been fishing Neah Bay now for over 20 years with alot of different boats that one would only think of using for fresh water, but usually in Aug. the ocean is calm ,and we've never had a problem. I will say however that you have to pay attention to what is going on with the water, wind, and fog. The lowe roughneck floats like a feather on the water, but the wind can also move it around quite easily so I'll be getting a minn-kota with auto pilot to keep her going straight so I can fish withy less difficulity. I know that one of my semi hunting partners put 20 people in his and took them across a lake with no problem, and this last year we had 2 dead elk, and 3 guys in my 18.6 and it didn't affect the boat at all!!!  

[BigGoonTuna]

i've fished all the way to tattoosh a couple times out of my 13' smoker craft alaskan.  i wouldn't go out that far in anything but calm weather though.  plenty of places you can fish out of a small boat though.  waadaah island can be really good for sea *censored*s and lings.

you don't need a 25' ocean going boat with twin 200s like some guys on the net would try and have you think.  just some common sense.

[CastleRocker]

Common sense goes a long way.  I take my party barge up there, and it's awesome.  I get a lot of funny looks when I first head out though!  Usually by the second day, we have at least one of those guys with the big offshore rigs asking where we are catching all the fish.  I just tell them that they are welcome to follow me...just don't get impatient, as I only run about 20 knots, and I don't get up and leave before daylight.  I need to get back up there this season.

[PolarBear]

Watch the weather and tides and you should be fine.  I take my 18' flat bottom work boat out past Tattoosh.  Only once did I get caught in 16' seas and had to surf the tops back into Neah Bay.  Heavy tides and a fast approaching storm will do that for you if you are not careful.  That was a little hairy. 

[Dustin07]

Watch the weather and tides and you should be fine.  I take my 18' flat bottom work boat out past Tattoosh.  Only once did I get caught in 16' seas and had to surf the tops back into Neah Bay.  Heavy tides and a fast approaching storm will do that for you if you are not careful.  That was a little hairy. 

it seems like everyone has a story about that 'one time' that things got a bit out of control, but the scary thing is it really only takes one time too. thanks for the stories though guys, stay safe-

[Hunterman]

Hmmm, maybe I should keep my 15' Baycraft in the lakes 

Hunterman(Tony)

[Dustin07]

Hmmm, maybe I should keep my 15' Baycraft in the lakes 

Hunterman(Tony)

I was just reading an article over on the refuge about a guy with a boat.. I want to say 14ft or 18ft. i cant' remember, but he said some guy buzed by them and sent a big wave over their bow, sinking their boat at sea. they lost one shotgun, and almost a friend who's waders filled with water.