2011 Halibut Seasons

[robodad]

Looks like it could end up to be a decent season this year !! Anyone else going ??

This year's catch quota for Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca is 58,155 pounds, up from 50,542 pounds in 2010.  Like last year, most areas of the Sound will be open for halibut fishing three days a week - Thursday, Friday and Saturday - except as noted below.

 
Marine areas 6 through 10, extending from Low Point to the Southworth Ferry Dock, will be open May 5 through May 29. Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) will be open May 26 through June 18.
Halibut fishing will remain closed in marine areas 11 (Tacoma) and 13 (southern Puget Sound) to protect three species of rockfish listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) will remain closed due to low dissolved-oxygen conditions.

 
In coastal areas, the structure of the coastal halibut season will be similar to last year, said Reed, noting that fishing seasons in marine areas 1-4 will remain open so long as there are halibut remaining to be caught under the area quotas.

 
"This year's coastal quotas are up by more than 17,000 pounds," Reed said. "Depending on catch rates during the course of the season, that could translate to extra time on the water in some areas."
All areas open to fishing have a one-fish daily catch limit, with no minimum size, a possession limit of one fish while on the vessel, and a possession limit of two fish in any form once the angler is on the shore.

 
The 2011 recreational halibut seasons approved for Washington's marine areas are:
 
Columbia River (Ilwaco):   Marine Area 1 will open May 5, three days a week, Thursday through Saturday until 70 percent of the quota is reached, or until July 17. The fishery will then reopen on Aug. 5 and continue three days a week (Friday through Sunday) until the remaining quota is reached, or Sept.30, whichever occurs first. The 2011 catch quota is 15,418 pounds.

 
South Coast (Westport/Ocean Shores):   Marine Area 2 will open on May 1, two days a week, Sundays and Tuesdays.  During the fourth week in May the fishery will be open Sunday only (May 22). Beginning the following week the fishery will resume the Sunday, Tuesday structure until the quota is reached. The northern nearshore area will be open seven days per week, until the quota is reached. The 2011 catch quota is 43,500 pounds.

 
North Coast (La Push/Neah Bay):   Marine areas 3 and 4 will open on May 12, two days per week, Thursdays and Saturdays, through May 21. If sufficient quota remains, the fishery will reopen the week of June 2. If sufficient quota remains after that opener, the fishery will reopen starting June 16. The 2011 catch quota is 108,792 pounds.

 
Strait of Juan de Fuca/Puget Sound:   Marine areas 6 through 10 (Strait, Port Angeles, Admiralty Inlet and Everett) will be open May 5 through May 29. Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) will be open May 26 through June 18. These fisheries will be open three days a week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday closed Sunday through Wednesday except for Memorial Day weekend when they will be open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The 2011 combined catch quota for these areas is 58,155 pounds.

[rasbo]

I want to do a charter outta neah bay or lapush,it would be cool if a few guys from here did it

[GUscottie]

I'd be down...I wanna do some charter fishing

[JKEEN33]

My dad and I fish out of Neah Bay every year. If anyone is taking their boat out, more than happy to give a few pointers in the right direction.

[KillerBeee]

I'll be at Neah.

[robodad]

I want to do a charter outta neah bay or lapush,it would be cool if a few guys from here did it

I'd be up for that, I think I can talk another member into going as well but the charters fill up very fast so we have to get on the ball !!!

[C-Money]

I really want to go! Cant wait! That would be a perfict birthday gift for me!

[rasbo]

I want to do a charter outta neah bay or lapush,it would be cool if a few guys from here did it

I'd be up for that, I think I can talk another member into going as well but the charters fill up very fast so we have to get on the ball !!!

Im looking now wow things are booking up..

[rasbo]

not much to choose from now fun fleet has 4 spots on the ninteenth of may,295.00 halibut ling and seabass if we have time the smaller boat will have more time la push

[robodad]

not much to choose from now fun fleet has 4 spots on the ninteenth of may,295.00 halibut ling and seabass if we have time the smaller boat will have more time la push

$295  Is that per person

[rasbo]

not much to choose from now fun fleet has 4 spots on the ninteenth of may,295.00 halibut ling and seabass if we have time the smaller boat will have more time la push

$295  Is that per person

yep thats the cheapest

[robodad]

Well being open for only 4 days (12th, 14th, 19th & 21st) I can see why they can get away with charging an arm and a leg for the day, the problem is the weather out there is so unpredictable that we are almost forced to go even on the crap days, even on a "Nice" Day out there is pretty rough to some folks but trying to schedule a trip out there hoping the weather is nice is a crapshoot at best !!!

[rasbo]

myself and woodman are booked there is two seats left, this is a bucket list item for me sooo what the heck,

[JKEEN33]

You will want to check into lodging at Neah Bay pretty quick also. Fills up fast out there. You use to be able to park in the lot they had with your camper, but they had a new building going up last year. There is a private campground just in town that I can get the contact info if anyone needs. There is also a small campground out of town on the Pacific side if you have a trailer or camper. Can get pretty windy on the Pacific side. The charters will go out in pretty much any weather. The smaller boats like us 19' have to watch the weaterh pretty close or fish the inside.

robodad, We are deffinately going to be out there Wednesday of both openers, if you are taking your own boat out I can either give you some gps points that we have been really succesful at or you can follow us out. We take it pretty slow when it's rough, usually a couple hours out then couple back, but the fishing the last 3 years has been really hot. usually get the halibut limit in about 30-60 minutes then go for some big lings if the water is nice.

We ususlly fish Thursday, then do some hiking/sightseeing Friday and fish again Saturday

Take a camera, If the fog clears up it's some of the best shoreline sights you are ever going to see.

[robodad]

robodad, We are deffinately going to be out there Wednesday of both openers, if you are taking your own boat out I can either give you some gps points that we have been really succesful at or you can follow us out. We take it pretty slow when it's rough, usually a couple hours out then couple back, but the fishing the last 3 years has been really hot. usually get the halibut limit in about 30-60 minutes then go for some big lings if the water is nice.

We ususlly fish Thursday, then do some hiking/sightseeing Friday and fish again Saturday

You bet I am interested, do you guys stay in a hotel or RV or something ??

[rasbo]

damn we gotta get a king salmon meet up there or  sekiu

[JKEEN33]

It's just me and my dad. If the weather is ok my brother in law or sisters will come out for the Saturday opening. We go out quite a ways so most people don't like going with us. That's halibut fishing though.

We usually either stay on our boat or in the truck. Since they built on the empty lot, I think I may be towing my trailer out there this year. Lots of guys sleeping in the back of their truck on all the side roads during halibut season out there. There is only one really old hotel out there and a private camp lot in town and then one small one out of town. I think there are also some cabins out on the Pacific side, but I don't know anything about them. Big Salmon is the bait and tackle shop in town they can get you an answer to just about anything needed. nice people, just don't wait to the last minute. They are not the fastest. the card I have is about 10 years old, but I think this number is still good. 360-645-2374. Mooring fills up fast for the season also. My guess is that we will pull our boat out this year and not do moorage.  

Couple key things I have learned. Use braided line. You are down 450+ feet. Mono at that length can stretch around 45 feet and you can't feel the fish hit.

Use pipe jigs. Sucks reeling up from 450 with a dog fish on or fishing for an hour before you realise you have lost your bait. We build our own jigs, they are pretty simple. I also add a barrel swivel to the hook. I have lost some big fish that start flipping and open up the split rings. The swivel has helped on that a lot. I like the jig big. You want to keep your line straight under the boat if possible. Tough to do at 450. It sounds strange, but you are drift fishing for these. I have drifted over a hole, caught a fish then missed the hole on the second drift by 20 feet and you catch nothing. Hit the hole again and a fish is on.
I'll get a picture of what we have and add it here in a few minutes. Nothing fancy, but they work great.

[JKEEN33]

damn we gotta get a king salmon meet up there or  sekiu

Got some great spots for salmon out of Neah Bay too. Seiku is fun, but it's like fishing the river. You have to be there when the run is going through or it is pretty slow. We usually spend the last week of August out there.

[JKEEN33]

A few pics from the last few years.

[rasbo]

not sure how far I would want to take my 17 foot alumaweld..I gotta go up and see that area  never been to neah bay , those are great pics

[JKEEN33]

On a nice day you would be fine. Nice thing about Neah bay is if the weather is bad you can always fish the inside. Seen a lot of really nice fish come in on some small boats. We have been doing this for several years and your confidence grows with experience. Keep everything on the boat maintained and watch the weather and you should be fine. It's also nice to get a few boats together and go out. We had about 5 difeent boats going out with us the first few years. Gas prices seem to have whittled all out partners down to nothing.

I saw your boat on another post looks like a nice one. 

[robodad]

I would be up for a salmon adventure get together, I haven't really learned how to catch them very well yet but willing to try !! I have electric downriggers all ready to catch something and a really big cooler to fill up !!!

[rasbo]

I would be up for a salmon adventure get together, I haven't really learned how to catch them very well yet but willing to try !! I have electric downriggers all ready to catch something and a really big cooler to fill up !!!

are 8lb balls good enough for that water

[robodad]

I would be up for a salmon adventure get together, I haven't really learned how to catch them very well yet but willing to try !! I have electric downriggers all ready to catch something and a really big cooler to fill up !!!

are 8lb balls good enough for that water

Ummmmmmmm !! Yep!! long as thur brass !!    

Oh you mean for the downriggers ??

[benhuntin]

2-3 lb balls are good most of the time on swiftsure ,  maybe a little more on the southwest corner.  Pipe jigs and Norway jigs are great and you dont need bait.

[rasbo]

I would be up for a salmon adventure get together, I haven't really learned how to catch them very well yet but willing to try !! I have electric downriggers all ready to catch something and a really big cooler to fill up !!!

are 8lb balls good enough for that water

Ummmmmmmm !! Yep!! long as thur brass !!    

Oh you mean for the downriggers ??

:chuckle:married 34 yrs their blue

[JKEEN33]

I actually prefer the 10 or 12 lb when trolling for salmon. If you get into a lot of current it's easy to get an 8lber into your kicker motor. Salmon fishing out of Neah Bay is pretty fun too. I have a few pretty good spots for that also although I don't make as many salmon trips up there. We head out to Westport a lot more just because it is closer. If I had my pick it would be Neah Bay all the time.

First time I was out Salmon fishing at Neah Bay I met a guy that told me to go out to Tatoosh Isl. Head due South for approximately 20 miles. You will start coming back to shore. When you hit 150-200 feet of water head West trolling until you get to about 350. You will be down by Father and Son fishing on Umatilla Reef. We have always done pretty well out there. On the run down South a lot of times you will run into big herring balls. It will look like the water is boiling. Stop and fish those hard. We do well when we run across them.

If you want to go after the big fish head out to Blue Dot. It's approximately 50 miles out and the fishing is slower, but you can get into the 30 and up fish.

I'm definitely up for a salmon trip if anyone wants to meet out there. I halibut fish for the meat and Salmon fish for the fun. Get a nice flat day out there and you can catch the silvers one after the other on a fly rod.

I'm by no means an expert, but we catch a lot of fish. More than happy to help out with what I can.

[woodman]

Geez, with all of this talk of fishing up there, I had to go out and start my Trophy. It has not been run since the end of last summer when Rasbo and I hooked lots of salmon at Sekiu last year. It started up and sounds good with the brand new engine that I put in it last year. I guess that I will polish it up this weekend and be ready for any trips out with anybody that wants to go. Maybe I will have to reel in Rasbo's fish again this year . I normally keep it moored at Sekiu for 6 month's out of the year. Love to fish up that way.

[JKEEN33]

Geez, with all of this talk of fishing up there, I had to go out and start my Trophy. It has not been run since the end of last summer when Rasbo and I hooked lots of salmon at Sekiu last year. It started up and sounds good with the brand new engine that I put in it last year. I guess that I will polish it up this weekend and be ready for any trips out with anybody that wants to go. Maybe I will have to reel in Rasbo's fish again this year. I normally keep it moored at Sekiu for 6 month's out of the year. Love to fish up that way.

Any idea what they charge monthly for a trailer spot out there? My dad and I have been talking about leaving my trailer and his boat out there and not have to haul it back and forth. May make a few more trips if we didn't have such a big gas bill from all the towing.

[rasbo]

Geez, with all of this talk of fishing up there, I had to go out and start my Trophy. It has not been run since the end of last summer when Rasbo and I hooked lots of salmon at Sekiu last year. It started up and sounds good with the brand new engine that I put in it last year. I guess that I will polish it up this weekend and be ready for any trips out with anybody that wants to go. Maybe I will have to reel in Rasbo's fish again this year . I normally keep it moored at Sekiu for 6 month's out of the year. Love to fish up that way.

yeah the captain has a way of diverting ones attention,then catching ones fish...Ray take notes LOL it was a blast we nailed them

[woodman]

Geez, with all of this talk of fishing up there, I had to go out and start my Trophy. It has not been run since the end of last summer when Rasbo and I hooked lots of salmon at Sekiu last year. It started up and sounds good with the brand new engine that I put in it last year. I guess that I will polish it up this weekend and be ready for any trips out with anybody that wants to go. Maybe I will have to reel in Rasbo's fish again this year. I normally keep it moored at Sekiu for 6 month's out of the year. Love to fish up that way.

Any idea what they charge monthly for a trailer spot out there? My dad and I have been talking about leaving my trailer and his boat out there and not have to haul it back and forth. May make a few more trips if we didn't have such a big gas bill from all the towing.

They have rates on line. You can try Olson's resort or Van Ripers. Olsons has the jetty to protect your boat from bad weather and also has the only gas pump in the area for boats. The RV rates I think are very good and I take my motorhome up there very often. They might give a discount if you leave your rig there for an extended period of time. I feel that leaving my boat up there instead of hauling it back and forth reduces my odds of an accident with it. Also it is nice when the season is busy, to just walk down the ramp and start my boat and go fishing instead of fighting people trying to launch their boat. Before salmon season is when I like it the best because you normally have the run of the place with very few people.

[rasbo]

are we cleaning you boat this weekend joe

[JKEEN33]

Thanks, I will check that out. We usually stay at Olsons when in Sieku, but sleep in the cuddy on a 19 foot Arima. Geting to old to enjoy that much anymore. I've been thinking about leaving my trailer out there for the last few years just never seem to get around to doing it.

[rasbo]

Thanks, I will check that out. We usually stay at Olsons when in Sieku, but sleep in the cuddy on a 19 foot Arima. Geting to old to enjoy that much anymore. I've been thinking about leaving my trailer out there for the last few years just never seem to get around to doing it.

the prices for the rooms arnt that bad,,,

[woodman]

are we cleaning you boat this weekend joe

I will be and you are welcome here if you like. You guys have put the bug in me.

[YoterHunter]

i will be heading back to port angles.three trips with 5 fish .80 to 100 ft of water 1lb ball. first trip last year  82lb and 44lb 5 mile run.

[lokidog]

not much to choose from now fun fleet has 4 spots on the ninteenth of may,295.00 halibut ling and seabass if we have time the smaller boat will have more time la push

$295   Is that per person

yep thats the cheapest

Crazy!  For $1500 plus airfare I went to Yakutat, AK last June and fished for slabs five days, caught bottomfish, and slammed the sockeye in the river.  Even caught a few Kings as well.


Anyone fishing in area 6 or 7?

Yoter, I'd be interested in tagging along some time.

[JKEEN33]

i will be heading back to port angles.three trips with 5 fish .80 to 100 ft of water 1lb ball. first trip last year  82lb and 44lb 5 mile run.

I've fished out of PA a few times. The fishing always seems to be hot the day before we got there.

[rasbo]

not much to choose from now fun fleet has 4 spots on the ninteenth of may,295.00 halibut ling and seabass if we have time the smaller boat will have more time la push

$295   Is that per person

yep thats the cheapest

Crazy!  For $1500 plus airfare I went to Yakutat, AK last June and fished for slabs five days, caught bottomfish, and slammed the sockeye in the river.  Even caught a few Kings as well.


Anyone fishing in area 6 or 7?

Yoter, I'd be interested in tagging along some time.

I think its a fair price,what I learn will be a good experience for later.the alaska trip was more than this trip.and no tsa to tickle my junk LOL

[JKEEN33]

not much to choose from now fun fleet has 4 spots on the ninteenth of may,295.00 halibut ling and seabass if we have time the smaller boat will have more time la push

$295   Is that per person

yep thats the cheapest

Crazy!  For $1500 plus airfare I went to Yakutat, AK last June and fished for slabs five days, caught bottomfish, and slammed the sockeye in the river.  Even caught a few Kings as well.


Anyone fishing in area 6 or 7?

Yoter, I'd be interested in tagging along some time.

I think its a fair price,what I learn will be a good experience for later.the alaska trip was more than this trip.and no tsa to tickle my junk LOL

Take the handheld GPS with you. The information you get is worth the 295.

[rasbo]

not much to choose from now fun fleet has 4 spots on the ninteenth of may,295.00 halibut ling and seabass if we have time the smaller boat will have more time la push

$295   Is that per person

yep thats the cheapest

Crazy!  For $1500 plus airfare I went to Yakutat, AK last June and fished for slabs five days, caught bottomfish, and slammed the sockeye in the river.  Even caught a few Kings as well.


Anyone fishing in area 6 or 7?

Yoter, I'd be interested in tagging along some time.

I think its a fair price,what I learn will be a good experience for later.the alaska trip was more than this trip.and no tsa to tickle my junk LOL

Take the handheld GPS with you. The information you get is worth the 295.

exactly

[pjb3]

I went to a halibut seminar last night, I"M READY!!!

I go off north end of Whidbey Island, anyone else?

[TONTO]

  Depending on the weather of course, but hoping to hit the opener out of Ilwaco. There are some big tides that weekend though, be careful out there. Any other southern coast guys heading out?