Hunting Washington Forum

Other Activities => Fishing => Topic started by: yorketransport on December 19, 2012, 08:44:21 PM

Title: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: yorketransport on December 19, 2012, 08:44:21 PM: I've never been much for freshwater fishing or salmon, but it seems like that's all anybody is after. Anybody else out there do any bottom fishing. Not necessarily halibut either. I'm thinking sole, cabezon, ling, rock fish, that sort.

It's been a while since I've been out, but I can run a limit of sole fish in about an hour in the right spot. Everyone just looks at me funny when I tell them what I'm catching. That's until they see the pile of fillets at the end of the day!

Andrew
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: Hunterman on December 19, 2012, 09:01:49 PM: We do some tinkering with the bottom fish out at Westport every summer. With some crabbing thrown in the mix for fun..

Hunterman(Tony)
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: KFhunter on December 19, 2012, 09:11:51 PM: ONe of my favorite things to do especially when I have kids - never know what your going to reel up.

Good way to get a kid into fishing, long as you don't get them out in the rougher stuff and get em :puke:
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: lokidog on December 19, 2012, 09:29:28 PM: Yep.
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: Ripper on December 20, 2012, 08:50:22 AM: I love going out fishing for bottom fish, lings and cabazon are my fav to eat. Last year we caught 11 nice sized flounder while trolling for blackmouth. I'd never done that before, but they were delishious fried up! I would like to do that again.
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: C-Money on December 20, 2012, 09:14:38 AM: I enjoy bottom fishing a lot! Here is a small ling we got out of Westport on the Tornado. One of many that day! Great eating!
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: Da stump on December 20, 2012, 11:44:45 AM: I will be bringing my jeep and boat down from Alaska when Teacherman comes back down in the spring. We love to go fishing, any kind, any where. Want to really go for tuna sometime. I think it would be a kick in the pants. :tup:
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: lokidog on December 20, 2012, 11:49:37 AM: Tuna are a blast, pound for pound one of the best fighting fish IMO.
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: magnanimous_j on December 20, 2012, 11:51:36 AM: Westport is great for bottom fishing. The half day charter fishing trip has filled up our freezer every time.

You don’t get quite as much glory with a ling as you might with a salmon, but they taste good.

I grew up catching flounder out of the sound, though they probably have as much lead and mercury in them as a Chinese thermometer.
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: TeacherMan on December 22, 2012, 12:49:37 PM: I love bottom fishing! We had 1,000 lb fillet days this last summer :o

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2FE20BC10F-9164-4C93-8AFB-D0F585E66B5C-6617-000007B5AC8E5588.jpg&hash=f3ea3453995200193fc8a90d0c1e62affe50e424)
56 lb ling

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2F53E0DC61-EFC2-49AF-9F1D-D817686F44F8-6617-000007B5A7396E96.jpg&hash=45a197eeebabf726e1da0920dca990d8e657514f)
51 lb ling

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2FFF2459A5-1AE2-42A1-BA6C-56155E947959-6617-000007B5DBF2FBF3.jpg&hash=6f4dd21cb2ab937ced69cb63a86e6aec85c08afa)
57 lb ling

I love halibut but nothing taste better to me than ling! Those are a few from the last two trips we went on this last July. My buddies boat is a 22' Hewes Alaskan with twin 75s on an extended transom. Great boat!
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: yorketransport on December 22, 2012, 04:56:03 PM: Quote from: magnanimous_j on December 20, 2012, 11:51:36 AM

I grew up catching flounder out of the sound, though they probably have as much lead and mercury in them as a Chinese thermometer.

99% of my fishing has been out in Commencement Bay and that's pretty much what the gamies have told us every time. When I was a kid my dad was out of work for 2 years after he broke his back and we pretty much survived off of rockfish and flounder. I'm amazed that I've survived as long as I have after eating all those fish. :chuckle: The best spots used to be off of ASARCO! :yike: Now I fish a little further down towards Owens Beach and the fish are a lot bigger and healthier than they were by ASARCO.

I'm really close to buying a new boat so that I can spend a little more time out fishing with the kids. They have more fun on the water than in the woods. Right now I just have a 10' fiberglass boat and I think the kids would have more fun if they can move around a little more.

This is what we go the last time we went out. This is what the 4 of us (my dad, my 2 kids, and myself) got in about 2 hours.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi162.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft260%2Fcollegekidandy%2Fth_BDDE1187-DA5A-4F2F-8A1D-AC5CABB5B633-13014-00001635C6F3AE07.jpg&hash=f4a388ff4356543698f91f62c2aef04406ed7747) (http://s162.beta.photobucket.com/user/collegekidandy/media/BDDE1187-DA5A-4F2F-8A1D-AC5CABB5B633-13014-00001635C6F3AE07.jpg.html)
There's nothing big in there, but that was a lot of good eating!

Andrew
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: lokidog on December 22, 2012, 06:04:27 PM: Quote from: C-Money on December 20, 2012, 09:14:38 AM
I enjoy bottom fishing a lot! Here is a small ling we got out of Westport on the Tornado. One of many that day! Great eating!

Sure wish they hadn't reduced the minimum size to 22", a 24" fish weighs quite a bit more than a little 22" snake. We don't keep anything under 26" out there. They sure do taste good though.
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: Fishaholic on December 22, 2012, 08:07:00 PM: Quote from: yorketransport on December 19, 2012, 08:44:21 PM
I've never been much for freshwater fishing or salmon, but it seems like that's all anybody is after. Anybody else out there do any bottom fishing. Not necessarily halibut either. I'm thinking sole, cabezon, ling, rock fish, that sort.

It's been a while since I've been out, but I can run a limit of sole fish in about an hour in the right spot. Everyone just looks at me funny when I tell them what I'm catching. That's until they see the pile of fillets at the end of the day!

Andrew
what do you for bait to catch sole? i catch everything else but sole
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: trophyhunt on December 22, 2012, 08:19:16 PM: Quote from: TeacherMan on December 22, 2012, 12:49:37 PM
I love bottom fishing! We had 1,000 lb fillet days this last summer :o

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2FE20BC10F-9164-4C93-8AFB-D0F585E66B5C-6617-000007B5AC8E5588.jpg&hash=f3ea3453995200193fc8a90d0c1e62affe50e424)
56 lb ling

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2F53E0DC61-EFC2-49AF-9F1D-D817686F44F8-6617-000007B5A7396E96.jpg&hash=45a197eeebabf726e1da0920dca990d8e657514f)
51 lb ling

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2FFF2459A5-1AE2-42A1-BA6C-56155E947959-6617-000007B5DBF2FBF3.jpg&hash=6f4dd21cb2ab937ced69cb63a86e6aec85c08afa)
57 lb ling

I love halibut but nothing taste better to me than ling! Those are a few from the last two trips we went on this last July. My buddies boat is a 22' Hewes Alaskan with twin 75s on an extended transom. Great boat!
Those are bad ass lings!! It looks like you got them in Alaska? I usually go to neah bay and we have never caught them that big, what did you use if you don't mind me asking and what kind of line, lure, depth??? Those are great eating fish.
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: TeacherMan on December 22, 2012, 09:36:13 PM: Ya I live in Alaska. Before I moved to AK I use to fish Neah Bay and get lots of fish to 30 lbs but never bigger. I don keep them anymore under 50 lbs. I've seen them close to 80 lbs.

I use 24oz jigs with 12" scampis and custom skirts.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2FCE192C94-56EC-4429-A19D-4C36A75DAD90-6617-000007B603BB55E6.jpg&hash=e36cb249acfc91636313cf4a9ce29ed3e32f66b7)

This was a 50+lb ling I got in the tail. Took 45 min. Thought I had 300 lb halibut. Fishing for them in 70-90 ft. Using 7' Tiger Ugly Stik with Penn 330 and 100 lb Power Pro. Same setup I use for halibut. I get them when I'm going for halibut as well. I fish for butts at 180'-340'. But usually use salmon heads on 16 o circle hooks.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2FC32AD792-1C13-4BC1-8E1B-4468C16447E6-6617-000007B5BD8157CC.jpg&hash=5a2d854b014047cebd8dbf39c7155ad08bbd21c8)

One of the bottom fish spots I hit. About 30 miles out Seward. Really good underwater flattop. 600'+ to under 100'.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1356.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq728%2Fteacherman619%2F7EB64A98-A8CB-4055-81D1-9EB2D1C663C1-6617-000007B5B977D37C.jpg&hash=d915e56baaf81b630f21efcb4e198e4ca36e617b)
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: C-Money on December 23, 2012, 09:05:16 AM: My Nephew with a dandy rock fish! And, that's me with a ling. This was a special day out with my nephew.
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: yorketransport on December 23, 2012, 09:47:13 AM: Quote from: ddjj1991 on December 22, 2012, 08:07:00 PM
Quote from: yorketransport on December 19, 2012, 08:44:21 PM
I've never been much for freshwater fishing or salmon, but it seems like that's all anybody is after. Anybody else out there do any bottom fishing. Not necessarily halibut either. I'm thinking sole, cabezon, ling, rock fish, that sort.

It's been a while since I've been out, but I can run a limit of sole fish in about an hour in the right spot. Everyone just looks at me funny when I tell them what I'm catching. That's until they see the pile of fillets at the end of the day!

Andrew
what do you for bait to catch sole? i catch everything else but sole

We using herring pieces on a set of double slip hooks and an 8oz weight. Drop it to the bottom and then three cranks up. When you hit the right hole you can pull up doubles where you catch one fish on each hook. You're almost guaranteed to catch a couple of bull head during the day so we start using those as bait once the herring are gone. I've managed to catch a full limit of fish off of one leader and only 4 pieces of bait. All it takes is one dog fish to tear up your hooks though.

There's just something fun about dropping your hooks down to the bottom and waiting for a bite. You just never know what you're going to pull up. It's actually a game we play. You have to try and call what you've got on before it hits the boat. Dog fish are easy because they circle, but a rat fish will make you think! They fight and circle and feel like a rock coming up! :chuckle:

Andrew
Title: Re: Anybody do much bottom fishing?
Post by: TeacherMan on December 23, 2012, 10:15:35 AM: I did forget to mention in AK you can legally snag in salt water. I could use trouble hooks of any size if wanted even. I don't but its nice after pulling in a ling like that and being able to keep them.