We fished from a 23 foot aluminum Woolridge boat out of Neah Bay, primarily targeting halibut. We also landed some lingcod and put back a Pacific Cod which was hooked. There were three of us on the boat most times but we had another boat of friends with us part of the day.

Our halibut bait was a skin flap of halibut and a piece of shad on a circle hook with was attached to a spreader bar and a 2lb weight. We also drilled holes into a pill container and attached that to the center of the spreader bar and filled it up with juice for scent dispersion.

For halibut we used 80 lb braid and short jigging rods where we usually drift fished in 150-280 feet of water on sandy bottoms. Typical techniques for most folks...

Fishing was slow for halibut but I landed a small one in the first hour and a half. Then we had another one on the boat shortly after which was also small. The third one didn't come for several more hours and was pretty small. We boated a Pacific Cod which weighed about 10 lbs on my Boga Grip.

After getting the halibut onboard we went over to fish the pinnacles near Tatoosh (leaving one person on another boat to head home early). We used 30lb braided line, 4-6 oz jig heads and 6-8 inch Big Hammer swimbaits in various colors, fishing depths of 40-120 feet of water. I brought two legal fish right away but other boats did not seem to have the same success. Then my partner got his two fish after I helped maneuver the boat around the rock formations. I think the lure setup is part of the reason for quicker hookups, but who knows.

It is worth noting there were several people fishing in the rough waters without any flotation and from the bows of boats over hand rails which were screwed onto fiberglass (not exactly sturdy when you consider the screws rust in salt water). These people were on different boats and in different areas which leads me to believe it is common practice in some circles. I think that when the reports come in for man overboard it's likely these sort of folks are the ones who we hear about. I hope people can think about what they are doing more often so that they don't get into trouble and force other boats into a rescue situation. Luckily these people didn't fall in while we were out there.. Darwin candidates for sure.

Anyway, we got some halibut and lings and managed a great time.

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