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With the recent good blackmouth reports being posted I contacted NWFR member rseas and asked if he’d like to hit the fishing down this way? The weather forecast for Sunday was excellent (it turned out to be the case). With an affirmative from Randy I contacted friends Mark (Gringo Pescator) and Robbie. Two more affirmatives and we had a full boat for some winter blackmouth fun.

We met at 6:45am at Shileshole and loaded our gear than made a leisurely run over to Apple Cove Point/Kingston in Randy’s sweet ride, a 21 foot Thunder Jet Luxor Limited Edition. Life is good! Once we arrived we deployed three downriggers, the two deep rods with a setup of a flasher/fly and herring strip, and the center suspended rod a flasher and spoon.

The deep rods we generally ran right on the bottom, 80-150 feet of water, the suspended at 50-60 feet deep. It didn’t take too long for the first of many bites to start bouncing rods. As luck would have it I was next to one of those bouncing rods and in short order was battling an obvious keeper (over 22”) that took some nice runs and ultimately ended up in the net, after confirming first the length and no fin at the side of the boat. Thou shalt not enter the boat without proper credentials!

From there we went through a morning of shakers until late morning and Mark had his keeper, a cookie cutter to mine. Robbie meanwhile got a couple flatfish and a bunch of “just missed” 15-18” fish plus lost quite a few to the barbless hooks.

We saw around 20 boats fishing and a few nets here and there. Plenty of room for everyone to stretch out and share the water.

We called it a day at 2pm and ran back to the launch in glorious sunny, mild conditions. What a great day for fishing! Thanks so much to Randy for taking us out on a much needed day of fishing in the middle of an otherwise wet Pacific Northwest winter.

*Note - the hotspot dropped on the google map a bit farther north than I wanted to place it. We were fishing closer to the ferry line in Area 10, as you can see from the ferry picture.

danm

1/15/2018 12:01:47 PM

Nice report! Is area 9 open also?

kurtkettel

1/15/2018 10:05:10 PM

2/16/18 A9 opens...

BARCHASER

1/15/2018 12:14:59 PM

Thank you for the report. I haven't been out lately, but I intend to.

danm

1/15/2018 12:27:06 PM

Nice report! Is area 9 open also?

Mike Carey

1/15/2018 7:10:30 PM

don't know.

afk

1/15/2018 8:04:28 PM

Glad to see you and Mark with something to show for your time on the water! The 2 of you were long overdue. Thanks for the report.

Mike Carey

1/17/2018 6:14:17 PM

got that right!

Gonefishing

1/15/2018 8:18:31 PM

Area 8-1, 8-2, and 9 are still closed. Per what I've heard those areas will open mid Feb. however.

downriggeral

1/15/2018 8:44:44 PM

Nice to hear you got out and had some action. Days like that are good for the spirit! And yes rseas boat is a sweet fishing ride. Alan

rseas

1/16/2018 8:55:58 AM

The day was a blast and the break from our winter weather a gift. 3 vrs 4 riggers is being fixed along with other warranty concerns. Overall great experience working with Master Marine in Mount Vernon. Although our TJ has been basically trouble free, Master Marine has been very customer oriented in resolving any issues we have had with the boat or gear installation.

As seasonal regulations permit, Apple Tree Cove is an exceptional year round fishery. The key is learning where to fish on the various tides. There are a number of fingers or high spots that will concentrate bait on the different tides.

bob johansen

1/16/2018 6:11:03 PM

Nice report! Really nice to get out and fish in January - and the frosting on the cake to catch a few.

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