Mark-- I admire your gumption--too many these days would rather take the easy way out and fish from something with a motor. The other posters make some good points about safety as well as cautions about tides, wind and currents. But since you know where you want to fish, and it's close to your launch, why not?

I fished out of a rowboat (and still do and will do more so after I finish my next boat) and recommend it for peace, tranquility, excercise and, in the case of blackmouth, a sense of accomplishment. There's a guy here in Port Townsend who used to fish out of a kayak and did fairly well-- but then you didn't see him out at Mid Channel, either.

Not knowing the size of your boat or freeboard or anything about it, I can't guess whether you'd be safe or not in your particular case.

However, IF your boat is safe for the water you're fishing, and IF you have common sense in regards to watching the weather and rowing in when it starts to turn dicey, rowing is a great way to fish for blackmouth, especially in harbors and protected waters.

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I think the deadliest method for blackmouth out of a rowboat is mooching a plug-cut herring. However, problems arise when a fish bites and your hands are on the sticks. I found this out the hard way after missing about 10 bites in a row before I stuck my first blackmouth. There's a learning curve that can be frustrating.

If I were to do what you're suggesting, I would probably run a herring off one of those small portable downriggers. Since the extreme bend of your rod will set the hook when a fish hits, it doesn't matter if you are rowing or not. And since a herring doesn't need much speed to be attractive to a salmon, you don't have to row your guts out trying to keep the flasher pumping. You might also look at some of the plastic herring helmets-- I know you can rig some of those with trebles, which isn't a bad idea for a quick-set reaction.

Also, not knowing you or your boat, I would think this mooch-trolling approach would be better than jigging since you will be better able to remain stable, especially if you stand to jig.

Other things I think you need are a depthfinder of some kind to find the bait and underwater structure that holds fish, and I would suggest very strongly that you buy either a very comfortable PFD or something like a float coat that you'll wear all the time. One last suggestion: bring along a pee bucket. I read on one of the Coast Guard's websites that most boating fatalities occur to men and something like 70 percent of those are found with their fly unzipped.

Good luck, and report back on your success,

Keith