Well, back from a successful ocean trip out of Westport, so I thought I'd give a report for the day.
DanS, myself, and my youngest brother Justin went out on the Ms. Magoo, which is run by Ocean Charters out of Westport. We left the dock at 6am sharp, and then proceeded to about 12 miles out +/- with the total number of anglers to be 22 on the boat.

This is Justin's first salmon trip ever taken in his life, so while he was out visiting for the summer, this seemed like a great idea for him to see the Pacific Ocean and to also catch some fish.

Sho 'nuff. After we dropped out lines down to start the mooch-a-thon, we hear a voice from the stern shouting fish on! Next thing I know while we are fishing off of the bow, Justin (standing next to me) yells "Oh ****, Oh ****, I think I got a fish!" I check out his rod and then see it start to yank down! Well he sets the hook, starts winding down, and we all step back so he can step up to the bow, while going under our rods. He lands his first salmon, being a chrome silver hen of about 6 pounds. Of course, he catches 2 more chrome, silver hens.

DanS and I were steamed because all the doughballs were catching fish while we went skunk for 2 hours, until Dan lands his first fish at 9am and then I land my first at 9:15am. We each then catch a shaker a piece.

22 people = 44 fish; limited out at 10 minutes til 10am. Less than 3 hours of fishing time.

Someone on our boat landed a 36.14 lb King. It was surely destined to win the derby yesterday, but I have to call down there to find out if the guy won or not.

All in all, a very memorable occasion, and we have a new addict on our hands and possibly a future PacNW resident.

Thanks to DanS for helping me setup this trip, and for being the driver. He's a good guy, no matter what Jeffhead and Osprey say about him

Thanks to the Capt., Dave McGowen, of the Ms. Magoo, and a special thanks to the net boys.

Isn't it great?

I went out on the 4th in my buddies 20 ft. north river and had some fast fishing for decent sized silvers......well, decent sized for this time of year; 6-9 pounders. The cool thing is you don't need to go 12 miles out to find them, we fished much closer and had fish on every 5 minutes or less, even had 2 doubles. Out at 7, in by 9 am. Yes, life is good!

To anyone going out in a private boat, respect the wind! We witnessed an INSTANT change in the swell pattern as the wind and tide picked up....got choppy in a hurry and caught some small boats off guard. As we pulled into the boat basin 2 coast guard boats were making double time with their lights on. It amazes me what some people will go out on the ocean in.

Good to hear the Ms. Magoo is still running the open water. My grandpa took me on a charter boat by the same name in Westport about twenty years ago. He passed away a few years later. My best memories of him are from that trip-what a blast. Did you post any pictures?

snapper,

I'm pretty sure it's the same Ms. Magoo. Glad to hear she was good to you too!

Didn't take any pics out there.....too rough and a little drizzle so I left the camera in its bag. My wife took a quick digital photo right before the fillet knife came out, you can check one fish out at:
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/cgi-bin/pursuits/uploader.pl?action=view&epoch=994376301

It's good action out of Westport now, I'd recommend a trip if you've been thinking of fishing Big Blue.

Similar story today, my uncle and I fished aboard the Silver Duchess (Neptune Charters) we had the boat limited by 10:30 with 15 small kings, upto about 17lbs. and 25 silver, averaging about 4-6lbs. alot of sea-sickers allowed the 2 of us to land 13 of the fish put in the boat.
Dan S. that 36 pounder held for the day, 24 lbs. was the biggest I heard of today.

OK, OK, stop it already! I'm 120 miles away but if this keeps up I'm gonna drag my rig out to Westport and give it a go!!

What's the drill out on the big water? Do you find the underwater terrain like in the Sound, or tootle around until the FF finds 'em, or follow the charters?

....then the soothing light at the end of your tunnel is just a wood shampoo coming your way....

When pooling your money together to tip the bait boys, be the guy holding the money when you go to tip them. When they go handing out the fish, it could turn an 8 pound king into a 15 pounder, no problem Just ask Dan.

I took some pics as well, but they have to be developed. One day I'll slow down and actually buy a digital camera. As soon as the pics get ready, I'll post them.

I wish we had a lot of people get seasick, but the one guy that got sick waited until the fishing was over after he engulfed his mustard and relish sandwich.

Well Dan, it's your turn to pick the species that Justin is going to catch more than us. Summer steelies??? hmmmmm