I've been asking alot of questions recently, and I feel the need to share some of the knowledge I have. If anyone would like to discuss fishing possession bar, I'd be happy to share my knowledge. I lived in cultus bay (sandy hook)for several years and fished the possession and sachet head areas daily.

Post your questions here, or email me directly.

Thanks!
SA

If you were to spend a day salmon fishing the bar, where would you drop a couple of dunge traps? Please take into account productivity versus distance from salmon fishing. Thanks in advance...Edmund

Well, since you are offering....I have a few somewhat broad questions.

In terms of logistics, where is the best places to launch to fish Possession bar (from the East side)? I've heard Mukilteo can get pretty nasty when the wind picks up.

Also can you throw out a few broad pointers on how to fish this area. For example, how do you fish the tides? Is it all trolling or do other methods work? What are your top choices for setup? Any particular time of year that you prefer?

I've fished in the area one time...catching a late summer fish motor mooching, but that's about it. Any information is appreciated.
Thanks,
JMS

Little fish,

I too have fished posession bar many times over the years. Here's my attempt at answering some of your questions:

Edmonds public launch is the way to go. It's a strap launch so you don't have to get your trailer wet or worry about tides and wind. I believe it now costs $15 for a 16' boat, and a dollar a foot more from there. This includes parking and retrieval. They can handle some very large boats as well. In the summer, it opens at like 4 or 5 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. Not real sure about the winter hours, but you could probably call the port of Edmonds and find out. In my opinion the extra cost is well worth it compared to the hassle of launching at Mukilteo state park. You can also get fresh herring right there at Bud's bait.

I fish the west side of the bar on the outgoing tide, and the east side on the incoming. Watch your finder, and you can see the pronounced edges of the bar. When fishing the west side, line yourself up with the Scatchet head buoy, and troll south, following the 90' - 140' depth line. There is a lot of structure out there so be careful getting your downrigger ball too close to the bottom. Jigging can be very effective at or near the slack tides. Some people mooch, but mostly it's a trolling show. The east/southeast sides are a little different. A little more gradual drop into deep water, and more pronounced indents into the bar itself. The best overall advice I can give is to watch the concentrations of boats and see what they are doing. Troll in line with the other boats, not against the pattern. It can get a little crazy out there when the wind is blowing and the fish are in.

Good luck to you.

Ok here goes....

Crabbing:
The best place to harvest dungies is right in front of Cultus bay. Cultus bay sits on the very south end of Whidbey between the possession and sachet head markers. As you approach the bay, you will see the red and green cans marking the entrance to the sandy hook boat basin. about 200 yards out from those cans, in about 15 - 25 feet of water is a great place to drop your pots or rings. I have done very well here on a consistant basis. In fact the comercial guys also fish this area.

Possession salmon basics:
On the out going tide, I like to fish the west side of the bar starting near the sachet head marker and working my way south. depending on the speed of the curent, I will either jig or mooch cutplugs. I try and stay in about 110 - 130 feet of water. The method I use is to constantly drift ovet the ledge. Starting in about 90' and ending my drift in about 150 - 175'. If the tide changes and I start drifting up onto the ledge, I move to the inner horse shoe. See below...

On the incoming tide, I will stay on the west side, just fishing further south, or I will move to the inner "horse shoe". To locate the inner horse shoe you will need a chart to start off with. Or you can run straight south from the west side of cultus bay untill you get into about 90' feet of water, the head due west and look for the depth to come up to about 60'. This inner horse shoe produces well trolling or mooching.

#1 tip:
Find the fish!!!!!!!!
I can not stress this enough. If I'm not getting into fish in 10 - 15 minutes, I move! Possession is a HUGE area, and there are always fish available. You just have to find them. Look for the standard markers like birds, and bait. I will usually not move from the west side to the east side, I just move further along the west side.

As you can tell I am biased towords the west side. Probably because I have always done so well there, and as a result I put in alot more time fishing this area.

I figure I have many hundered if not thousands of hours fishing possession. When I lived in Cultus bay, I was a merchant seaman, and I had 6 months a year off to fish. For three years, I was on the water 350 days a year and 170 of those were on on possession. If any of you are new to this area, and want a private tour, let me know, and I might be willing to join you for a day on possesion, and share my knowledge.

I almost forgot the best part! Spot Prawns!!!!

You will need a chart for this one, but there is excelent shriping off of the east side. Due east and a little south of the possession marker there are three "humps" drop your pots in the "valleys" between the humps, and make sure to check the post every two hours.

We consistantly produced limits of HUGE prawns out there, and it is not nearly as crowded as the bait box hole.

Also be prepared to loose gear. I prefered to make my own pots as I would loose several every year. The upside was filling the freezer with prawns in about a one week period. They daily limit was 10 pounds per person, and with three people fishing daily for a week we would put over 150 pounds in the freezer every year. Make sure to check the regs. I think they have changed the season for spot prawns lately.

SA

what can happen to those traps down there, do shrimp just go in there and die and attract more shrimp for a on going process, never thought of that before. wonder how many ghosts traps are out there. Ben

I believe that the shrimp figure a way out of the trap after a while. Once the bait is gone, they seem intent on escaping.

I've found that the best baits in shrimp traps milk oit rather fast, thus atracting more shrimp. Once the bait is gone, the little buggers escape.

My personal favorite bait for shrimp traps is ground fresh herring. I'd go out and dip a limit of herring, grind them up in a food proccessor, and put the herring "paste" in the trap. You really don't want to let that stuff get in the bottom of your boat. Boy does it rot fast! And the smell! Whew! What a mess.

SA

Thanks everyone for all the excellent information. I'm printing this one out and taking it with me.
JMS

Well SA's info is accurate....good stuff. The season will open 3rd saturday in April...expect it to last 10 days. Weight your pots to 10 pounds...I like old dive belt weights. Watch the tides. My secret is to use a can of the cheapest stankiest tuna in OIL that I can find in the bait tube along with other bait of choice. Throws out stink cloud that sucks them prawns in. See ya there .

Hmmmm maybe the season will be over in seven days?