I am headed up to Sekiu on Friday the 12th for Kings, anybody else going? I believe that I have a full boat. It would be nice to hook up with some other folks while we are there.

Andy

PS. Nebb, I liked your abreviation, CQ.

Dogfish,
I plan on going out on the 10 th, Never been there before but I'm going with a friend that has. I believe we will be in a 17 ft Arima. Anybody want to throw out some tips besides early and fresh herring? Any other board members going up on Wednesday? Hope to see you there.

NEN

NEN,

Those two rules will get you going, and probably help you hook a fish or two. A few other thing to remember are these tips.

1. Early morning hours are really the best for these kings. Get your boat lights squared away and be on the water before sun-up. Watch the tides if you are launching from Coho, a low tide can strand you. They post the tides at the office.

2. Start fishing in the top 30 feet of water, and fish in close. If you are farther than 1/2 mile off shore, you are too far out. Drop 10 feet for about every hour after sun-up.

3. Downriggers help, if you have them, bring them.

4. Fresh bait is great, but won't help you if you get out late and fish above the target species. Good bait at the right depth will outfish great bait at the wrong depth every time.

5. If fishing gets to be slow, rig a green hoochie with a herring strip behind a flasher and troll slow at 40 feet or deeper. This was the bait of choice when things got slow. Works great for silvers, too. Don't worry if you hook a king of any consequence, the flasher rig will just be along for the ride, and it won't get in the way.

6. Bring a de-hooker for releasing those pesky wild coho. You won't have to bring them in the boat, they'll have a better chance of survival, AND you'll have you rig back in the water quicker.

7. Don't bonk the little guys. Wait for a fish of at least 15 pounds or more. We caught a nice 35 pounder the weekend between the king openings last year AFTER we had caught and released 9 small kings 10lbs on down. A 10 fish day per fisherman is a reality up there, not a dream. Be selective and you can have a marvelous day.

8. Bring your GPS, VHF Radio, life jackets and all safety gear. The water can get a bit lumpy up there, so be prepared for the worst. Fog can develop quickly, especially on sunny days.

9. Afternoons bring the roughest conditions, usually. Leave the 10 foot Livingston at home, and bring a boat with enough freeboard. You won't be looked down on if you decide to come in because the water is too rough.

Hope this helps some, but if you have any other questions, post them.

Andy

Thanks Andy, Awsome post , if I think of other questions I will post them.
I guess some may be:
Besides bait and Hoochies, what else do people use, is it similar to Puget Sound and using GSB and Coyotes?
Thanks again.

NEN

Hey Andy,

I'll be out there Friday. I'll be hanging off the rocks at Eagle point, swing by and say hi. I'll be the Big one cussing up a storm at all the boaters . I went off the beach at Olsens on Wednesday. There was so many candlefish, I got tired of taking them off my hook. I didn't even have a bump. I saw a couple boaters cleaning some pretty dinky silvers at the dock. I hope the quota doesn't get eaten up with all these smaller fish!!!! Good luck and see ya there.

Andy,

Kelly and me are going up on Sunday and will be there fishing for the Kings Monday through Wednesday. Look around for me. I'm staying at Curly's and will be fishing Slip Point at first light. If you can make it up earlier, you've got a seat on my boat.

I agree with a lot of what was posted and would add that this week will see midday minus tides, so prepare to wait out the tide if you don't take out early.

With the abundance of candlefish up there, candlefish imitations will be successful. Needlefish hoochies w/ Flasher are killer up there. Try jigging a small candlfish jig in the kelp beds off of the caves at first light.

I agree totally about waiting out for a big fish and releasing the blackmouth. This is a 2000 Chinook quota and we should make those "mature chinook".

NEN: I will be going just past you, headed to Neah Bay for fishing Sunday through Thursday. Last year I did great up there with green/white glow 4" coyote spoons about 48" behind a standard hot-spot flasher. Was fishing right alongside several other boats pulling cut-plug herring & I was getting a lot more action than them. Top fish was 34 lbs and lost bigger. Came home with limits for all

My top set up was a army truck hoochie, fishing about 175 feet of water 75 down right in front of the caves. Good luck

Hey Nebb,

I will most likely be fishing alone on Friday, but I won't be up there until about 3PM. If you are interested in an afternoon fish, let me know. You had offered me a ride last year on a Forks area river, and I couldn't make, but I still remember the offer. Is my raincheck still good for another float up there?

Andy

Andy,

Sounds like fun. Send me an email with the details and I can meet ya there. And yes, The raincheck is still good with me!! We can hit it towards the end of summer. I had some pretty good days in Sept. and Oct. last year. I went out and got me a bigger fish box for this year. Last year we had a limit of silvers and a limit of hatchery Steelies before we even left sight of the Forks hole. The fish box would hardly close..We'll chat at ya later...

I'll be up there Wed and Thurs in my dinghy (16').
Weather looks to be great during that period so I should be ok. I'll be in the black/tan Northwood.
I have done great with the green/glo splatter Sonic Edge spoons or squirt. I'll probably start out with the double glo squirt....

Downriggin'

What is the chance the Quota of 2000 kings will be ate up by next Sat the 13th???

That should not be an issue. We might get two weekends of fishing. Last year they closed it, then re-opend it. Check the WDFW website for updates.

Hey Andy,

I'm going to try and make it up there next Friday, and fish Friday night, Saturday and Sunday morning. I have to work out a few details first, but I should be able to pull it off.

You know what my boat looks like, I know what yours looks like if you still have the same one. Should be a good time. I'll try and remember to bring my knives.

-N.

I just talked to a buddy who is out there fishing through Wed, he saw a 45# and a 37# weighed at Olson's.
Fishing is apparently pretty good, he bagged a 20#'er.
Rumor has it that the WDFW is going to actually count every fish this year (all 2000? ya, right! ), not go by some silly-a$$ average they used last year . We may possibly see a season last through the following weekend. I wouldn't bet on it, but who knows.
Get out there, because the gettin' is good!

Kev

Just got back from the opener. Fished Monday AM. Wished I had been able to read the posts above before I went out! I was fishing too far from shore. Caught a few small ones and kept one 16lber. If I were heading up again....Pillar Point, before dawn, no deeper than 40'. Go get em!!!

http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/do/newreal/jul1002c.htm


I'm headin' for Canada!

Hey Dogfish !! How them words tasting about now??

I know! Crap, here I am getting psyched like a kid before Christmas and then they go and tell me Santa can't make it this year cause he already gave the presents away to the other kids. And I had been really good!