I haven't fished Bush Pt much but did go on an obsessive "quest" to catch steelhead in saltwater a few years ago; fishing winter runs every free moment @Ft. Casey. I'd be embarrassed to tell you how many hours I put in but I did manage to hook 12 or 13-landing nine (one wuz a real hot fish that cleaned my clock). Ft Casey has more (public) beach access than Bush Pt. I caught most of my fish on slo to moderately slo flood tides (usually about 0.5'/Hr), 2.5-3 hrs after lo slack, usually around 10-11 in the morning.
To rig : start w/a two hook leader; lead hook 2/0-3/0, trailer a pink marabou aerofly(probably totally unnecessary!) w/a #1 hook (tie so they are as close together as practical). Next-slide on a cheater, a double-skirted hootchy (which resemble, but aren't the same, as those used for salmon fishing--usually good selection @Ace Hardware in Oak Harbor--ask for Gary or Kevin)another #12 corky, a plastic bead, a #6 spin-n-glo and finally peg another plastic bead in front of the spin-n-glo (to prevent the whole mess from sliding up the leader). I ran long leaders (36-48") w/a #8 or #10 crane swivel between leader & mainline. Onto this swivel hang a small duo-lok snap & attach a small piece of punched pencil lead it (u can also rig the pencil lead slider style). Slinkies make it easier to detect bites but I think that the jerking of the pencil lead as it moves along the bottom adds to the (attr)action. The most successful set-up for me was a long leader, clown spin-n-glo w/mylar wings, rocket-red corkie, hootchy w/pink outer and translucent yellow-green inner. Most fish hit w/in 20’ of the waters edge (Wild fish seem to like this set-up better than hatchery fish). I didn't have much success til started using Pro-cure sand-shrimp oil. I would also recommend a medium slo retrieve. It gets pretty damned cold due to the incessant wind so dress warm. It’s hard to believe that any fish would go after this ungodly rig but it seems to work better than anything else anyone has come up with does. Some people claim to have caught fish on spoons. Fishing seems to be better when there is surf crashing against shore?!! I hooked two fish by watching my hootchy as I retrieved it and noticing it moving strangely. Both fish were only 8-12’ from waters edge and I didn't feel a thing. When hootchy moved again I set the hook and there was a fish there. Every fish I caught felt like a snag till I lifted rod tip. The current doesn't usually make your lure drift much so you pretty much have to retrieve constantly. Fishing is, at best, very slo. Hope this helps.
Good Luck!
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