THE BLOG

The salmon fishing season at Westport, WA closes September 30th .  It’s been another tremendous year of both salmon and bottom fishing off the Washington Coast with Ferris Northwest Guide Service.  Captain Bret Ferris has a strong reputation at Westport of putting his clients on both big fish and large numbers of fish.  His equipment is top-shelf including his 23-foot Grady White, powered with a 4-stroke Yamaha 300HP motor.  Bret is extremely competent, experienced, and has a strong work-ethic.

GEAR

Bret’s arsenal of off-shore salmon fishing equipment includes Lamiglas Certified Pro Kenai Kwik rods.  The 9’3 XCC 934 GH Moderate-Action-Heavy Lamiglas rods prove to be very rewarding for catching the large King Salmon accustomed to the waters around Westport.  This is an exceptional trolling downrigger rod.  These rods are long, soft, and forgiving.  They have an integrated fiberglass and graphite blend and are manufactured with Fuji Reel Seats and Fuji Concept Guide System.

Click here to purchase Lamiglas Certified Pro Kenai Kwik fishing rod.

Bret also is partial to The Daiwa Accudepth Plus-B Levelwind Line Counter Reels.  These reels prove to be ideal for landing large fish as they provided plenty of cranking-power and a super smooth drag system.

The Accudepth levelwind features a graphite composite frame, machine-cut brass gears, auto engage clutch, free spool adjustment, star drag, and ball bearing direct-drive that measures in feet allowing for easy use and setting trolling patterns.

Click here to purchase Daiwa Accudepth Plus-B levelwind.

TECHNIQUES

This year was a typical June fishery at Westport.  The season started off a bit slow, then picked up momentum towards the latter part of the month.  When July came the fish started showing up in more concentration and size and it was full tilt through September.

The go to technique was fishing cut-plug hearing.  Earlier in the season, the Chinook salmon were generally found off-shore in 300+ feet of water.  Utilizing cut-plug herring suspended off the downriggers at the right depth proved to be very effective.  As typical with locating salmon, if you find the bait then you’ll find the fish.  Then its all about utilizing the electric downriggers to cover the water columns at the right strategic depths.  This year the herring and bait were abundant at times.  However, the salmon were also feeding extensively on a diet of shrimp.  When the fish were cleaned at the end of the day, their bellies were often stuffed full of these small aquatic organisms.

LIMITS

Throughout the summer we also found large numbers of Chinook in 30-40 feet of water.  For these fish we utilized herring on divers and it proved to be extremely successful.  On one of our trips in mid September we got into an insane King Salmon bite in the shallow depths and limited with mid 20-lb fish by 8:30am.  During this past summer Bret and his clients caught a lot of Chinook that were either headed for the Columbia River and also Grays Harbor – Chehalis system.  The coho limits were found at various depths.  But once again, finding the bait generally led to favorable coho results utilizing the cut-plug herring.  There was a 2 fish possession limit in Westport Marine Area 2 this season.  More information about regulations for this area can be found by clicking here at the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife web site.

The photo below is Bret with a bruiser of a Ling Cod. When the marine conditions allow, Bret gives his clients the opportunity to do a “Combo” trip.  Thus, targeting salmon and then running off-shore for bottomfish.  If the weather cooperates, Bret will target Ling Cod and Sea Bass.  He charges a little extra for this off-shore luxury to adjust for the added fuel costs, but the opportunity to go after the prized bottomfish and “white meat” is a bonus.  We targeted these fish utilizing jigging methods using Point Wilson darts.  The fish were just off the water-column near the bottom, in approximately 160-feet of water near pinnacles.   This year each angler was allowed retention of 2 Ling Cod and 10 Sea Bass per day.

Call Bret at Ferris Northwest Guide Service and book an Adventure.  The fall rains arriving soon will bring a robust run of large Coho into the Chehalis River System.  Bret also runs a 17-foot Alumaweld fully-outfited jet sled and premium drift boat in the rivers when necessary.   He is more than adequately prepared to put you and your family & friends on outstanding salmon fishing in the rivers as well.  Book a trip with him and it will be top-shelf and full of great memories!

PS.

Here’s a picture below of freshly prepared sauteed Sea Bass we caught with Bret a few weeks ago!  WOW!