Fishing the Pacific Northwest

Early July or late? Middle to late may be prime time to catch trout on the long rod with a hopper and dropper.

I can't speak to the fishing west of the Cascades but east of them there is some fantastic small mouth fishing that almost no one takes advantage of because they are are sooooo enamored with trout but especially salmon. Some PIG bronze backs caught in the Yakima, Snake, Walla Walla and Columbia rivers. Also some BIG walleye caught in the same rivers and again they do not get the attention they deserve because of Salmon...everybody wants to catch salmon and steelhead to a lesser degree.


There is also some really good smallmouth fishing and walleye fishing at Potholes Resevoir and Moses Lake and the surrounding public fishing areas...there are a LOT of areas to fish in this area. There is also some trout fishing to be had in this area.

All of these areas are in the SE corner of Washington. About 3ish hours from Seatle or Portland and about 90 minutes from Spokane. There are guides and outfitters in the area.

Fishing in Washington State is a regulatory nightmare...one of the reasons we came back to the south is they closed all fishing in March of 2020 due to COVID. Boat ramps are almost non-existent and what they call a boat ramp we would call a creek bank for the most part. Finally there are the regulations....you almost have to have a lawyer present to remain compliant. Its REALLY bad...the worst I have ever encountered in the US and close to Europe. To make matters worse fishing is just not great. It is good, smallmouth are thick and people act like you have some kind of flaw in your character for fishing for them but outside of that its pretty pedestrian. Catching salmon is fun unless you have caught snook and redfish and then its pretty pedesrtrian. Same is true of Steelhead. Trout are trout and there is some really good and pretty overlooked trout fishing but there is better trout fishing in Idaho and Utah that is far easier to access to out of area anglers. All in all Washington is pretty mild fishing and they make it incredibly difficult...at least compared to Georgia.

Plughoff outfitters.

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A large halibut is like reeling in the hood off a 73 mercury Marquis 400 feet off the bottom. Halibut is a fine eating fish

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A lot like a large stingray. Good eating though.

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Starting to plan a vacation to Washington State and possibly Oregon for July of this year. Will likely be out there for 12-14 days and would like to get on the water for a couple of days. Any recommendations for charters, areas what to chase, etc?

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July is a weird time for fishing because Halibut season will be closed and Salmon numbers aren’t great yet. I go to Neah Bay every year at the end of June to fill up my freezer of white fish for the year. My group goes at the end of the season because that’s when the weather stabilizes and the odds of us not being able to go out in the ocean is very low. All the fanatics go in early May when it opens but spend half their time at camp because they can’t get out.

Salmon or Ling Cod/Sea bass will be your best opportunity in July. There are charters in the San Juan areas but I don’t know much about their seasons. I know salmon opens up in the ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca typically in June but will also close down quick because they get hammered and they are saving quota for other areas those fish are migrating too. Those Salmon are still feeding in the salt water so they are easier to catch. Once they stop feeding it becomes evident who knows how to fish for them because it is not easy. That’s part of the mystique about them because I personally give most of my salmon away because I don’t like Salmon but I love to target them.

Ling Cod fishing has different rules in the San Juan areas too and to be honest their numbers aren’t that great there. Part of the reason for their rules.

You should look at going to Neah Bay and get a charter there. Ling cod/Sea bass will not close down and you’ll get your limits. 2 Ling and 6 bass and you can have a total of 9 or 10 rockfish depending on the year so you could keep a Cabezon or 2.

Cabezon tastes amazing. Their main diet is crab but their head is very large so we only keep the ones that are at least 10 lbs because the meat to weight ratio is the smallest of any fish out there.

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In my opinion Halibut is the finest eating fish that swims in any ocean or lake. It's incredible

I 100% agree.

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Have you eaten Ling Cod or a Cabezon?

I rank both of those above halibut but that’s just my opinion.

None of those are anywhere near the quality of pompano, triple tail, wahoo, etc

Pompano is a texture/flavor profile I really like compared to halibut

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lot of my opinions on PNW fishing and fish is tainted by the regulatory situation and the roadblocks put in the way of fisherman for the sole purpose of dissuading fisherman from fishing. It really ain't worth it....

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I won’t disagree and say the regulations aren’t a pain but your experience is also on the east side where it’s restricted more.

So, your experiences have nothing to do with this thread and where the OP is looking to fish.

garibaldicharters.com

This was the trip we took. On the Norwester.