Finegrain,

You do not have to go very far for rockfish at Neah Bay.

Try at the north end of Waada Island (sp?) in the rip, there are also schools off the middle of the island. A couple hundred yards off the island. These are Black and Blue RF and can be caught right on the surface.

The kelp beds off the garbage dump are another spot.

If it is calm, try Duncan Rock, Skagway Rocks.

Watch the swell going between Cape Flattery and Tatoosh. There are also black rockfish off the backside of Tatoosh.

Your best best is to fish on the surface with one ounce leadhead jigs and plastic worms with spinning or casting rods.

You'll catch primarily Black Rockfish and possibly some Blue Rockfish (around Waada).

If conditions are right, you will see blacks flipping on the surface feeding on isopods. If they are deeper, they will show in haystacks on your depth sounder.

Since you will be fishing tight to the rocks, always have your main motor and a kicker running for safety.

If you would like to read an old article on shallow water rockfishing techniques, email me at dm56@aol.com and I will send it to you. I wrote several pieces for Fishing Holes when it was a popular regional magazine years ago.

If you can find it in the library system, see if you can get a copy of New Techniques for Catching Bottomfish, which is long out of print, but the techniques are still very valid.