I'm not a fly guy, but I regularly toss topwater bass plugs out there and I assume your poppers work the same. I've had the best topwater action at first light/dusk when the water glasses up. Just seems we see a lot more fish on the surface at those times, then they move down in the water column as the sun rises and the water chops up. The schools around Waddah, Garbage Dump, Mushroom Rock, Tatoosh, etc., are good earlier in the season, but they get pounded pretty good...the further "around the corner" you go the better. Just fewer boats making the trip.

As far as boat requirements, it's all weather dependent. I've had a 15' Smokercraft with a 20 HP at Tatoosh. Last July we took a 19' center console aluminum out to Canadian Swiftsure. If you poke your head around Waddah and it's glass (and the weather forecast looks okay), go for it. If the wind kicks up, come back inside the corner before it gets hairy - the channel between Tatoosh and the cape gets nasty in a hurry. You can always go around Tatoosh from there, but it's just that much more exposure traveling crossways to the swell. Once you're back inside, you can take it easy going with the swell/chop, tuck into the bays between Mushroom Rock and Waddah, and limp back to port in pretty rough stuff.