Has anyone ever dried dipnetting herring for fresh bait at Sekiu? The only time I was in that area fishing (Neah Bay) I noticed that we trolled very close to the balls of herring. I was thinking of maybe trying it with a smelt net. Would it work?

Here's my story and I'm sticking to it. Last year at Seiku, we were headed back to the ramp. Hubby spots a herring ball. I tie a herring jig on a light rod, we circle the ball and I start to get a few per minute. Hubby gets impatient, pushes me out of the way and takes our huge landing net and dips right into the ball. He then flings it straight up in the air over my head.

I had herring in my bra, my hair, all over the seats and deck. must have been 5 dozen in that one dip. He did that about 4 more times, and we got a large bucket full that lasted us for 3 days of fishing. We were catching silvers even when the bite was off for everyone else.

So take the net.

You may also want to consider a "cast net". Once you gain proficiency using it, one cast should provide you with more than enough bait. I have no experience using a cast net for herring (own one for alewife in Lake Michigan), but I sure think it would work.

On my second trip to Neah Bay the local kids were fishing for herring right off the docks. That was in September. They were having a ball catching many and now that I think back I wish I had taken the time to try it myself.

Thanks for the info Aunty and Santiago. My uncle was up at Sekiu in June fishing for bottomfish and told me that it would be a good idea to take a smelt net up to Sekiu to get fresh bait. It sounded like a smart idea and now I've got first hand testimony.

I got about 40 pounds (1.5 buckets) in one dip at Neah Bay two years ago in one dip with the salmon net. Shared it with my boat mates and two other boats. It was hard to pull in.

This year we got 6 dozen in one dip with the smelt net. Bring it, watch for birds hitting the water hard, then run like hell to beat the other boats.

Last year we got about 5 dozen in one dip, but they were all about 3" long. We kept them for the next morning and threw them out at daybreak when the silvers were hitting at the surface on krill. Worked just fine.

Bring it. If you don't use it, then oh well. If you score big, you save $40-100 on bait.

See page 94 of the WA fishing regs regarding "Forage Fish" and "Forage Fish Dipnet".

Is compliance with the rules going to be an issue?

There seems to be a prohibition on use of a dipnet from a boat that is "under power." So, I think that means you would be legal if you turn off your motor while dipping.

For the net requirements, it seems that there is a 1/2 inch max mesh size and 36-inch maximum net-frame size. Does that eliminate standard salmon landing nets as legal "dip nets"? Note also the 10-lb limit on herring.

So, check your gear, have fun, and good fishing/dipping.

ooppss... slight clarification: the 36-inch max size limit on the net frame is for the hoop. The overall length of the net, including the hoop, does not appear to be limited by the regs.

I have used herring jigs that have 8-10 small hooks with little pieces of paper or plastic wings that are very effiective. I tie a 1-2 oz weight on the bottom of the jig set and cast out into the balls or thick herring schools and come up with 4-6 Herring per cast. They attack it...you're not snagging them. You can catch a days worth of bait in 5-10 minutes. They have the sets at Outdoor Emporium wound on cards for around $5. Sure makes a diffence fishing fresh herring.....it's Coho candy!

RR, the rig you decribed is the one I saw the kids at Neah Bay using right off the docks. Boy, that looked like fun.