I'm headed to Westport for a family reunion this weekend.I would like to try fishing off the jetty.I have no experience at it and was wondering if any of you could help me out.
Any help as to what type of gear,what part of the tide.Or for that matter anything that you guys think might help me out would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rick

I prefer to fish the high tide, and I use two ounce bank sinkers with a dropper, and for bait, pieces of clam neck, sand shrimp, small pieces of herring, and worms work well for smaller species such as rockfish and greenling. Use a #2 hook with the bait. Six inch black or white curlytail plastic worms work also. I use these with 1/2 ounce unpainted leadheads with strong hooks. For jigs, use 12-14 lb. mono, and with bait, use 20-30 lb. mono and use a very stout rod. You'll need the heavy gear to pull the fish out of their rocky environment.

The south jetty can be treacherous. Some of the holes your stepping across are cavernous. It's not a safe place for young children. Be prepared to pay $5.00 for daily parking, or plan to hoof it quite aways. Hiking shoes or tennis shoes are better than waders. Keep an eye out for "roque" waves. I like to fish high above the water line, and move down, or have my partner move down to land the fish. A vest works well for carrying terminal gear. That leaves your hands free for your rod and reel, a five gallon pail, and a long handled net. I put the bait container, and a plastic bag with extra weights in the pail. Most of the fish you're likely to catch can be brought back to the car in the pail. A gunnysack works OK as a fish carrier, also. Some jetty fishermen may get by without a net, but I always carry one when I'm fishing the big jetty.

It's considerably easier to fish the finger jetties in Westport...and free to boot! If you're going after lings, bigger bottomfish, or salmon, then the south jetty is a better choice.

The tackle floatandjig suggested has worked for us in the past. Take plenty...it's grabby out there. Good luck.

Just a thought, but you may want to consider surf perch as an alternative.

Many years ago I visited my brother living in Eureka , Ca. I spent a lot of my time on the jetty at the mouth of the Eel. One day while jigging for panfish sized seabass on the river side and keeping an eye on the surf crashing ocean side, a sea lion surfaced not more than 10 yards in front of me. Talk about a religious experience, I just about swallowed my snuff.
Most startling to me since I'd never seen one before. Speaking of rogue waves: pier fishing St. Joe, Michigan, springtime, casting spoons for steelhead. NW wind increasing and I noticed on my walk out to the end that waves were occasionally breaching the elevated concrete walkway. Not to worry as I spied an open space immediately SE of the lighthouse to fish. I was encouraged on my walk out that other anglers were still fishing which means that they were catching fish, and they were. As I fished the waves were building and they more frequently breached the pier. My closest fishing neighbor was maybe 50 yards landside from me. Here it came, a large wave much larger than all the others which not only breached the pier but sent an express train of water 12'' deep to the lee side of pier. My neighbor lost all his tackle and gear. Fortunately, he was not washed into the lake. He was done fishing and so was I. We had to dodge waves and time our walk back to shore.

I love those jetties and piers but please exercise caution.

They covered just about everything you should need for fishing the jetty. I use to fish it all the time a few years back. Then I took a fall and landed five feet further down then I expected to. Right on my big old kiester. I was rock hopping to land a fish I had hooked. Jumped to a rock without looking until it was too late. It was covered in seaweed and barnicles. Feet slipped right out from under me and away I went to the next rock down. Needless to say I scraped the K RAP out of my back and arms. 350lbs does not land lightly on rocks or a big butt. I did land the fish though. A nice ling about 22 inches. He sure did taste good that night. I have since taken up less rock hopping and more wading. Which is about as bad as rock hopping. One thing I did not see mentioned was free floating a herring or a drifting one under a bobber. Both work well. Good luck and be careful.

Thanks for the help guys.I have fished the jetty at fort Canby.Just for salmon though.I usually wear felt soled shoes for better traction.I just never fished at Westport. Or for bottomfish.I gaurantee I'll be careful.If anybody else has any input I sure would like to hear it.
Thanks
Rick

I'd personally rather rockhop the South jetty than the Fort Canby or Ocean Shores jetties. Those latter two have something in common, they are designed to have very steep sides. Both are more difficult to walk than the Westport jetty. Also, at the Fort Canby jetty there are a few too many rocks covered with a nice film of slick algae that can be far more treacherous than navigating the cavernous holes of the Westport jetty.

A word of warning, if you are having to carry a lot of equipment with you and/or end up with a large load of fish, you might want to reconsider going out there if it is windy. You would not believe how much the wind can affect your balance when rockhopping. Also be careful if there has been fog around, because the rocks become slick. If it is raining just the slightest bit, I pray that you use good judgement and only go as far as it is safe to walk, otherwise you may become a fixture of the jetty or the ocean. Always give yourself plenty of time to walk the jetty, because one wrong step could lead to something regrettable.

If you are fishing for lingcod, it is a good idea to keep in mind that you want to be fishing from a spot where it is not hard to land a big fish. A dunking or loss of balance could result in serious injury. Please play it safe at all times while you're having fun fishing.

By now you have done your jetty trip, which I hope was a great success.

I just wanted to add a cautionary note about jetty fishing.

Watch the wave action before you proceed too far out on any jetty. Waves tend to build in size in cycles. As I recall from a lot of jetty hopping many years ago from Humboldt Bay to Westport, the 7th wave tends to be the big one. Watch at least a couple of cycles of waves, then stay several feet above the highest wave wash.

I've seen waves wash completely over the south jetty at Westport! The power of moving water is unbelievable.

Back my jetty hopping and rocky shoreline fishing days I always wore a life vest and carried my fishful of jigs in one of the pockets. If you are unwise and get washed over the jetty it will be a dangerous, bumpy experience and if you get knocked out by slamming against a rock, that life jacket may be your only hope.

Better yet, stay high and dry and only go as far out as it is absolutely safe.