Got my brother and 2 nephews coming in from the east coast (for the first time out here) to fish Sekiu for 5 days beginning August 18th and wanted to give Neah Bay a try, but have never fished it. I have a small 17 ft tri-hull so I cant wander far from shore. Can anyone tell me where the hot spots are? Is the calm water around Waddah Island? Am I better off putting in at snow creek, due to the vandals at Neah Bay? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

JK...salmon fishing inside the Strait at Neah has not been so good for me lately. Most anglers are making the trek to offshore areas to find fish. One would think the silvers would be making their way into the Strait some time in the very near future.

I for one would much rather hear that the fishing is slow before I make a trip to an area. Seems to me that hot fishing never lasts too long and poor fishing can only get better ( optomistic, I know ). You might just hit it big with your trip timing!

Good luck.

thanks for the input Rooster

JK what other reports have you heard? I have a trip planned for the 1st of sept.
Thanks

Hi there new here. Been out a few times I do not have a boat but am looking for a few good places to have some better luck. Been fishing out here 2 years on and off and have only had luck at Leland this last weekend off the dock with power bait hooked 3 trout. Any ideas?

Hey JK
I spend a bit of time at snow creek and would pay 3 times the money there for the same thing at Neah. (not that you have to)You can find some nice water around wada but many times if you hang close going around it and hug the shore line out to tatosh the water is even better. Last week it was much better along shore a few miles west of Neah. The area just north of wada can be nasty when areas much further out will be way flater. If you have good water and can make it out to the whistle bouy just north of Duncan rock the fish were thick in there a month ago and should be stacking back up soon.
I will be there that weekend and would be glad to let you know where we find them although we will most likely be fishing further out. When the fish show up inside you can wack em between Neah and snow creek on water that is as flat as lake Washington on a nice weekday without the jetskiers. I agree with Rooster your timeing may be real rewarding if the fish start to move in on the full moon were having now. If they do come in you will have a ball. So far the average fish is much thicker than normal. I think were going to see some monster coho this year most of wich will have to many fins. My 5th wheel is at Snow Creek and Ill be there before next weekend...Art

jk- your boat will be ok for waddah and most of the inside if the seas are calm. by next week everything may be different on the coho but it has been extreemely slow fishing inside for some weeks now. i think achewter had good advice on fishing duncan rock to the whistle bouy.... the seas usually build up in certain areas and you can stay close to shore or zig zag , near shore, out to tatoosh and then out to the rock and bouy.... but if you just cut a straight line from waddah to the bouy or duncan rock you will probably hit one area that builds up into some big mixed swells at times(often)

you can also stay at snowcreek and launch at neah and not have much vandalism risk if your rig is only there in daylight..... a rig can get vandalised at neah at any time but the majority of it happens at night. i havent heard if vandals are still targeting rigs that dont have the makas new rec. use permit scam but that seemed to be happening if it was day or night. hope you get into some big ole coho- good luck

I fished Neah in early July with good results for coho and kings near Waddah but the fishing in the straits was not so good from July 27th to Aug 5th. During that time, I pretty much had to go outside to consistently find coho. However, as has been mentioned above, sooner or later the coho have to find their way inside. When they do, here's my 4 favorite places to find them.

#1 - right in front of Waddah - A nice tide line forms right off the point there and when the coho are in thick, you can usually limit out without going too far.

#2 - There's a shelf that comes off of kydikabbit point - look at a map and you'll see an underwater point that extends from kydikabbit pt to the WNW. A good tidelin forms out there also and I've found the NW edge around 350-450' to be good.

#3 - 400-600' of water (in the east bound shipping lane due north of Waddah and the break water to Neah Bay.

#4 - Just north of the red buoy by Duncan rocks. The water can get a little rough out there though.

Prior to leaving check http://www.wetsand.com/swellwatch/swellwatch.asp?CatId=292
for predictions of the swells. When the swells are low, it's possible to go outside even in a smaller boat but don't even try it if the swells are bigger than 4' or short period. In a 17' boat, I'd stay inside on all but the very best days (probably 9 out of 10 days). Also, FOG can roll in at any time, any place out there. If you don't have a GPS, don't go far from Waddah and stay within sight of shore. IMHO - going out anywhere without at least a handheld GPS is foolish especially with the prices of GPS units these days. Also, check the tides for the days you are planning to go. If the fishing gets good and the fog rolls in, it's VERY easy to get pulled out several miles on an outgoing tide without even realizing it. A friend of mine made that mistake last year at Neah in a small boat and wound up in a very bad situation that he was lucky to get out of. Here's a post I made last year on another site that describes the situation - http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=2220&highlight=neah

It serves as a good example of what not to do.

WOW!! You guys have no idea how thankful I am for all the input. Should make things a lot easier for sure. Is there a cell phone reception out there? If i read the regs correctly (my attorneys out of town) it looks like I can keep 2 clipped or unclipped kings at neah bay? I sure hope the coho show. Thanks a zillion!!!!

JK -cell phone reception at Neah is good IF you have Verizon but can be marginal there with other carriers. I get reception all the way out to about 20 miles offshore. You can only keep the kings OUTSIDE of the Bonnilla-Tatoosh line - e.g. in the ocean.

Sounds like the Kings might be a no go then or can Tatoosh sometimes be calm. Looking at the map there seems to be an indentation in the coast line from Cape Flattery to Cape Alava. Is that water sometimes calm and does it produce Kings?

JK I was up at neah last week and it anything but hot. We did find silvers at the garbage dump in 120-190 ft on silver flasher and green or purple haze squids. They would be there one day then gone for a day. The area between dunkin and the red can was hot on the slack tides. The kings we found out 4-5 miles ssw of tatoosh. The water was bumpy most of the days but once you rounded the corner and head south the water turned into a smooth rolling swell that any boat could handle. Just remember no fish is worth any risk and be carefull.

garbage dump? corner? Wheres Duncan? I've never been there. Thanks!

JK - the "garbage dump" area is just west of the break water that connects Waddah to the main land. The Neah garbage dump is on the hill above and there is often a fire burning at the dump that makes it easy to spot. Duncan rock is north of Tatoosh a little. The swells sometimes build and break not too far from Duncan so be careful on some days.

It can sometimes be very calm outside of Tatoosh - in fact it is often nicer outside the straits than inside. You really can't tell how nice the ocean will be until you're about 2-3 miles south or west of Tatoosh but the NW Swellwatch link I provided will give you an indication as will the weather radio reports when you're there. There are some good king fishing areas just 2-4 miles S. of Tatoosh. Troll early in the AM (sun up) over some of the sunken plateaus that come up to 120' from deeper water. However, again, the water has to be pretty nice to take your boat "around the corner" - e.g. outside of the straits. Most people who do go 'round the corner cut through "hole-in-the-wall" - the area between Tatoosh and the mainlaind as opposed to going around Tatoosh. It can get really choppy in that area for a few 100 yds. but I find it is often better through hole-in-the-wall than just N of Tatoosh where the swells can sometimes really build. The biggest concern for a small boat is the ammount of freeboard, if you don't have much, don't go outside of the straits. Also be aware that the conditions coming in and out of the straits can be very tide sensitive. E.g. just at the tide changes there will be rip currents that can make the water very confused and it can also get ugly 1/2 between tide changes when current is at a max. Outgoing tides against a wind from the west will build bigger waves than an incoming tide in the same wind conditions. So it's possible to go out in nice conditions and return in ugly conditions just a few hours later if you don't time things well.

All of my warning aside, I can tell you that I have been outside the straits on many occasions where it was close to glassy and I'd have been fine in row boat. I've also been out in times when I didn't feel comfortable in my 22' C-dory and I wound up turning tail and coming back.

I have around 2 feet of free board. I'll just have to keep a close eye on it if I go out there of just fish sekiu. Luckily the tides will be in coming in the morning. I appreciate all the input!!!

Go by your local sporting goods store and pick up a copy of the Fish n Map for Neah Bay. Not navigation quality, but it will get you home. It has GPS coordinates for a number of spots that can turn out fish for you.

In addition to the GPS that you will have on board, you also need a good VHF radio. The USCG can find you with VHF. It is hard to triangulate a cell phone call.

Keep an eye out for the freighters. They don't change course easily. If you are anywhere near the shipping lane and the fog rolls in, head for shore and get out of the shipping lane. A good chartplotter will show the lanes and your position.

Keep in mind that tugs pulling barges are not required to stay in the shipping lanes. I've had some close encounters and it isn't fun. Sometimes they don't signal their position in the fog with their horns.....

Go for it JK. I've had two of the best fishing days of my life out there and I've fished a couple of days.
Listen to the advice above, bring a GPS and have fun.
Oh and eat an Indian Taco in the parking lot after fishing.

thanks again to all you guys for the ton of info. I've been watching the swell reports form wetsand.com. Are 4 foot swells pretty tame? I know 4 ft windwaves are BRUTAL. Whats the max swell you guys would go out in with a 17 ft trihull? Thanks again!

Four foot swells are almost as flat as they come in the ocean. Also its not just the swell height but the interval. Fifteen foot swells would be ok with a 30 second interval! Last weekend it was a five foot swell at 5 seconds. That means from wave top to wave top in five seconds. Very short, if that tri hull has an open bow you need to be very careful. Poke one wave over the bow, all that water will end up in the boat...and now you have problems. Watch the wind coming up in the afternoon too. Wear your PFD! If the wind is ok and the seas below 5 feet with a long interval, no problems go for it and have a great time!

looks like through monday its gonna be 4 to 5 feet at 8 second intervals? I'm thinking I might build a 2 piece hindged plywood bow cover that I could thow up real quick if it starts to get funky. I should be able to lay it right down on the floor. Seems to me it will deflect most of the water if one comes over the bow.