Forgive me if I am posting in the wrong area, but I think I am writing this in the right forum….

This Mid-August, I will be going to the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. We will be renting a boat to live on for the week. My wife wants to watch killer whales in the wild, and apparently this is the place to go. After looking into the costs of where she wanted to stay and meals, vs. the cost to rent a boat, she somehow agreed to renting/staying on a boat for the week. To me, this is a perfect opportunity to fish all week long. Since I have the boat, I have been banned from getting a charter, so I have to find out all I can on my own.

I have never been there, and I know nothing about fishing in that area. I have fished the mid atlantic coast - off the coast of new jersey for the last 15 years. I have access to a 50' Viking all summer, and am on it 9/10 weekends. I am doing my research now for this trip, and am finding very limited information. Anyone want to share some tips/techniques for fishing in that area? I would love a chance at a halibut, as the fluke we catch here are small, a big one here is 26 inches!

I will be headed there mid August. I have no idea what will be in season and what is and is not allowed there on the coast. I see some places barbless hooks are required, but not everywhere? And there, I think you need a out of state license, even though I am saltwater registered here?

Some questions I would like answered:
Can I rent equipment out there? Where?
Can I rent crab traps?
Do I have to have a separate license for crabs?
What is in season mid- August?
Best bets/ methods, techniques for a small keeper halibut?

I would also be willing to barter with someone to come on our boat and teach me the regs and methods out there in return for free boat usage and other reasonable requests. But remember, the primary reason for going is for my wife to be able to watch/ photograph whales, so there will have to be some tolerance to fishing being a secondary objective.

Actually, any information would be greatly appreciated – fishing related or not. This is a one week vacation that I want to make the most of. I appreciate any and all suggestions and recommendations. If anyone spots someone telling me the wrong information, please call it to my attention. I am flying blind on this one.

Thank you in advance!

i believe Halibut closes at the end of this month for that area... yes you will also need your Crab Endorsement to fish for crab... Salmon would be around at that time, but you will need to check for closure points and be careful where you are fishing, you will get ticketed... there will be Pinks around, so that may provide you with a ton of fun...

not sure where you can rent traps at, but there may be places in Port Angeles or Sequim that may but im not sure...

gear, i know noone that rents gear, by gear im assuming you mean rods, reels, bait, lures, ect?

remember to stay atleast 200 yards away from the Whales, keep throttle down out to 400 yards, and dont get in the direct path of the Whales...

have fun, you will really like it here...

I'll second what Natron wrote and jump into what is a pretty extensive list of questions and respond to what I am able to.

First, for clarification purposes the SJs are not off the coast. They are in northern Puget Sound and not subject to the worst of what the coastal conditions can dish out.

As to regulations I strongly recommend that you download a copy of the WDFW regulations (http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01500/wdfw01500.pdf). The SJs are in Marine Area 7 although you will have reasonable access to MA 6. You will need an out of state license to include a shellfish license and a Puget Sound crab endorsement. Be sure to know the regs and to immediately record anything you retain. "Immediately" includes before you leave the location and before you reset the pot or rebait and deploy your fishing gear. As for crab know what is a male and have a caliper to measure to ensure it meets or exceeds the 6 1/4 minimum across the carapace just in front of the points (see the regs). Also, since you will be here and aboard for a week be well aware of the possession limits which in some cases is the daily catch limit.

I am pretty sure you will be out of luck for halibut but there should be a lot of salmon available at that time. Fishing for rockfish is closed as is fishing for bottomfish in waters deeper than 120 feet. San Juan County also has some localized closures noted in the WDFW regs.

Your wife's desire for viewing killer whales can have you run into trouble. Here is a link to WDFW's blurb regarding being around whales: http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/orca/. This is a highly visible activity and NOAA has in recent years tried to close off a large portion of water to virtually all recreational boat activity tied to Orca disruptions. Lots of folks watch from shore at the Lime Kiln Park.

I have no info regarding availability of gear rental. Any chance of obtaining that from whomever is providing the boat?

Sorry to be so focused on what NOT to do but you are coming a long way to enjoy a beautiful part of our State and I would hate to have you end up with a ticket.

Be sure to bring your passports in case you decide to take a day and ride the ferry to Victoria, B.C.

And since you cannot go out on a guided trip (too bad, a great learning experience) you might try to find a local who would go out with you for a day and show you the ropes for dinner and a beer.

Edit: Single point, barbless hooks are now pretty much the rule.

wow weeee!! Thanks for the responses Natron and Larry!

I took a look at the links sent. Wow - looks like you need a masters degree in ichthyology and geography to understand what you can fish for and where, and a chart to see when you can keep them. HA ha ha... Please do not mistake that for anything else than saying that the rules and regs in that greater area seems very segmented compared to what I am used to. For instance, out here, there is one rule for flounder in the Delaware bay - one size 17.5 inches. The variation is if you are on the DE side, it is 4 fish, if in NJ, you can keep 5 fish, but it is the same size. Same with stripers, drum and trout.

Anyway.... I digress.... I have to read a lot more information from the links sent before I ask any more questions, but I am sure I am going to need clarification on some topics.

Some people have PM'ed me asking me questions, and I will answer them here:
We are picking up the boat in Seattle. We are going to steam through the sound at peak speed of 12 kts, which is the top speed that boat is governed. Flying - I know. We will be staying on the 37' boat, and sleeping on it each night. My plan is to arrive in Seattle Fri night, go to a vinyard Sat, and leave dock early Sunday and head up to San Juan. We will either do it all in one day, or more likely break the trip up in two days since it quite a distance at a slow speed. (Advise on that?) Suggestions on where to or where not to stop?

Since the peak speed of the boat is 12 kts, and cruise is 9 kts, I plan to troll the whole way if I can at cruise speed. I realize that may be fast for a troll, but I also know that fish can swim fast, especially when feeding. If I catch anything, that is a bonus. If not, I loose nothing. You can't catch, if a line is not in the water, right?

The things I am a little worried about are being in one zone, keeping one fish, and moving through another zone where perhaps that one fish may not be allowed. Since I am the only one eating fish, I only need to keep one once in a while. My goal is to catch as many as possible, but release all but the one I will eat - which is probably the smallest keeper I can get. So I have to figure out the whole filling out of the catch card (which is also a new concept for me.)

Yes, I would be totally open to meet someone and buy them dinner/beer/bottle of wine if they would want to show me the ropes of how it is done out there. That would be best case. If anyone is interested, please let me know!

LOL ok first the water temps are way colder than they are in your neck of the woods at that time of year. max troll speed for fish in the area are much slower because the colder water means the fish swim slower. max I have ever caught a salmon at was 4 knots.

"picking up the boat in Seattle" ...um ok where. Elliot bay? Lake union? Ballard? Lake Washington? you have water on 4 sides that have a Seattle address. 2 of those are going to be 4 hours to get to Puget Sound, depending on boat traffic.

I'm going to tell you what I would do if I was you.

rent sleepless in Seattle, the movie. have the wife watch it. then pick up the boat in lk Union. kill most of the first day getting through the locks fish the shoreline up to Edmonds. tie up the boat in Edmonds the first night. she will enjoy the scenery the boat will rock that night. wake at first light. if you caught a fish the first day and haven't eaten it all. head north for the SJ's if not fish for a few hours til you do. then run up. I suggest going inside whidbey Island and shooting deception pass.. it has great views but may scare you when you go under the bridge and threw the pass. at that point head to Friday Harbor, tie up there and dipnet dock shrimp from the dock at night for a great morning of shrimp omelet. the next day chase a whale watching boat to the wales and watch them. from there keep the wife happy, maybe crab a few days, maybe fish maybe shop, maybe watch the whales. or the commercial fishing boats.

I am not sure on times I know when I did the trip it took 12-18 hours at 20 miles per hour with stops. yet I did Everett to Lopez in 6 the next year. a much shorter distance. pull the chart and do the math, and add time for the current it rips around whidbey most of the time, no matter which side you choose.
Good luck

CNCFish's plan sounds pretty dam good to me. Do some crabbing/shrimping. Once you get out in the Juans troll some herring for salmon. The pinks are in this year so you shouldnt have any issue hooking fish. Be sure to hand the rod off to your wife so she can get in on the action.
Your fishing experience on the East Coast will come in handy, alot of it will transfer over to fishing for Salmon. Just be sure to troll slower... Unfortunately, Salmon dont swim like tuna to take a lure/bait. Look for big bait fish balls, follow the birds, look for kelp beds, water breaks (where darker water meets clearer/cleaner water) and you will find fish.

Im personally not a huge saltwater fisherman, so others will be able to tell you what water depths to focus on, specific places to focus your attention, etc. Also, don't get discouraged. My aunt/uncle literally did this same type of trip you outlined two years back. They both are hardcore fisherfolks from the east coast. A few new tricks shown to them at the dock by some old timer and they where off catching fish. They ended up catching a 41 pound king and tons of Coho/Pinks.
Regardless if you catch fish or not, the scenery in the San Juan's is breathtaking. You will enjoy your time in WA state.

I had been wondering about the size of the boat and now I know. That is a lot of boat for Puget Sound but you certainly should be comfy!

Anywhere you go in August is going to be busy so be sure to have a planned itinerary and reservations. First day I would press on a bit further for Port Townsend (outside route) or Everett/Anacortes which both have more guest space for a 37 footer.

Trolling at 9 knots? No wahoo here! You might just get a coho to hit a at or near the surface as I have caught them fast trolling a large fly in the wake. Don't know the speed but the fly was doing a bit of skipping on the surface so more than 4 knots. It is very possible that the marked selective Chinook fishery will be closed by mid to late August in some of the management areas so be sure to check. If closed for Chinook, that will leave coho and humpies. Lots of humpies!!! Is the boat equipped with downriggers? Rod holders? If not, you might want to consider foregoing the 9 knot troll and just enjoy the cruise then make a concerted fishing effort in the known "fishy" locations.

As Cncfish indicated getting through the locks in Ballard can be time consuming and a challenge as they likely will be cramming boats at that time of year. Picking the boat up and returning on the saltwater side will definitely be to your advantage. Deception Pass has a certain pucker factor especially during high tidal flow and/or foggy conditions. Yes, it does get foggy especially at that time of year.

So, plan your trip carefully, be safe, and have a great visit!

Oh, and as for the regs - you have sufficient space on that boat for your attorney plus staff.

Edit: You didn't mention provisioning. If you have a car on Saturday you will be able to make a grocery stop. Otherwise, the main Port Townsend marina is within walking distance of a large grocery store. Neither Edmonds nor Everett have groceries that close to moorage and stuff is quite a bit more expensive in the SJs due to transportation costs.

You may have opportunity for canadian halibut. Entering at Victoria and picking up canadian licenses should give you opportunity out on the banks.

Check out the fishing reports and area how-to articles at salmonuniversity.com.

Pick up and study the Saltwater Fishing Journal http://shop.johnssportinggoods.com/prodInfo.asp?pid=1103&cid=43
for both locations and techniques.

When crabbing, find sandy bottoms for dungeness crab. Rocky bottoms will give you rock crab which are pretty and have huge claws but not much body meat and not as prized for eating. Your charter company providing the boat should be able to hook you up with crabbing gear. If not, you could probably buy 3 crab ring setups from outdoor emporium in Seattle for around $100 and sell them at the dock or leave them with the boat for a credit off your fee at the end of your week.

There's some San Jaun Island cruising guides you may want to pick up as you're planning your trip (many exist - sampling below):

http://www.sanjuanyachting.com/R%20and%20M%20SAN%20JUAN%20ISLANDS%20CRUISING%20GUIDE%20-%20Power.pdf

http://www.amazon.com/Cruising-Guide-Puget-Sound-Islands/dp/0071420398

http://salishseapilot.com/sanjuans.htm

Absolutely gorgeous area! Will be really hard to have a bad trip there.

The area from Iceberg Point to Lime Kiln State Park is where the Orcas are most consistently found. Use common sense and know the regulations and you should have a great viewing experience. You'll have company viewing the whales. Bring zoom lenses if you want good shots of the whales.

Have fun planning your trip!

warning--you go to the San Juans for a week--you wont want to go back to reality


good website here with webcams

http://www.islandcam.com/index.html

The three best things you can do are..............

Get a Fish-N-Map

And then get Gunkholing the San Juan's

And finally load up on pink buzzbombs as the humpies will keep you plenty busy!

Hi:

Smart of you to plan this ahead of time...

1. I'd forget about doing the crab, catch your own, and just buy some crab....local markets or Costco, would be a good place to look.

I know there is something to the "experience" of getting your own but...

Buy/rent traps.......can be costly

Buy bait...... not very costly

Have to be set up to "cook the crab".....can be a hassle, unless you've done it before.

"I would also be willing to barter with someone to come on our boat and teach me the regs and methods out there in return for free boat usage and other reasonable requests. But remember, the primary reason for going is for my wife to be able to watch/ photograph whales, so there will have to be some tolerance to fishing being a secondary objective.

Actually, any information would be greatly appreciated – fishing related or not. This is a one week vacation that I want to make the most of. I appreciate any and all suggestions and recommendations. If anyone spots someone telling me the wrong information, please call it to my attention. I am flying blind on this one. "

Can be a real "hit or miss on the killer whales"............as stated above, the "pods" are highly protcted. People, in the past, have wanted to get to close....so now, there are rules relative to how close you can be.

Come, enjoy the Pacific Northwest, leave lot's of money........bring camera, if nothing else, there is lot's to take pictures of.......

PS.....Do some google searches, on whatever questions you have......the answers will be there.......

another question i should have asked and im suprised that noone else has yet is how old are you? if you are 50 or under, you will need to get a Boaters Education Card before operating a boat of that size... and i suggest doing that now, well before your trip...


http://www.parks.wa.gov/boating/boatered/

Just a good reference site. salmonuniversity.com

no he doesnt

he is not a resident and only here for a week

you are correct Coho, i did not know that... you get the first 60 days free, after that you need a card...

good lookin out

Killer Whales; I'm sure that they have been seen just about everywhere in the San Juan Archipelago, however I've seen them most often from the south end of Cattle pass and around San Juan Island clockwise, Eagle point, to Pile point, Lime Kiln point and North, but then that's where I was. Funny thing, I've never seen them where I wasn't.

Lots of great information! I just got home from work and figured I would look to see if there were any updates. Wow! I now know what I am doing the rest of the night... Lots of reading to do!

First: thank you to all of you who have answered and giving me information and ideas! What has been offered and provided is of great value, so "thank you" again! You have a great forum here with great members!

To answer some more questions:
I am 42 and I drive a 50 foot viking on the weekends from May through October (It is not mine, I just drive it because the owner does not want to.) I do have my boating safety card issued by the states of New Jersey and Delaware. When we booked the boat, I asked about needing a license, they said I was fine. If I was not confidant in my skills, I would be hesitant, but in this case, I should be okay. Thanks for asking!

We are picking up the boat we are renting at shilshole bay marina in Seattle.


Fishing resume:
It all started by catching bluegills when I was 3 in a local pond, and have done a lot since then. I have fished small mountain streams where a 6" brook is a prize, I have a lake 2 miles away with largemouth, musky and walleye. have caught nearly every species of inshore saltwater gamefish off New Jersey. Offshore I have caught yellowfin, bluefin and longfin tuna both on conventional and the fly. (Largest is a 82 lb yellowfin on a 12 wt.) I have been to NC for the false albacore run and to Wyoming for goldens, grayling, and green river rainbows. In costa rica I caught more yellowfins and a relative of the peacock bass. I even thought of trolling in Venice, but when I told my wife I was going to, she made it clear that it was just not going to happen. While I love to fish the fly, I will use whatever gives me the best chance of getting a new fish. I have never caught any kind of salmon, so if I get one - I will be happy.

As for the whale watching, I am not going to be a run and gunner for them - whether it is allowed or not - which I know it isn't. We are certainly going to be respectful and sensitive to everything we do. To get "the shot" we are also going to rent some high powered zoom lenses for the entire trip, bring a load of memory and our laptops for downloading.

Okay - I have to go do some reading now - I have a lot to do! If anyone else has ideas - feel free to fire them off!

Tight lines...

you dont necessarily need massive amounts of memory, unless you already have them, they can get expensive depending on size, a suggestion i would do is go get a Seagate 500G portable HDD and 1 or 2 (if you have 2 cameras) 8 or 16 GB memory cards, and each night after you are done shooting, download all photos to the HDD and wipe the cards clean... it will keep the cards working fast, and wont clutter your cameras with photos if you decide to flip through them... its a pain when you have 1-2000 photos on your cameras....

you might also, and i highly advise this, start buying your gear now while you are there... during years like this the stores in this state get hammered and alot run out of products... what i would suggest gear wise is this:

#3 and #4 Blue Fox spinners, in pink, red, blue, and yellow..

1.5 inch mini squid to put on the hooks below the spinners..

Buzz Bombs as said, pink, red, blue, white/pearl are good colors..

if there are no downriggers on that boat, you will need banana weights and Deep Six's or Dipsy Divers (this is if you seriously intend to troll deeper waters)

hooks, 1/0, 2/0, and 3/0 will be fine, spinners should use the Siwash hooks to keep the point from tweaking away from the body of the spinner as what happens with Octopus hooks and the bent eye.. but Octos are good to use under the Buzz Bombs (i do and have no problems with them)...

i have 1 rod i would be willing to loan you, if you pay a deposit of course, its a Lamiglas 8'6 10-25 3/8ths to 2 ounce with and Ambassaduer 5500 C3, the reel is kinda small for trolling per say, but it still can be done, if i decide to buy a line counter reel in June i will throw that on instead of the 5500... the 5500 is fine for casting towards jumpers with the BB's and Spinners...

words cannot describe how much this cracks me up!!!



Maybe he'll let you borrow the 50'er if you're ever on the east coast... if you pay a deposit of course




natron, you are truly one of a kind

I would suggest posting this question on Bloody Decks, they should be able to point you in the right direction for the salt. Good luck and have fun!