Thread: Cannon Beach trip planned for Feb. What to do?

Don't exclude the bay clams if the timing is right.

Thanks for all the ideas! I'll be watching the weather. I like the boat/trap rental idea. Maybe drop some traps and then cast a few from the boat while I wait!

Thanks again everybody. Keep 'em coming!

If you have a good long rod... walk the beach North of Haystack (keep about 500' away from the rock), look for tongues of incoming water (holes when the tide is out) and fish them with a long cast into the surf just beyond the breaking waves. Fight the urge to try and reach the open blue water, as the fish you are after are in the whitewater of the surf. Use a 'fish-finder setup' and any bait of choice (clam necks, mussels, ghost shrimp, or kelp worms) that you collect from the sands along the beach. Or you can try flinging jig heads with white grubs.
If you are willing, buy some of the 'GULP' bait... it seems to work well from my testing to date.
If you have questions about the type of gear or rigging I speak of, just type in the key words into 'Google' and go from there.

This may be a little late but if you look on that map that was just posted hit the first rock outcrop on the north end of the beach there at cannon beach. There is an access trail just south of it you can park just of the street and hike down to the beach. I just hike the face of the rock on an outgoing tide, so I don't get stranded and cast off the end of the rock. I use plastic grubs, jig them like for bass. Just watch the big waves, stay back so they don't wash you. It's not part of Ecola state park at that point. Also if you have questions on what's open just read the synopsis in the fishing regs. They close some areas for tidal research and such. The rest of the beach front in oregon is open I do believe for the most part. Also if you look at the regs, most marine gardens are closed to shellfish and marine invertebrates, not marine fish. Have fun!!!