Great fall jetty fishing (from a boat)

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slabjig
20221004_105336.jpg
My brother and I fished the north and south jetties at Newport today from my 14 foot boat. Limit of rockfish by 9:30 am, with a number of releases of smaller fish. The oddly colored rockfish is a grass rockfish. According to a Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, Newport is the northernmost part of their range, however I've caught 3 of them over time, and a fishing buddy also caught one. They are great fighters for their size, and apparently are crab eaters, this one puked up 3 little crabs.
 
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plumbertom
That looks fantastic.
I usually fish the Jetty at coos bay from my small boat.
I drop traps for crab and pound the jetty with jigs while they soak.
Get Black Rock fish usually and the occasional Ling, including the legal sized ones as often as not.
Haven't been for a while this year because outrageous fuel costs for my diesel tow vehicle make a trip from Eugene cost more than $100. Hard to do on a social security income.
 
S
slabjig
Newport is about 15 miles closer for you than Coos bay, better road and easy launch, with a short run to the jetties. Yaquina bay is very small boat friendly if you pick your day based on NOAA predictions. Tuesday was one of those days, 3 foot swell, 16 second interval and no wind. So basically a flat ocean, which allowed us to fish aroud the tips of the jetties. If I was going to fish the Coos Bay area, I'd probably go a bit further and launch at Sunset Bay. the near shore fishing around Simpson reef is awesome.
 
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plumbertom
I have crabbed at Newport once.
I didn't do much fishing, though.
As far as fishing outside of the bay, I'm a bit of a chicken.
My boat is a flat bottom jon boat with very little freeboard.
Wouldn't take much to swamp it.
Actually did get swamped trying to get it out of Dexter once when the wind picked up while I was out and was blowing straight at the launch ramp. Luckily when the swell rolled over the transom the boat was mostly on the trailer, just not all the way up, and I was able to pull it out, drain it and finish loading.
It was my Lower Colorado River catfish boat and lake boat when I lived in SoCal.
Since being in OR. I've used on a few of the lakes and a couple of rivers, but mostly on Coos bay and the Siuslaw below Florence.
But the crabbing at Florence has really gone downhill the last couple of years.
Mostly I've caught Green crabs the last couple of times there and lots of undersize and female Dungeness. Very rarely trap a legal.
I know Alsea Bay produces good numbers of legal crabs, but fishing there is almost nonexistent for rock fish in the bay.
I've been talking with my fishing buddy about trying Winchester Bay for crabs and I read the rock fishing there isn't too bad also.
I've launched at Salmon Harbor once in an attempt to hit the pink fin run, with limited results. But that was before I had taken up crabbing.
 
S
slabjig
20221004_132425.jpg

This is my "jetty" fishing boat, it's 14 foot and it's a short shaft transom (notice that the outboard which is long shaft is on a jack plate). Low boats like this are a definite plus if the wind is trying to blow you into the jetty, I'd never try fishing these spots with the 19 foot Willies. A jon boat would certainly not be my first choice, mainly because of the rough ride in chop. I have one, a 14 foot Lowe Big Jon, and I wouldn't take it over there for that reason, plus it has a jet drive on it which gets horrible fuel economy. The Suzuki on this thing burns less than a gallon of gas on the average trip and because it's so quiet, never gets shut off, I just let it idle while fishing. Nice thing about small boats, even if swamped, they float because they're required to have sufficient floatation to float level when swamped, even metal boats like this one (which has foam under all the seats). Modern ocean predictions are so good that there is no reason to be out there when you're at risk, I use both the marine forecast for NOAA data buoy 46050 (stonewall banks) as well as FishWeather website and choose South Beach for my forecast. Tuesday, the live reading at the Stonewall Banks buoy was 3 (foot swell), 16 second interval and winds light and variable) Then I look at this site: https://tides.net/oregon/2585/ for high and low tides and tide change while I'm on the water, don't want to be fighting the currents with a 10 foot tide change (Tuesday we launched at about half way to a high tide of 6 feet, after the tide changed it was going to a low of 4 feet, so very little current. It's amazing how well they predict ocean conditions, plus I get up early the day I go and take a look at current conditions at Stonewall Banks. If swell is under 5 feet, and period is over 10 seconds with wind gusts under 10 kts, it's a go. On days like Tuesday, the ocean was just as flat as the bay, so fishing the jetty tips wasn't an issue, and if the wind or waves picked up, just duck back into the bay. The one thing you don't want to do is be on the bar in a small boat on an outgoing tide with a big tidal change (like 9 foot going to -1 foot) because that can cause even modest swell to really stand up. AND carry all the appropriate safety gear, running lights, flares, anchor and sufficient rope and chain, bailing device, marine radio if you have access to a hand held, plus a descending device, because just as soon as you pass the tips of the jetties, ocean rules apply. Having said that, I've caught many limits half way out the north jetty, and gone nowhere near the bar. Hump to 100 yards from the tip can be very good fishing.
 
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Casting Call
Casting Call
I have the same set-up on a 16ft, center console "West Coast Bay Runner Baja", welded all and raised bow. 50hp merc/9.9merc. dual batt. w/barrel switch. Modified the flotation system. with 6 innertubes 12-inch extended flex valve stems ported to under the seat bulkheads capped, checked for pressure every trip. Never lost more than 1/8 pound of pressure per season. (Time of weather&season? FYI lawn tractor rear innertubes. Tony
 
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Casting Call
Casting Call
Yes, it's made in Calif. West Coaster Bay runner. See U-tube 16ft bay runner. Also, two more ft. will put you out bound from any jetty 3ft-5ft/ 16sec. conditions. Ask "King Shrew out of Newport, OR" U-tube him. Tony
 
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plumbertom
plumbertom
slabjig said:
View attachment 639486
This is my "jetty" fishing boat, it's 14 foot and it's a short shaft transom (notice that the outboard which is long shaft is on a jack plate). Low boats like this are a definite plus if the wind is trying to blow you into the jetty, I'd never try fishing these spots with the 19 foot Willies. A jon boat would certainly not be my first choice, mainly because of the rough ride in chop. I have one, a 14 foot Lowe Big Jon, and I wouldn't take it over there for that reason, plus it has a jet drive on it which gets horrible fuel economy. The Suzuki on this thing burns less than a gallon of gas on the average trip and because it's so quiet, never gets shut off, I just let it idle while fishing. Nice thing about small boats, even if swamped, they float because they're required to have sufficient floatation to float level when swamped, even metal boats like this one (which has foam under all the seats). Modern ocean predictions are so good that there is no reason to be out there when you're at risk, I use both the marine forecast for NOAA data buoy 46050 (stonewall banks) as well as FishWeather website and choose South Beach for my forecast. Tuesday, the live reading at the Stonewall Banks buoy was 3 (foot swell), 16 second interval and winds light and variable) Then I look at this site: https://tides.net/oregon/2585/ for high and low tides and tide change while I'm on the water, don't want to be fighting the currents with a 10 foot tide change (Tuesday we launched at about half way to a high tide of 6 feet, after the tide changed it was going to a low of 4 feet, so very little current. It's amazing how well they predict ocean conditions, plus I get up early the day I go and take a look at current conditions at Stonewall Banks. If swell is under 5 feet, and period is over 10 seconds with wind gusts under 10 kts, it's a go. On days like Tuesday, the ocean was just as flat as the bay, so fishing the jetty tips wasn't an issue, and if the wind or waves picked up, just duck back into the bay. The one thing you don't want to do is be on the bar in a small boat on an outgoing tide with a big tidal change (like 9 foot going to -1 foot) because that can cause even modest swell to really stand up. AND carry all the appropriate safety gear, running lights, flares, anchor and sufficient rope and chain, bailing device, marine radio if you have access to a hand held, plus a descending device, because just as soon as you pass the tips of the jetties, ocean rules apply. Having said that, I've caught many limits half way out the north jetty, and gone nowhere near the bar. Hump to 100 yards from the tip can be very good fishing.
Yeah, I wish I had the confidence to push my boat on conditions.
If I were a little younger, I'd probably more willing to take on more risk.
I'd certainly be more ready to learn more about reading the ocean reports.
But these days I tend to take things as easy as possible and reduce risk to the point that it's almost nonexistent.
 
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plumbertom
plumbertom
slabjig said:
View attachment 639486
This is my "jetty" fishing boat, it's 14 foot and it's a short shaft transom (notice that the outboard which is long shaft is on a jack plate). Low boats like this are a definite plus if the wind is trying to blow you into the jetty, I'd never try fishing these spots with the 19 foot Willies. A jon boat would certainly not be my first choice, mainly because of the rough ride in chop. I have one, a 14 foot Lowe Big Jon, and I wouldn't take it over there for that reason, plus it has a jet drive on it which gets horrible fuel economy. The Suzuki on this thing burns less than a gallon of gas on the average trip and because it's so quiet, never gets shut off, I just let it idle while fishing. Nice thing about small boats, even if swamped, they float because they're required to have sufficient floatation to float level when swamped, even metal boats like this one (which has foam under all the seats). Modern ocean predictions are so good that there is no reason to be out there when you're at risk, I use both the marine forecast for NOAA data buoy 46050 (stonewall banks) as well as FishWeather website and choose South Beach for my forecast. Tuesday, the live reading at the Stonewall Banks buoy was 3 (foot swell), 16 second interval and winds light and variable) Then I look at this site: https://tides.net/oregon/2585/ for high and low tides and tide change while I'm on the water, don't want to be fighting the currents with a 10 foot tide change (Tuesday we launched at about half way to a high tide of 6 feet, after the tide changed it was going to a low of 4 feet, so very little current. It's amazing how well they predict ocean conditions, plus I get up early the day I go and take a look at current conditions at Stonewall Banks. If swell is under 5 feet, and period is over 10 seconds with wind gusts under 10 kts, it's a go. On days like Tuesday, the ocean was just as flat as the bay, so fishing the jetty tips wasn't an issue, and if the wind or waves picked up, just duck back into the bay. The one thing you don't want to do is be on the bar in a small boat on an outgoing tide with a big tidal change (like 9 foot going to -1 foot) because that can cause even modest swell to really stand up. AND carry all the appropriate safety gear, running lights, flares, anchor and sufficient rope and chain, bailing device, marine radio if you have access to a hand held, plus a descending device, because just as soon as you pass the tips of the jetties, ocean rules apply. Having said that, I've caught many limits half way out the north jetty, and gone nowhere near the bar. Hump to 100 yards from the tip can be very good fishing.
My Jon boat is a 16' with a 25 Suzi. And yeah, I idle all day while out fishing.
I'm a bit dissatisfied with my Suzuki, though. Not for the way it runs, but a couple of years back it developed a leak on the power tilt ram shaft, and it is apparently not rebuildable.
The damned thing is almost 1/3 the cost of a complete replacement engine with the lift on it.
Almost $1700. for the replacement.
Jon boat 1.JPG
Jon boat 2.JPG
 
plumbertom
plumbertom
Edited.
 
S
slabjig
plumbertom said:
Yeah, I wish I had the confidence to push my boat on conditions.
If I were a little younger, I'd probably more willing to take on more risk.
I'd certainly be more ready to learn more about reading the ocean reports.
But these days I tend to take things as easy as possible and reduce risk to the point that it's almost nonexistent.
Bit younger??? Shoot, I'm 75. I practically crawl out of the boat at the docks, but refuse to let age stop me from doing the things I love. On the Willies I installed steps and a grab pole on the trailer tongue when I got too old to just climb over the bow. (by the way, I never use the Willies along the jetties, way to big, too unresponsive, and too much of a wind profile, it's just a big sail) As far as ocean reports go, not much of a trick to it, I look for under 5 foot swell, over 10 second interval between swells and winds less than 10 kts (preferrably less than 5 kts). Wind direction matters, south winds usually mean weather coming in, plus if you're fishing the inside of the north jetty, south winds try to push you up on the rocks. I don't fish weather "windows" where there are just a few hours of desired conditions, because that can change in a hurry. In all honesty, for days I fish, the worst conditions which come closest to swamping me are boat wakes, charters push a big bow wave, and if my transom is facing that wake, there's a risk of water slopping over that 15 inch transom. Gregor is a self bailer, and there's been a time or two where I step up on plane and pull the drain plug to suck water out of the boat. Sounds riskier than it is, this boat has a very small drain hole, you can block it with your thumb. but it's kind of distracting steering and getting the plug back in.
20221008_082554.jpg
 
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slabjig
The current 4 fish limit just makes the gregor the more economical boat, I can catch 4 fish along the jetties and burn less than a gallon of expensive non-ethanol gas, or take the Willies and the 140 hp Suzuki burns 8-10 gallons of gas for the run to Johnson rock and the pinnacle offshore from Seal Rocks for essentaily the same 4 fish. I save the Willies for runs out beyond 40 fathoms for the long leader fishery with a 10 fish limit.
 
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Snopro
Casting Call said:
Ask "King Shrew out of Newport, OR" U-tube him. Tony
It's "King Slew". I've been watching his stuff for years. Gives me a costal fishing fix when I'm 150 miles away.

King Slew Videos
 
Casting Call
Casting Call
I stand corrected! King Slew. Iam 77years old and have the same physical conditions memory included (Shrew/slew), I like the bow steps. I like it, I love it, gonna get one of it. I understand about the Willie characteristics and wind load. Most conditions coming out of the south mean rain 80% of the time. Tony
 
Casting Call
Casting Call
Casting Call said:
Yes, it's made in Calif. West Coaster Bay runner. See U-tube 16ft bay runner. Also, two more ft. will put you out bound from any jetty 3ft-5ft/ 16sec. conditions. Ask "King Shrew out of Newport, OR" U-tube him. Tony
Second boat is an inshore boat is aluminum, 15ft StarCraft, remote steering, 15hp Johnson. Crabbing and river/bay boat only. Must caught a 1000s plus crabs over the years. Mostly fish/crab the Tillamook confluence, easy to float/troll the river(s). When the runs are on the Siletz and else ware, (50yr Sturgeon fishing) I berth 1 or 2 months only!!! saves on gas, time = money. I just Run & Gun when I get the notice on the C.B. radio. 15min from Glen Eden beach. Tony
 
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Casting Call
Casting Call
plumbertom said:
Yeah, I wish I had the confidence to push my boat on conditions.
If I were a little younger, I'd probably more willing to take on more risk.
I'd certainly be more ready to learn more about reading the ocean reports.
But these days I tend to take things as easy as possible and reduce risk to the point that it's almost nonexistent.
To increase your confidence, go/take some who can help you read the bar entry/exit under the BEST of conditions. About "RISK" I use a TWO strike rule Ei: If I forgot the NET! that's strike ONE. It will make you/deckhand do stupid things under excitement. Strike TWO radio/vest/etc. Remember 3 strikes you're OUT! (dead) Tony
 
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