L
lechner
0
I spent around 7 hours out on the south jetty yesterday and returned with a half dozen large redrock crabs, a single surf perch, and a tan. The sunny weather and smallish swells brought out a ton of fishermen and it seems like everyone had roughly the same luck with the majority of people hooking up with a fish or two (greenlings and perch) but rarely more. All in all, a very fun but not particularly productive trip.
The perch, a ~ 1.5# striper, was caught using a pretied 20# mono surf leader consisting of size 2 bait hooks, live sand shrimp, and a 1.5 oz sand dollar weight. I found her in the channel-side below the improvised memorial (due north of the ocean beach.) My technique involves casting out a ways, reeling in the initial slack, and using my left hand to very slowly pull the rig toward shore while feeling for bites or rocks. I've found this helps prevent getting caught in the rocks and crabs from stealing my bait (which is a big problem if you are simply plunking.) Most of the bites I had were much closer to the rocks than I was expecting and occurred during the incoming tide shortly after low slack.
The crabs were caught on a heavy surf rig with a jaw style trap and chicken drum sticks. It seems like crabbing is starting to pick up steam and I must have snared at least a dozen large dungeoness which were unfortunately female and had to be thrown back. While on the rocks, I witnessed a crabbing charter dump bucket after bucket of crabs close to the north jetty and I angrily shook my fist at them for increasing my odds of catching undesirable crustaceans.
Now for a few questions:
Thanks in advance!
The perch, a ~ 1.5# striper, was caught using a pretied 20# mono surf leader consisting of size 2 bait hooks, live sand shrimp, and a 1.5 oz sand dollar weight. I found her in the channel-side below the improvised memorial (due north of the ocean beach.) My technique involves casting out a ways, reeling in the initial slack, and using my left hand to very slowly pull the rig toward shore while feeling for bites or rocks. I've found this helps prevent getting caught in the rocks and crabs from stealing my bait (which is a big problem if you are simply plunking.) Most of the bites I had were much closer to the rocks than I was expecting and occurred during the incoming tide shortly after low slack.
The crabs were caught on a heavy surf rig with a jaw style trap and chicken drum sticks. It seems like crabbing is starting to pick up steam and I must have snared at least a dozen large dungeoness which were unfortunately female and had to be thrown back. While on the rocks, I witnessed a crabbing charter dump bucket after bucket of crabs close to the north jetty and I angrily shook my fist at them for increasing my odds of catching undesirable crustaceans.
Now for a few questions:
- My attempt at filleting the perch ended very poorly and I was disappointed by the thin, mangled steaks I produced. Afterward, I found some articles online that suggested perch should be scaled, gutted, and cooked whole (either on the grill or steamed.) While I'm certainly not opposed to chowing down on something that can still look at me from behind lifeless eyes, I was wondering if this online advice sounds right or is there a special technique that I'm missing?
- The south jetty in Newport is always a good time for me, even in the crappiest of weather and ocean conditions. But I think it might suffer from too much fishing pressure due to the easy access and prominence as a landmark. The north jetty seems to receive less attention because of the 1 mile hike and occasionally hazardous waves, and so I would expect the fishing to be better. Aside from spawning lings which stay put in a nest for a few weeks, is this reasoning sound or do the resident fish wander back and forth between the jetties as they wish, resulting in an equal opportunity from either jetty?
- I've heard rumors of a "secret" spot around Depoe bay where, on days when the ocean is calm, one can follow a small trail out to a shelf of rocks that overlook a deep, turbulent pool which is home to an abundance of ling cod. On the way to Newport, I pulled out into a scenic overloop and, while I discovered a few places that one could fish, I couldn't find a spot matching the description I was given. Has anyone heard of this magical shelf or is it as mythical as unicorns?
Thanks in advance!
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Then again... I'm not a master saltwater fisherman, either... so... who knows... 
