Angler’s Pouring Into Neah for Halibut Opener Leave a reply
Washington halibut fisherman were streaming into Neah Bay today with a sense of urgency. Fisherman get just four days to land halibut this year in Area 4 with openers on May 13th, 15th, 20th, and 22nd and the possibility of additional days on June 3rd and 5th if any of the May days get weathered out.
Veteran Neah charter captain Mike Jamboretz, owner of Jambo’s Sportfishing (425-788-5955), has been able to prospect a little bit on his deepwater ling cod charters the last couple of weeks and likes what he sees in terms of halibut numbers.
Mike will hit Blue Dot, 72 Square, and inside the “C” shaped closure off Washington’s northwest coast for easy limits of halibut. "Easy" being a relative term in halibut fishing. Mike also likes the southwest corner of the closure area because it not only has a lot of halibut, but also plenty of big ling cod.
"We've found some really good areas holding a lot of smaller halibut and we've released 50 and 70 pound halibut fishing pipe jigs within the last few days. The greatest numbers of halibut we've found so far on our ling trips has been in the southwest tip of the closure. There's really a lot of fish in there, but not many big ones in the mix," said Mike in our conversation tonight.
Jambo counted 220 boats in this area on a "canoe" day last year and most were hooking into flatties. "Pretty well picked over" was his statement tonight about this area, but there's still plenty of flatties in there to bend a rod and fill freezers.
One of Mike's go-to lures for lings and halibut is copper pipe jigs. Canadian waters have a two pound gear limit and since he chases halibut across the border in June he makes all of his jigs two pounds to make them legal on both sides of the border.
“The copper pipe emits a slight electrical charge in saltwater that really brings the fish in. That, and the clanging noise it makes when it hits the bottom drive halibut and ling cod nuts. The only scent I use on them is a little WD40 to wash away any human scent,” mentioned Jamboretz.
Eight and a half inches of three quarter inch copper pipe filled with lead weighs exactly two pounds. Mike adds a one eighth inch cotter pin thru the side of the pipe jig, to which he connects a 12/0 treble hook to a split ring and 250 pound barrel swivel. The larger treble keeps the lings from inhaling the hooks, making it much easier to get the hooks out of the toothy creatures when they’re brought aboard.
In addition to the pipes he'll also fish B2 squid, scampi tails, and tuna tails on a 24 inch leader with two pounds of lead. Much of the halibut water in both the Washington and Canadian waters is from 300 to as much as 550 feet deep, thus the need for the heavy weight.
The halibut at areas like Blue Dot and 72 square average between 25 and 70 pounds, with a big halibut sprinkled in that occasionally hits the 90 to 100 pound mark. Ling cod have to be 24” to keep and Jambo says they generally see three foot long “gators”, as he calls them, all day long at the offshore ling haunts.
Even though it's over in a blink the halibut season should be a good one for anglers that venture offshore. Ling cod and halibut can be retained on the first three days of the Area 4 halibut season this year, but as of midnight on May 20th the dreaded 20 fathom rule goes into effect in Areas 3 and 4. It's still lawful to fish for halibut on May 22nd, but any ling cod fishing will have to take place in less than 120 feet of water after May 20th. For more information on this and other new bottomfish rules please reference the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations.
Log onto Jambo's Sportfishing or call Mike at 425-788-5955 for information about bottomfish, halibut, and salmon charters out of Neah Bay.