Pier-fishing in the Pacific Northwest?

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SkinnyJoe

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Is it as popular as on the East Coast, or done at all? If so, would you please recommend locations in Washington and Oregon?

Thanks. :)
 
I don't know about Washington, but in Oregon there are a lot of people that fish off the Jettys.
 
There's a fair amount of it along Lake Washington Boulevard north of Seward Park on the west bank of Lake Washington. I see people out there all the time.
 
The Fishing Pier in Edmonds, WA. is a good place for cod, sole, pile perch, and various species of salmon (depending on the time of year).
You can also pitch crab and shrimp pots.
 
I only know of a couple piers in Oregon, but there are several in WA, and yes people fish there.

Jetty fishing, as a couple people have mentioned, is very popular and rewarding. It can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, because the breakers can sweep you off if you get too close to the water line.

Primarily people fish for bottom and rock dwelling fish off the jetties, it is very uncommon to fish for water column fish. One reason is that there are stricter restrictions on Salmon and Steelhead in salt water and those are the primary water column swimmers. Typical fish caught are several varieties of rockfish (rock bass but not really a bass), ling cod, greenlings, cabezon, sturgeon and so forth. All very very tasty. Once in a while people catch a halibut, and even more rarely an albacore tuna. While they're mainly fished for off the surf, surf perch are often fished for and caught on the beach side of jetties.

It's not really practical off a jetty, but the few piers Oregon has, mainly in bays, serve as great platforms for crabbing.
 
bobofish said:
Typical fish caught are several varieties of rockfish (rock bass but not really a bass), ling cod, greenlings, cabezon, sturgeon and so forth. All very very tasty. Once in a while people catch a halibut, and even more rarely an albacore tuna. While they're mainly fished for off the surf, surf perch are often fished for and caught on the beach side of jetties. .
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Excellent info. Thanks. :thumbup:
Any amberjacks, pompanos, or mackerel in the area?

Oregon doesn't seem to be as densely populated as other states, yet it's extremely beautiful and clean. Don't get that mismatch. :confused:

P.S. perhaps that's the reason why it's beautiful and clean.
 
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Pier fishing is alive and well here in NJ. Some piers are private however and require a fishing club membership. Jetty fishing is popular here as well but caution needs to be exercised due to the rough seas we experience here at times. The jetty's take a pounding and you can be easily washed off.
 
SkinnyJoe said:
Any amberjacks, pompanos, or mackerel in the area?
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I don't remember hearing about amberjacks or pompanos this far north. I'm a little skeptical about even LA waters, but that's just a pure guess since I've never fished for or caught them there, or seen someone catch one off the pier.

Mackerel are uncommon but once in a while are found, especially offshore. If you want to be in mackerel heaven (or hell depending on if you like them) go to the piers around Los Angeles.

We do have herring runs that some people fish for in bays like Newport Bay. Most people around here do not like the taste of herring and strictly use them for bait. I like them, I think they're awfully tasty especially marinated in oil or white wine. Speaking of bait though, we have smelt runs that are normally fished for in the rivers either off of boats, wading or also boat docks on the inland rivers. Those guys are very fatty and people either love or hate the taste. Sturgeon adore smelt so when they run, guys stock up their freezers with great happiness. It's interesting that the smelt don't run every year, roughly every second year whenever they feel like it; sometimes every third year, sometimes every year, sometimes twice a year and then no run for 2-3 years. Crazy fish.

Once in a great while somebody catches something that shouldn't be up here like barracuda or various sharks. Often those guys are just confused by summer warm flows and swim up here. However there have been more and more shark sightings in the last few years.

Edit: I forgot to add that one of the little secrets (not very well kept anymore) is that the Umpqua river in central OR has good runs of (non-native) stripers and they live roughly in the ocean around central and Southern OR. There are striped bass that run to the Columbia and there are guys that fish for them routinely, but they are zipper lipped about where to go for them. Mostly that's from boats but there are black ops missions that catch them at the mouth of the Columbia.;)
 
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Come on east a couple hundred miles in SE WA or OR and fish for steelhead or King from a boat. A lot more fun... :)
 
As far as fishing right off the beach in Washington and Oregon, can a person simply walk onto one with his equipment and license, or are there strict rules and protocols? Are there private beaches there? From the satellite the coastline doesn't look too densely populated, and there are a lot of nice rocky areas so I'm curious.

Thanks :)
 
If you're going to fish jetties and value your life, get a pair of Korkers.
They are sandals that fit over your boots and have studded bottoms for a no slip grip.
No waders on jetties as well.

Be safe out there.
:D
 
Oregon beaches are public up to the high water line. This also applies to all navigable rivers (ones where a cut down log can be floated downstream all the way to the outlet) but again only up to the high water line. Above that line, very often there is private property that you need to stay off of.

Also as far as strict rules and regulations, not really but sometimes. There are precious few piers, and the ones that do exist sometimes have well posted special rules. One needs to also check current season regs as OR has been cutting certain seasons and fishing from a pier may be effected. Any bait shop will know this, or you can call the ODFW hotline.
 
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