Westport Charter Boat Association

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Types of Trips:
What do we fish for?

Salmon Fishing
Salmon fishing is what made Westport famous. It started back in the 1950s when commercial salmon fishermen would take people out for sport fishing. Since then, much has changed. The boats now have state-of-the-art equipment to help them find fish and offer comforts that the old salmon trollers never had. We primarily catch two varieties of salmon: chinook (or kings) and coho (or silvers). Sport fishermen are given a quota of how many fish the state allows them to catch each season. This also determines the length and details of the season. The bag limit for salmon is typically two. Skippers and deckhands will help you on the trip so that you have the best chance of catching a nice salmon. Deckhands clean the salmon for you. If you have never caught one, this could be your year!

Bottom Fishing
In the early 1980s, there were some tough years for salmon and extremely short salmon seasons. Most of the boats that had primarily only fished for salmon needed to do something else to survive. The solution was an easy transition: rockfish and lingcod. The sheer excitement of catching lots of delicious white fish and the high bag limits attracted customers quickly. There was an abundant supply of rockfish within close range of Westport, with plenty of black rockfish and lingcod. These trips are still very popular, and they have a high success rate. Deckhands fillet the fish for you for a fee.

Halibut Fishing
Halibut fishing was also a much later addition to Westport's fishing offerings. Halibut were caught occasionally, but they were never consistent enough to target and run specific trips for. A couple of the charter fishermen got some numbers from one of their commercial halibut fishing friends and decided to try it. In the late 1980s, some charter boats would leave Westport in the spring and run halibut trips out of Neah Bay, sometimes even going into Canada, but a halibut fishery did not exist in Westport at the time. The Westport trips were successful, and the halibut trip was born. At first, it was just one or two boats running trips regularly. Eventually, as interest and effort increased, the fishery was put on a quota. Now, the season is open on select days and is very popular. Halibut fishing out of Westport is done in deep water, usually around 600 feet. It is not recommended for frail people. Just reeling up the lead weight alone without a fish on can be difficult. Catching them is exciting, and you sometimes catch other fish as well, such as black cod and lingcod.

Albacore Tuna Fishing
Albacore tuna travel in schools, and the typical fish we catch weighs between 12 and 20 pounds. Albacore are, pound for pound, one of the hardest-fighting fish. This is a difficult trip, and it is not recommended for people who are not healthy or who lack fishing experience. The fish are amazingly strong and provide tons of excitement. Sometimes, you will get on a hot bite, or on a big school that can number over 10,000 fish. Many charter captains have heard these same words from their customers: "This is the most fun I have ever had in my life!" If you are an avid fisherman, you need to try this!