Fishing in area 8-2 has been good the last few weeks. We enjoyed a great day on the water yesterday (1-13-12). The temperature was a little low but there was no wind and the sun was out to warm things up a little. We started in area 10 off Jefferson Head where there were lots of undersized fish but no keeper size fish for us. Mid morning we made the run back to the South side of Hat Island where I had done well earlier in the week. We had one on and landed it almost immediately. It was a 5+ pound keeper Blackmouth. We caught one more that was just short before calling it a day.

John from the Seattle Poggie Club with his Blackmouth

Ted Croby with a nice Puget Sound Blackmouth

Blackmouth fishing should heat up with area 9 opening on January 16. Area 9 offers some of the most popular fishing spots in all of centeral Puget including Possession bar, Point No Point, Browns Bay and Double Bluff. Fishing was good on Possession Point just before it closed in November and should pick up right where it left off. Reports are that fishing has been good in the north end of area 10(Jefferson Head and Kingston area) when weather and winds have permitted. Excel Fishing Charters will be fishing Blackmouth into April so now is a great time to get out of the house and enjoy a day out on the water. Call us at 360-805-1729. Here is a photo of past Backmouth action.

Excel Fishing Charters is now booking trips for this coming spring and summer fishing season from Neah Bay, Washington.  Here is a brief calendar for the Neah Bay season: 

April 16 through August 31             Ling Cod and Bottomfish

May 1 through May 31                   Deep Water Ling Cod 

Mid May through Early June            Halibut

Late June through August 31           Salmon

Late June through August 31           Salmon/ Bottomfish Combo    

As many of you know, Neah Bay offers the finest in saltwater fishing available in the state of Washington.  Call Excel Fishing Charters now to reserve a date for your trip .  Here are some photos from the 2011 season.

Neah Bay King Salmon

Neah Bay Halibut

Excel Fishing Charters will be attending two Washington Sportsmen Shows in January.  The first will be the Tri-Cities Sportsmen’s Show at the TRAC in Pasco, Washington, January 20, 21, & 22.  This will be our second year attending this show.  We really enjoyed this show last year and look forward to seeing many of you who live in the Central Washington area.  Come see us at Booth 303 in the TRAC.  We will also be attending the Washington Sportsmen Show at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center in Puyallup, Washington on January 25 – 29.  This is Washington’s largest Sportsmen’s show of the year.  Set aside most of a day to see the entire show.  You cannot see the show in a few hours.  Make sure to stop by the Excel Fishing Charters booth (#545) in the Showplex building and say hello.  We will be offering a few show specials that will only be available at the shows.

The perfect gift for the person who has everything is a gift certificate for a personalized fishing trip with Excel Fishing Charters.  Purchase a gift certificate for a Puget Sound Salmon or a Bottomfish trip from Neah Bay before January 1 and save 20% off the regular price ($160.00).  Check out our website for more details on the trips or call us at 360-805-1729 for more information or to purchase your gift certificate. 

Come join Tom and the Bellingham Puget Sound Angler’s Club at Nicki’s Bella Marina Restaurant  (2615 South Harbor Loop Drive) in Bellingham on Wednesday, October 19.  Tom will be giving a presentation about fishing opportunities in Neah Bay, Washington.  This will be a good opportunity for anyone who lives in the North end of our state to come meet a great fishing club.  You can see more information about Puget Sound Anglers and the Bellingham chapter on their website.  Hope to see you on the 19th.

Salmon fishing has been good to very good in Puget Sound  since our return from Neah Bay in September.  The catches have been both Pink and Coho Salmon.  The Pink fishing was great but has come to an end for this season.  Coho fishing continues to be productive but we are not seeing the limits we were getting at the end of September.  Blackmouth fishing in Area 8-2 and 9 begins November 1.  As a bonus, we can now drop crab pots for Dungeness crab in Area 8-2.  We will add crabbing to any Salmon trip at no additional charge.  Here are some photos from fishing action on Puget Sound this past month. 

The Birch family with some nice Coho!

The Schoolcrafts with their catch.

Thanks to all of you who joined us for a great 2011 Neah Bay fishing season.  As usual, the Bottomfish, Ling Cod, and Halibut fishing was great.  The highlight of this summer was the Chinook fishing off the coast.  Kings were plentiful and good sized all season long.  We very rarely had to target Coho because we were able to catch limits of Chinook on most of our trips.  Here are some photos of  happy fishermen on the “Cabazon” from the 2011 Neah Bay fishing season.

Dillon and Jim with Neah Bay Kings

The McManus family with their catch

More happy fishermen with Kings caught on August 27