My family eats out a lot, and last September, while we would be eating at the Half Moon Bay Bar and Grill, we would often watch people out fishing on the docks outside the restaurant. Having, at the time, a 3 month old, I didn't think much of it (most of my thoughts were focused on strategizing the next nights sleep patterns at that time). But talk about the Westport Boat Basin Salmon Derby has been surfacing and I want to share it with you all.
Apparently, the local High School (Ocosta) has an oceanography program, that follows a batch (I don't know what you'd call it - a litter?, hatch?) of salmon hatchlings that are eventually released into the Westport Marina. When the fish come back to spawn, they come through the Marina, and apparently, there are tons of fish. So many, that the catch limits are higher for this location at this time than most other places - each license can catch 4 adult and 2 jack salmons. The beauty of this is that the catching happens right off the docks on the Marina, so no boats, no seasickness, no fear - all you need is a rod and a pole. To hear the locals tell it, you can watch the salmon swimming in schools right under the docks and around the boats. HOW did we miss this before?
According to Jim at Angler Charters, the fish are starting to enter the Marina now, but the peak time to catch Salmon are from mid-September through the end of October, which is when the Derby is run. You can see the rules from last year's derby at the Angler Charters website (http://www.anglercharters.net/PAGES/BOATBASIN2006/BOATBASINDERBY2006.htm), and Jim says 2007 rules will be up shortly. Last years winners ranged from 15 - 19 pounds.
What do you need? A rod, reel, and lures. Again, deferring to the local expert, Jim says the equipment is fairly straightforward, and you can buy a whole setup from him for $40. I am going to do some research and see if anyone on the Marina rents this stuff, and will post back.
The derby is a friendly competition, tickets will be $2, and prizes will be somewhere around $2,000 total. Half Moon Bay Bar and Grill will be handing out free derby tickets with every salmon entree you purchase there.
I'm excited. The last time I went fishing, I was on a group trip on a boat in LA, and it was a lot of fun. We caught a lot of ... well, I don't really remember what we caught, but catching a nice fish made us all (cynical 20-somethings) feel like kids again, and its hard to replicate that feeling. So come next month, I will drag my husband down the marina and see if we can't catch the big one!
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