By Dusty Routh

Inland salmon anglers may well wonder why anyone would be crazy enough to head out onto the menacing open seas of the Pacific to catch fish. After all, if you give them enough time, Pacific salmon eventually make their way into places that are a lot safer and certainly more comfortable to fish - places like the Strait of Juan de Fuca, or the protected waters of Puget Sound, for example, or any number of salmon-rich rivers like the Hoh, the Columbia, or the Cowlitz.

But two irrefutable facts enable charter boat captains like Jim Richeson of Top Notch Ocean Charters in La Push to fill their boats with eager anglers looking to score on ocean salmon: the fish are huge, and they are feeding like mad.

Ocean fishing for big kings can be the coup de grace of salmon fishing. You're able to fish for multiple-destination kings, meaning the fish are all mixed up together that are ultimately bound for Canada, Washington, the Columbia River, Oregon, and even northern California rivers. There are big Frazier River fish, huge Columbia River monsters, heavyweight Rogue River kings - all in one place, all at one time.

You're also unfettered by the on-again, off-again regulations that haunt inland fisheries. Sure, the regulations for ocean kings can vary. But unlike places like the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where you'll often have only a super-short king season or no season at all, ocean regs tend to be a bit less restrictive because there are fewer anglers.

Not only that, but the fish are in a darned agreeable feeding mood. Unlike rivers, in which salmon become unnervingly lock-jawed, the waters off Washington's coast are a popular diner for these fish as they pack on the pounds prior to heading inland. Gorging on a protein-rich smorgasbord of squid, herring, sardines, candlefish and anchovies, all they do while they're milling around off the coast is eat. And eat. And eat.

Plus, while there might be 400 or 500 boats at a time at places like Sekiu, or a steady parade of drift boats running over your favorite hole on the Hoh, the ocean tends to be a fairly remote place to fish.

Photo by Ron Sinfelt

"Most people were happy with how they did it last year," notes Richeson. "It allowed people to fish in the ocean all summer. I think people will accept a lower limit if it means a longer season."

Richeson typically opens his fishing year by chartering first for halibut, lingcod and assorted bottom fish, such as rockfish and sea bass, in May when the lingcod season opens. Expecting another good year of salmon fishing, Richeson is building a new 31-foot boat that will comfortably fish six anglers. It will be based out of La Push Marina.

"A lot of customers are used to big party boats going out of Westport," he says. "After a while, they get to where they really want a smaller boat with fewer people. It's a much better fishing experience. In the big boats they frown on catch-and-release. They want anglers to get their limits right away. But I let people fish for eight hours if they want to. I sure don't mind if they want to catch-and-release."

GETTING TO LAPUSH La Push is in the northwest Olympic Peninsula, roughly 15 miles west of the town of Forks. To get there, drive north on Highway 101 to just north of Forks, then proceed west on La Push Road. From the north, take Highway 101 west out of Port Angeles to the intersection with La Push Road north of Forks. Navigating from the La Push River estuary to the ocean can be rough for inexperienced skippers, and it's no place for small or poorly maintained boats. Before heading out, check the weather and for safety equipment on board. Avoid going out when summer fogs blanket the area. Charters Top Notch Ocean Charters, Capt. Jim Richeson, 888-501-5887; Admiralty Charters, Capt. Larry Williamson, 360-683-1097; La Push Quillayute Marina, 360-374-5392. -- Dusty Routh

One of these spots that's good year after year is about 18 miles north of La Push, in the area around Umatilla Reef. The fish will be scattered, so trolling off downriggers covering a lot of water is best. The most popular rig is a whole or plug-cut herring either by itself or trailed behind a 000-size (10-inch) flasher or dodger.

As summer wears on, the fish shift their position closer to shore. "By July or early August, we've got plenty of fish at the Rockpile," Richeson confirms. The Rockpile is a scant seven miles from La Push, usually a fairly easy boat ride.

By then the fish are more concentrated, and Richeson says mooching is the way to go, particularly for experienced anglers.

"I troll because it's easiest to get fish that way," he explains. "But mooching is so much better as far as the experience goes. You've got the rod in your hand, and you can feel the bite. That's a thrill you miss when you're trolling. People who don't fish much, they don't much care. But if I have Washington residents, people who fish a lot, they really like mooching better."

Richeson says that last season the fish were so thick that mooching was as productive as trolling. "We had a 50-pounder, a 42, lots in the 30-pound range," he says. "I suppose the average was probably 20 to 25 pounds. And we hooked and missed a few really big ones, bigger than 50 pounds I think." He recommends 30-pound-test for these big beasts, and four to eight ounces of weight for mooching.

To find fish, you aren't specifically looking for structure, reefs or any kind of bottom or current features. You're simply looking for big concentrations of baitfish.

"You're basically looking for pockets of feed," he explains. "You'll either see bait on the surface, or you'll see it on your electronics. When you run over feed, especially a feed ball that's 100 to 180 feet down, like a tremendous amount of sardines or herring, the salmon will be right there. It's almost a sure thing."

Richeson says ocean-feeding salmon are, frankly, stupid. "Everything they see, they eat," he says. "It's phenomenal fishing." He adds that one day last season his boat landed 40 kings by mooching around balls of baitfish, with lots of days that saw 20 to 30 fish caught.

The kings will be deep early in June and July, from 100 to 250 feet down. Later, closer to August, they will start climbing and can be caught in the top 60 feet of water. But the tough part then, of course, is getting a herring past the vast schools of silvers that dominate the top 50 feet of ocean water.

"It's a battle getting down through the coho," Richeson complains. "It's a really tough deal. I know, it sounds funny, but when you're targeting kings the silvers can be so thick they're pulling the herring off the 'riggers and hitting mooching rigs as soon as you start lowering your bait. It gets a little frustrating."

"I'd say about half the days in the summer are glassy, just beautiful," reports Richeson. "On those days, everyone's happy with the weather. But then about 40 percent of the days it's fishable but you're going to bounce around in a northwest wind chop. Then, about 10 percent of the days it's really pretty miserable to be out there fishing. Sometimes I have people who love that. They want to go no matter what and the bad weather is just part of the experience for them. But for other people, I give them the choice of canceling and coming out another time."

Seasickness, unfortunately, is part of ocean fishing. Dramamine pills and patches can help. Avoid heavy breakfasts before heading out, don't deviate from your normal dietary habits, and get plenty of sleep the night before your trip.