The Washington Outdoor Report - week of May 30

Our annual trip to Neah Bay near the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula was a longtime coming, but well worth the wait. My fishing buddy Rusty Johnston and I made the trek to Neah Bay in May of 2018 and 2019 to spend time with Tom and Dora Burlingame, the owners of the Inn at Neah Bay and Excel Fishing Charters. Both times we enjoyed great fishing for rockfish and ling cod both times in a wondrous natural setting. However, the Coronavirus pandemic put a crashing halt to our spring trip last year, so this year’s return was full of anticipation.

The Inn at Neah Bay is a clean, well- kept basecamp for adventures that features four spacious suites with comfortable beds and private bathrooms. Ours, the Marshland Suite, looks out over the beach and Strait of Juan de Fuca, both located just across the road from the Inn. Walking upstairs to the common area you’ll notice murals leading from the bottom of the sea on the ground floor to the surface as you emerge upstairs. Other murals featuring fish, wildlife and marine mammals cover the interior walls at the Inn. There are comfortable sofas to lounge on, fresh coffee, hot water for tea, and grab and go breakfast items here too.

The inn is located a short drive from Neah Bay. Unfortunately, due to the Covid pandemic, this port town that sits on the Makah Reservation remains closed until at least October 1st. That meant after a good night’s sleep we drove 20 minutes east instead to the marina at Sekiu. That’s where we found Captain Tom Burlingame waiting for us on his boat, the 28-foot long “Cabazon”. That’s also where we met the two other people joining us on this charter, Dixie and Rick Hoffart, residents of Sequim who have been fishing with Tom as clients for years.

After a safety brief we were off to the fishing grounds. The two powerful engines of the Cabazon helped us cut through the waters at good speed and along the way we saw sea otters, harbor porpoises, numerous sea lions, seals and plenty of bald eagles.

After a two-hour run over calm waters, we dropped lines not far from Cape Alava and immediately were rewarded with bites on the jigs we were fishing below shrimp flies. Unfortunately, the first fish were blue rockfish and relatively small. After safely releasing them, we made a very short move, dropped lines again to a depth of about 100-feet, and the fishing was on! Within 30 minutes we had 35 black rockfish on the boat. These were solid fish, similar in appearance to largemouth bass and often referred to as sea bass. Many of the fish we caught were in the three-pound range and several fish were pushing five pounds in size.

After rapidly catching our limit of rockfish it was time to look for ling cod. They were located in this same area of the Pacific Ocean off of a series of surf-battered rocks and wind-swept islands with a backdrop of unspoiled rainforest on the nearby mainland. It often takes considerable time to catch a limit of lingcod but we had our ten fish in no time in all. This included one large one that weighed some 15 pounds which gave my friend Rusty quite a fight before he was able to wrestle it into the boat. It took us just over an hour to catch our limit of ling cod and “Just like that”, to quote Forrest Gump, we were done. We had left the dock at 6 AM and by 9:45 AM we had 35 rockfish and ten lingcod on the boat for the five of us. Fishing trips don’t get much better than that.

With time on our side, we motored close to Cape Flattery, the northwestern tip of the Continental United States, where we viewed holes in the walls of the rocks formed by winds and waves over thousands of years. We also took in the sights of the newly renovated lighthouse on Tatoosh Island. The lighthouse, no longer in operation, is a National Historical Site. After checking out some of the marine life in this area the powerful engines of the Cabazon took us back to the marina at Sekiu where Tom quickly filleted our catch and sent us on our way with satisfied smiles on our faces and some great fishing stories to tell.

Tom Burlingame is well established, affable and popular charter captain. In fact, he’s so popular he only has limited openings for the bottom fishing trips and summer salmon trips he offers out of Sekiu this year. However, there are always cancellations and if you are flexible, you may be able to book a trip with him in the weeks ahead.

As for The Inn at Neah Bay, this destination is open not just to clients booking trips with Excel Fishing Charters. Other anglers, boaters or individuals coming to the area to explore this part of the Olympic Peninsula or take in some world-class bird watching opportunities are welcome too. The website to book a fishing trip or a stay at the Inn is the same, excelfishingcharters.com. 

John Kruse –northwesternoutdoors.com and americaoutdoorsradio.com

Kristin D. Ayling