Northwest Reel Life October 2024 Volume 4 Issue 2 - Flipbook - Page 19
salmon. Swim baits are also
effective while fishing from
a jetty or rock formations,
and a weedless swimbait setup will serve you
well while trying to avoid
hooking into the kelp. Since
there’s a high likelihood of
landing a larger fish like a
lingcod or cabezon while
targeting Kelp greenling,
it’s a good idea to have
a set-up that can handle
larger fish. With that being
said, you’ll still want to keep
your gear light enough
to make some fun out of
bringing in the smaller
kelp greenling. My go-to
set-up is a 7 ft medium
light action rod, with 25 lb
braided as my main line,
HOW TO CATCH THEM
If you’ve fished for Cabezon, swivel, then 2-3 ft of 20 lb
mono or fluorocarbon for
rockfish, or lingcod, you’ve
my leader.
likely already used gear
With fall in full swing and
that will entice a bite
many people wrapping
from kelp greenling. I
up their summer bottom
prefer using a 1-2 oz laser
fishing season, I find
minnow or a 1-2 oz lead
October to be a good time
jig head with a soft plastic
to utilize some of the cooler
grub. A variety of colors
weather for late-season
will work depending on
saltwater fishing. If you’d
what the fish are feeding
like to add some variety to
on at the time. If fishing
your catch and want to take
from a boat, dropping
advantage of the slower
your lure to the bottom
boat launches, go ahead
and vertically jigging will
and give Kelp Greenling
typically produce good
a try. Just keep an eye on
results. While fishing from
a jetty, you can cast, jig, and those tides and weather
forecasts!
retrieve the same way you
would work a buzz bomb
from shore while targeting
WHERE TO FISH
In Washington, the best
areas to target greenling
are on the straights of Juan
de Fuca, and in coastal
waters such as La Push
and Makah Bay, though
they can be caught to a
lesser extent in the Puget
Sound. Look for areas
where healthy kelp beds
meet rocky underwater
structures and aim to fish
at about 15-50 ft deep.
A boat or a kayak will
give you easy access to
greenling habitat, but boats
are not required for this
fishery as you can fish for
kelp greenling off of jetties
or rock outcroppings.
