When fishing from a fishing pier the best fishing was just behind where the breakers were forming. It was easy to walk to the end and start fishing but to find the fish we always ended up walking back to where the waves were moving the sand and gravel. Figured it had something to do with the food that was being dug up by the wave action.

It's been many years since I fished for perch in Puget Sound but back in the day we would stop by Saltwater State park and flip over a few rocks and gather a bunch of pile worms( not sure if that can be done nowadays legally). Then we would head to one of the fishing docks , not sure if it was Des Moines or Redondo and catch perch like crazy. If I remember right there were a couple different kinds.
I live on the coast now and use the Berkeley Gulp sand worms for bait. They work great !

I also was in need of help and many boaters passed me by. Then a guy stopped and towed me to his marina where he instructed me on how to use the lift to load my boat, gave me the combination to the yard and his access card telling me to slip it under his storage door and then gave me a ride to my car and trailer.
I don't know what I would have done if he had not stopped

Went surf fishing on Sunday and kept reeling in crabs, big nice crabs ! I wasn't hooking them they were grabbing onto my Berkeley Gulp sand worms and not letting go until I lifted them out of the water. This gave me an idea. I had heard of people "casting" for crabs and while at Walmart I saw a "castable" crab trap. I figured I would invest the $12 and change and check it out. I went to the garage and dug out a 6' vintage rod ,very stiff and very old. Had no markings and a wooden base on it. Found an old spinning reel and loaded it with some Dacron line I pulled off a deep sea reel I found out there and the next morning headed down with leftover chicken breast we had for dinner tied to the trap. The reel would only hold maybe 100' of line but I figured it would be enough. Gave it a mighty cast and let it sit. I waited 5 minutes and couldn't wait any longer so I lifted the road tip and started feeling. At first I thought I had snagged in the rocks but it pulled free and began coming in. I was thinking it must have got tangled in the seeweed cause it felt kind of heavy. Couldn't believe my eyes when it came up with a crab so big it filled the entire trap. So big the trap could not even close all the way and it was a male which meant I could keep it . I had bought the combo license so I was good for crab. Spent the next hour reeling in 5 more crabs, 3 we're females and had to be realeased, 1 was probably a keeper but I couldn't measure it so I let it go and the last one was a red rock crab and it went back also. Probably one of the most fun days I had all week ! Who would have figured I could go fish for crabs and have such a good time ! I am going back in the morning but targeting perch this time. If only they would be so cooperative !
Tight lines all

Welcome to the forum , I am in Westport just moved to the area from Auburn. I'm retired and getting back into fishing.

I have been coming to the coast for more than 60 years and watched with fascination the guys braving the waves surf fishing. Now it's my turn to be one of those guys. I have sold my home and now live on the coast. The surf is a 10 minute walk from my front door.
It's clear I have a lot to learn... I have had some success up until about a month ago and now can't even get a bite ! I don't know if the fish went elsewhere or they don't like my bait.
I'm looking for advice on what works for others at this time. What type of rods and reels are used. What type line is best and what type of rigs to use. Of course the important part is bait. I have been using Berkeley Gulp 2" sandworms with great results till now. I have heard clam necks and shrimp and sand fleas or crabs work well but have yet to find out where to collect or buy them .
Looking forward to hearing how others enjoy the art of surf fishing in the Pacific Northwest !

Excellent idea ! Thank you. I'll see what I can do...

I never would have thought about the sandworm. I use them here on the coast for perch ! Love that 1-2-3 egg cure,. Thanks

Thank you for the update. Great looking fish ! What bait did she fall for ? How do you cure your eggs?

I have seen and heard a lot about fishing there and until yesterday I always seemed to miss it by a day or two. I would see all the cars parked along the road every year but never stopped.. until yesterday. I had seen at least 2 dozen cars there the previous week so I had high hopes of hooking one of these monster fish. I couldn't get out till mid morning so I hoped there would be a place for me to squeeze in. When I arrived there were only a hand full of rigs and all but 2 old timers were packing it in. I thought I had blown it again and had missed the hot action.. I almost left but I had already put on waders so thought might as well soak a line it was a cold but beautiful morning.
I had researched what I could about fishing there and what I got was use green . Chartreuse seemed to be the ticket regardless of what you using , plug , corky and yarn or spinners. I didn't have much in chartreuse.. except power bait. So I figured why not try it. I slid a small oval slip sinker up the line and then added a swivel followed by maybe 15 inches of leader tipped with a trout hook that I had pinched the barb down on. The short leader was something I had gotten from you tube. I then added a hefty ball of power bait around the hook and flipped it out maybe 15 feet in front of me( another you tube inspired trick) and let it sit. I had no expectation of catching anything at all besides maybe a bullhead or something. On my 3rd cast I got a bump like a small trout was playing with it so I gave it a little jerk to scare it away and things went crazy. My line screamed out my reel heading for the other side and when I tried to slow it down there a huge splash as this fish turned and headed the other way. The bank was steep and slippery and I had no net so all I could do was play it until I could just yank it out of the water. After 4 or 5 runs it finally tired and I pulled it from the water. When I grabbed it I noticed my hook had popped out it's mouth and was hooked in some brush nearby. Nobody had heard of taking a salmon there on power bait. It was a beautiful fish , can't wait till the smoker has done it's magic. Hoping to get 1 more chance to fish there before they are gone till next year.

Hello all, I have been enjoying the site for a bit now so figured it was time to say something. I am recently retired and relocated to the coast. Until now I only fished the rivers around town for salmon when they were running on the Green river , Puyallup river and the Carbon river. Now learning surf fishing... Got a lot to learn ! I will get some pics up soon.