Fishers (L-R): Ray Burnside, Lee
Ellen Burnside and Lewis Betke await their catch off the side
of Westport's "Slammer." Ray Burnside made the group's
first catch of the day, en route to a 173-fish take for the entire
boat. These successful trips have been commonplace at Westport
this season. Photo by Andrea Abney.
Check out the website at
http://westportwa.com/
Just another relaxing
day of bottom fishing in Westport
Bottom fishing gives anglers
a relaxing day at sea, a quest for the perfect fish
By Andrea Abney
Vidette Reporter
This article first appeared in 2002
Bobbing on the Pacific Ocean, with land a distant view to the
left, the crew of Deep Sea Charters' Slammer had one goal in
mind. It wasn't Moby Dick and it wasn't discovering new lands.
On this day, the 17 fishers aboard the 42-foot ship's white decks,
sipping endless cups of coffee and smoking packs of cigarettes,
simply wanted a relaxing day of Westport bottom fishing.
The bottom fishing season in Westport runs from March 1 through
October 1. After a successful fishing season last year, many
charter trips, usually costing around $70 for a day-long voyage,
have been filled to capacity. Rhett Weber, skipper of the Slammer,
said he led more than 20 trips out last season and missed the
limit just once.
A successful season this year will bode well for each of the
several charter associations in Westport and Ocean Shores. Part
of the popularity of the trips comes from the fact that everything
except lunch is provided for fishers, from poles to coffee, from
bait to fillets fish at the end of the trip.
Following Weber's introductory speech, the fishers began their
two-hour trek to fishing spot number one - 11 miles from the
southern tip of Ocean Shores.
Scott McCutcheon, a truck driver from Chehalis, took a detour
to Westport before having to make delivery runs up to Everett
Monday morning.
"This is first," he said. "This is more important.
I've got to have my fun."
Before taking off, Pat Travis, a fisher from Richland who drove
all night for the trip, whipped out his "special fishing
shirt," covered with reasons why someone wouldn't catch
a fish.
"It's got all my excuses," he laughed.
A navy veteran, Travis has been on several charter fishing trips.
The biggest fish he's caught, an eight-foot-three-inch sturgeon
came from just north of the Tri-Cities, but Travis loves fishing
on the ocean, if nothing else than for the ride.
"These little ships are nothing new to me," he said.
Other passengers have a rougher time dealing with the ocean ride.
During his introductory speech, Weber asks those who may get
sick to try to lean over the rail as opposed to the head of the
boat.
"We have 100 feet of rail and only one head," he joked.
He added, on average, one or two people per ship get sick - but
there are always exceptions.
"I've had rough days where no one gets sick and days calmer
than this where everyone gets sick," Weber said.
One of the passengers worried about illness is Kelso's John Medina.
Medina had a previous experience charter fishing that he calls,
"worst than the worse hangover I ever had," but decided
to fish today because his girlfriend Rita Rowland has never been
out.
"I swore I'd never do this again," Medina said. "I
got so sick last time."
For the record, Weber characterized the day's waves as "average,
very average" and Medina didn't get sick.
Riding the waves past Ocean Shores, the fishers pointed at porpoises
and watched as ducks and seagulls landed on the water.
"These are some big waves," Lee Ellen Burnside said.
"This is flat," her father Ray said. "I've seen
waves where you couldn't see that float over there. This is as
flat as it gets."
Occasionally, one or two made their way past the coolers to the
front of the boat, declaring themselves the "king of the
world."
"It's just like Titanic," Lewis Betke joked.
Like most trips Weber has led this season, the Slammer is a full
boat today. After surviving tougher times, when fishing restrictions
were so tight that many skippers lost their ships, Weber and
other skippers still aren't making a great deal of money off
their boats, opting instead for the pleasure of their jobs.
"I make a living at it," Weber said. "I enjoy
it. That's more important than making a killing.
"I like to see the grins on people's faces, especially the
ones who come out and think they'll be happy if they catch just
one fish."
The boat reaches its first fishing spot at about 9:15 a.m. Weber,
a 6-year captain who's worked on fishing boats since he was 13,
gives a speech about how to cast the line and reel in the fish.
He doesn't get a bite during the speech, an unusual event that
doesn't bode well for that particular spot. After 15 minutes,
Weber decides to move the ship to another location.
In the second fishing spot, after Weber determines on his radar
device that it's swarming with fish, Ray Burnside makes the first
catch of the day.
To spice up the trip, Weber and deckhand Steve Brooks begin to
bait the hooks with anchovies. Cries of "Fish up! Bait!
Fish up!" litter the ship for the next five hours or so,
as the crew comes home with 173 rockfish.
"I couldn't see coming out here and not fishing, not reeling
anything in," said McCutcheon, who caught seven fish on
the afternoon.
Weber then decides to fish for lingcod, changing from the standard
poles and tackle to thicker poles and larger bait fish. The group
has some success with the lingcod, coming up with four.
"We could've caught more, but some people have some long
drives home," Weber said.
At about 3:15, the group decides to pack it in and prepare for
the nearly two-hour voyage to land. Their adventure on the sea
has ended, quite successfully, and the winds are starting to
blow.
Pulling back into port, the group members take their bags
of fish fillets and leave the Slammer to return to their cars.
Carrying coolers full of fish and leftover beer, many of the
fishers relate tales of their catch, or the ones that got away,
all eager to return for another day on the sea.
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