SEKIU,OH,SEKIU.

I kept casting straight into the kelp around the Area 4–5 boundary because that was where I was seeing black bass. The problem was that I was also finding the kelp with nearly every cast. A normal jig head would come back carrying a little green souvenir, or not come back cleanly at all.

Switching to a weedless jig head made the whole thing a lot more fun. It let me throw into the kelp and work the bait back without getting hung up as often. It is not magic, but it gave me enough clean casts to keep trying the places that looked good.

What surprised me was how often the bite happened right at the top, or just under the surface. I would cast into the kelp and reel it back the way I would for freshwater bass. Then a black bass would suddenly grab it. That quick hit and pull feels very different from dropping straight down for other rockfish, and the fight is a lot of fun on a small boat.

When getting stuck in the kelp starts to feel annoying, I have also had good luck moving a little farther outside it. I look for baitfish or a school near the top and cast there instead. Those fish are harder to find than the ones holding in the kelp, but once I find them, they can bite just as well.

For me, that is the fun part: cast, reel, get surprised, and try not to donate too many jig heads to the kelp.

When I rented one of the little red boats from Van Riper’s, it was $220 for the day. If you do not mind a small boat, it is an easy way to get out in Sekiu and have a lot of fun rockfish fishing without making the whole day feel like a big expedition.

The boat is only 16 feet with a 15 hp motor, but three of us had plenty of room to fish. On my trip, rentals were available from July through late September. The run to the Area 4–5 boundary—where I like to look for black bass—took roughly 40 to 60 minutes. With three people aboard, we could still get it up on plane and see about 10 to 15 mph, so it never felt painfully slow.

It is a simple, tough little fiberglass boat. Do not expect it to be spotless, but it felt solid enough that I was able to relax and enjoy the day. The motor was not my favorite part, so I personally felt more comfortable keeping it running while we drifted instead of shutting it off offshore. There was plenty of gas for a full day of fishing.

My favorite route is to stay along the shoreline on the way to the Area 4–5 boundary. It feels less intimidating, the scenery is good the whole way, and every now and then there is even a whale to look at.

Watch a day on a Van Riper’s rental boat on YouTube ↗

These rental boats are bare boats: motor, seats, and room to fish. I bring the fish finder kit from my kayak fishing gear instead of trying to make a permanent setup in the boat.

The transducer goes on a portable clamp-on arm at the back of the boat. There is a good edge beside the outboard where it fits tightly. I leave the arm up while getting to the spot, then swing it down when I want to look around and find fish.

The display, battery, and tackle all travel together in a milk crate. There is not really a natural place to mount a fish finder on these boats, so the crate keeps everything together: it comes out of the car in one piece, goes into the boat in one piece, and comes back out the same way.

Just on the Area 4 side of the Area 4–5 boundary, 40 to 60 feet has been a good range for me. Drift along and watch the bottom change, or stay over one rocky hump that looks like it should be holding fish. Both ways can work.

A 4 oz soft lure with a jig head will do the job. Sandfish work too. But when a little greenling comes up, I like a pre-tied two-hook mooching rig best, with a 4 oz banana spin sinker inline ahead of it. The hooks are already on the leader, so I just set the front one above the mouth and trail the other beside the dorsal.

A lot of the good ones do not really get hooked at first. They just keep hold of the bait and follow it up. That is when I slow down. I keep the fish just under the surface, make sure it is still there, then bring the net in. With a big lingcod, hold the net upright as it goes in—the handle and hoop take a lot less abuse that way.

Once it is in the boat, it is all teeth, gill plates, hooks, and bad ideas. I keep my hands clear until the fish settles down.

Current Area 4 rules ↗

Around the Area 4–5 boundary, catching black rockfish is mostly about finding the school. One or two marks are not enough. I am looking for bait popping on the surface, fish breaking around it, or a solid cloud on the fish finder.

When I see something that looks right, I cast, reel, and give it about ten minutes. If nobody shows up, I move. Then I do it again. It can take an hour or two of looking, but once you land on the right school, the seven-fish limit can happen in less than an hour.

After an hour or two of searching without finding the school, my own energy starts to drop. That is when I send it to the bottom for a little while. A China rockfish or another bottom fish usually gives me a couple pulls, and after releasing them, I am ready to go looking for the black school again.

It is not complicated. Keep moving until you find them. When you do, it is black, black, black.