They love octopus. All summer all I do is fish for salmon, hali's, and lings and their favorite food is definitely octopus. A LARGE, keyword being large, herring with a treble and a single hook also works well.
Just go to pretty much any large rock pinnicle formation on the bottom, usually around 100-200ft deep, and jig there (on the downslopes) and you should nail some. Keep in mind the big ones are breeding females, and try not to keep more than one to keep the stock nice and high. They are great eating pan fried
Also, be careful about that rocky bottom. Usually, even though I'm a guide, we'll get hung up on bottom once or twice during the day and have to break the line and lose all our jigs and what not. On that note, Mudrakers with a piece of herring or octopus on the end is the best combo to go with...but don't tell TOO many people that
haha
Where abouts are you planning on going to out west? If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to PM me and ask.
David