Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

SablefishShoulder season

Bay · Alaska

East Cove

52.66°N · 170.56°W · Bay · Nikolski to Seguam Pacfic Side out to 15 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · Sablefish

61/100Good
Now
2610 AM HADT
Best window
3-6 PMOvercast
Tide now
Flooding1.4 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

Notify me when East Cove scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score26Fair
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward N
Wind26 kn SEgusts 34 · steady
Sea stateRough5.4 ft · 6 s
Air temp50°Cool
WeatherOvercast63% chance of rain
Water48°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sablefish is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with ADF&G before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sablefish is best here

Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder

Sablefish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sablefish in Alaska

Spot profile

East Cove

Depth
About 45 ftNearest water
Structure
Bay · Outer · Semi-exposed
Season
Shoulder seasonSablefish

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 742 m grid. Depths are feet below the DEM vertical datum, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing East Cove

East Cove is a bay in Nikolski to Seguam Pacfic Side out to 15 NM, Alaska. Depth in the nearest water is about 45 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 9 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, chum salmon and coho salmon. It is peak season now for lingcod, and shoulder season for coho salmon, Pacific cod, Pacific halibut and rockfish. Chinook salmon peak from May through June. Chum salmon peak from July through August. Coho salmon peak from August through September.

Tackle & technique

Sablefish
Sablefish live on soft bottoms along the continental slope, and sport anglers find adults in 700 to 2,000 feet. Fish a multi-hook deep-drop rig with glow squid skirts and squid or herring on circle hooks, using several pounds of weight and an electric reel. It takes a long run offshore and a calm day to keep the line near vertical, so most trips happen in summer.
Chinook salmon
Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
Chum salmon
Chum stage off stream mouths and hatchery beaches in late fall in Puget Sound and Hood Canal and in midsummer in Southeast Alaska. Fish from the beach or a skiff in 5 to 30 feet with a green or cerise jig under a float, a large fly or a spoon. They fight hard, so step up to 12 to 20 pound line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Crater Anchorage

    Bay · 8.7 mi

    56
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 56
    • Coho salmon 52
    • Rockfish 44

    24 kt SEH 2:28 PM · 2.6 ftL 6:51 PM · 2.3 ft

  • South Anchorage

    Bay · 7.0 mi

    51
    Top: Coho salmonShoulder season
    • Coho salmon 51
    • Lingcod 49
    • Rockfish 37

    24 kt SEH 2:28 PM · 2.6 ftL 6:51 PM · 2.3 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with ADF&G before you keep a fish.