Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

SablefishShoulder season

Bay · Alaska

Goose Bay

60.72°N · 148.23°W · Bay · Northwest Prince William Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · Sablefish

67/100Great
Now
392 PM AKDT
Best window
7-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding6.4 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Goose Bay 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 · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score39Fair
Tide6.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward WNW
Wind3 kn Ngusts 14 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp48°Cool
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water50°FObserved

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

Goose Bay

Depth
2-9 ftNearest water
Structure
Bay · Inner · Protected
Season
Shoulder seasonSablefish

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 11132000 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 Goose Bay

Goose Bay is a bay in Northwest Prince William Sound, Alaska. Depth in the nearest water is 2-9 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

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.
Coho salmon
Coho feed in the top 30 to 50 feet along tide rips, kelp edges and bait schools, and often hit within a few feet of the surface. Troll faster than for Chinook, 2 to 4 mph, with a small flasher and hoochie, bucktail fly or herring, or cast spinners and flies from beaches near stream mouths as fish stage in late summer. The hour around a tide change is often the best window.
Lingcod
Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming tide.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Culross Bay

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    72
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 72
    • Coho salmon 65
    • Pacific halibut 62

    3 kt NH 6:03 PM · 10.1 ftL 1:41 AM · 3.2 ft

  • Culross Passage

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    71
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 71
    • Pacific halibut 63
    • Pacific cod 62

    3 kt NH 6:21 PM · 9.6 ftL 1:51 AM · 3.1 ft

  • Hidden Bay

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    65
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 65
    • Lingcod 65
    • Pacific halibut 57

    3 kt NH 6:03 PM · 10.1 ftL 1:41 AM · 3.2 ft

  • Long Bay

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    63
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 63
    • Lingcod 62
    • Pacific halibut 58

    3 kt NH 6:21 PM · 9.6 ftL 1:51 AM · 3.1 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.