Waterlands

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SablefishShoulder season

Bay · Alaska

Harris Cove

56.32°N · 134.28°W · Bay · Southern Chatham Strait

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Best score today · 8 AM · Sablefish

68/100Great
Now
308 AM AKDT
Best window
8-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding5.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide5.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward N
Wind7 kn SSEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateVery rough7.2 ft · 10 s
Air temp45°Cool
WeatherOvercast99% chance of rain
Water55°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

Harris Cove

Depth
50-90 ft
Structure
Bay · Outer · Exposed
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 Harris Cove

Harris Cove is a bay in Southern Chatham Strait, Alaska. Depth is 50-90 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

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

  • Gedney Harbor

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    75
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 75
    • Coho salmon 71
    • Rockfish 64

    7 kt SSEH 11:07 AM · 8.4 ftL 4:31 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Thetis Bay

    Bay · 7.2 mi

    75
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 75
    • Lingcod 73
    • Rockfish 63

    6 kt SSEH 11:07 AM · 9.0 ftL 4:29 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Point Harris

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    72
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 72
    • Coho salmon 71
    • Rockfish 60

    7 kt SSEH 11:07 AM · 8.4 ftL 4:31 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Port Malmesbury

    Bay · 3.1 mi

    68
    Top: LingcodPeak season
    • Lingcod 68
    • Coho salmon 65
    • Rockfish 57

    7 kt SSEH 11:07 AM · 8.4 ftL 4:31 PM · 4.8 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.