Waterlands

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Pacific halibutShoulder season

Cape · Oregon

Jensen Point

46.46°N · 124.00°W · Cape · Columbia River Bar

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Best score today · 9 AM · Pacific halibut

70/100Great
Now
481 PM PDT
Best window
7-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing7.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score48Good
Tide7.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind6 kn Wgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateRough5.6 ft · 11 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water61°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 2-1 (Willapa Bay)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Pacific halibut is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with WDFW before you keep a fish.

Species rules here

  • Chinook salmon Retention open (6 salmon combined per day)
  • Chum salmon Retention open (6 salmon combined per day)
  • Coho salmon Retention open (6 salmon combined per day)
  • Pink salmon Retention open (6 salmon combined per day)
  • Sockeye salmon Retention open (6 salmon combined per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Pacific halibut is best here

Shoulder season for Pacific halibut · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Pacific halibut in Oregon

Spot profile

Jensen Point

Depth
Up to 10 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonPacific halibut

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 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 Jensen Point

Jensen Point is a cape in Columbia River Bar, Oregon. Depth in the nearest water is up to 10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, cabezon and kelp greenling. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, Pacific halibut and rockfish. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Cabezon peak from May through August. Kelp greenling peak from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Pacific halibut
Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.
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.
Cabezon
Cabezon sit in rock crevices, kelp beds and jetty boulders from the intertidal zone to about 100 feet and feed mostly on crabs and small fish. Fish a fish-finder rig with sand shrimp, squid or crab right on the bottom in the rocks, or drag a lead-head grub slowly through the kelp. Expect snags, and do not eat the roe, which is toxic.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Diamond Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    61
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 61
    • Cabezon 53
    • Coho salmon 53

    6 kt WL 5:34 PM · 3.4 ftH 11:22 PM · 8.8 ft

  • Kaffee Slough

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    58
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 58
    • Surfperch 53
    • Cabezon 52

    6 kt WL 5:47 PM · 3.5 ftH 11:36 PM · 8.9 ft

  • Lewis Slough

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    58
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 58
    • Surfperch 52
    • Kelp greenling 51

    6 kt WL 5:47 PM · 3.5 ftH 11:36 PM · 8.9 ft

  • Smoky Hollow

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    58
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 58
    • Kelp greenling 54
    • Surfperch 52

    6 kt WL 5:47 PM · 3.5 ftH 11:36 PM · 8.9 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 WDFW before you keep a fish.