Waterlands

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SablefishShoulder season

Bay · Oregon

Nemah River Channel

46.54°N · 123.93°W · Bay · Columbia River Bar

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Best score today · 9 AM · Sablefish

73/100Great
Now
3411 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-2 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High6.5 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score34Fair
Tide6.5 ftHigh
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind6 kn NWgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 12 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water62°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 2-1 (Willapa Bay)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sablefish 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 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 Oregon

Spot profile

Nemah River Channel

Depth
Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSablefish

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 Nemah River Channel

Nemah River Channel is a bay in Columbia River Bar, Oregon. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
Kelp greenling
Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Nemah Spit

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    70
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 70
    • Pacific halibut 59
    • Cabezon 58

    6 kt NWL 4:44 PM · 3.9 ftH 10:22 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Riddle Spit

    Bar · 3.2 mi

    70
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 70
    • Pacific halibut 59
    • Cabezon 58

    6 kt NWL 4:44 PM · 3.9 ftH 10:22 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Stanley Channel

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    66
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 66
    • Pacific halibut 57
    • Surfperch 56

    6 kt NWH 11:42 AM · 7.3 ftL 4:54 PM · 4.2 ft

  • Long Island Shoal

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    60
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 60
    • Pacific halibut 59
    • Surfperch 51

    6 kt NWH 11:28 AM · 7.2 ftL 4:41 PM · 4.1 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 WDFW before you keep a fish.