Waterlands

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CabezonShoulder season

Bay · Washington

Crescent Bay

48.16°N · 123.72°W · Bay · Central U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca

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Best score today · 8 AM · Cabezon

79/100Great
Now
6311 PM PDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
High5.2 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 PM · now

Time11PNOW
Score63Good
Tide5.2 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind6 kn WNWgusts 8 · easing
Sea stateLight chop1.0 ft · 9 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water53°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cabezon 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 Catch & release (No retention)
  • Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Coho salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
  • Lingcod Check regulations
  • Pacific halibut Retention open (1 per day)
  • Pink salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
  • Rockfish Closed (No retention)
  • Sockeye salmon Catch & release (No retention)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cabezon is best here

Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Cabezon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cabezon in Washington

Spot profile

Crescent Bay

Depth
5-30 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonCabezon

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Crescent Bay

Crescent Bay is a bay in Central U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca, Washington. Depth is 5-30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Low Point

    Cape · 5.0 mi

    73
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 73
    • Kelp greenling 69
    • Cabezon 67

    6 kt WNWL 6:25 AM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 PM · 6.4 ft

  • Agate Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    70
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 70
    • Kelp greenling 68
    • Cabezon 61

    6 kt WNWL 6:25 AM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 PM · 6.4 ft

  • Observatory Point

    Cape · 3.8 mi

    70
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 70
    • Kelp greenling 67
    • Cabezon 65

    6 kt WNWL 6:25 AM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 PM · 6.4 ft

  • Freshwater Bay

    Bay · 5.4 mi

    66
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 66
    • Kelp greenling 66
    • Pacific halibut 62

    3 kt WL 6:25 AM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 PM · 6.4 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.