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Best score today · 7 AM · Sablefish

70/100Great

Now: 326 AM PDT
Best window: 7-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now: Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sat · 73

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time6ANOW

Score32Fair

Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding

Current0.4 knmodeled · toward ENE

Wind4 kn NWgusts 8 · steady

Sea stateRough5.6 ft · 10 s

Air temp55°Cool

WeatherOvercast77% chance of rain

Water59°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

3A

4A

5A

NOW

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

36

26

22

32

40

37

30

28

34

37

30

22

30

37

29

23

31

35

0.4

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.3

0.2

124

90

83

84

94

104

114

124

135

155

166

176

146

105

74

53

42

31

42

53

5.4

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.8

5.9

6.0

6.1

6.3

6.4

6.5

6.6

6.7

6.6

6.5

6.4

6.2

6.1

6.0

5.9

84%

87%

86%

77%

63%

49%

35%

59°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 3 (La Push)

IN EFFECT NOW

Sablefish

Retention open

Daily limit: 9 bottomfish combined per day
Possession: Not published
Size: Not published
Season: Mar 14 to Oct 17, 2026
Annual quota: Not published
Changes: Closed from Oct 18
Other: The C-shaped yelloweye rockfish conservation area off the north coast is closed to halibut and bottomfish fishing. Counts toward the 9 bottomfish daily limit. WDFW's page lists no separate limit for this species; check the pamphlet.

From WDFW North Coast halibut and bottomfish seasons page, read Sep 13

Other species here

Cabezon Retention open (1 per day (9 bottomfish combined))
Chinook salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
Coho salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
Kelp greenling Retention open (9 bottomfish combined per day)
Lingcod Retention open (2 per day (9 bottomfish combined))
Pacific cod Retention open (9 bottomfish combined per day)
Pacific halibut Retention open (1 per day)
Pink salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
Rockfish Retention open (7 per day (9 bottomfish combined))
Sockeye salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
Surfperch Retention open (12 per day)

Always check with WDFW ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sablefish is best here

Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
Not here
This week

Sablefish in Washington →

Spot profile

Jefferson Cove

Depth: About 15 ftNearest water
Structure: Bay · Outer · Semi-exposed
Season: Shoulder seasonSablefish

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Jefferson Cove

Jefferson Cove is a bay in Coastal Waters From James Island To Point Grenville Out 10 Nm, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is about 15 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 12 species here; the best right now are coho salmon, Chinook salmon and surfperch. It is peak season now for coho salmon, Chinook salmon and albacore tuna, and shoulder season for surfperch, kelp greenling, rockfish and lingcod. Coho salmon peak from July through September. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Surfperch peak from April through June.

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

North Rock
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Top: Coho salmonPeak season
- Coho salmon 61
- Chinook salmon 58
- Rockfish 57
4 kt NWH 11:30 AM · 7.2 ftL 5:07 PM · 2.7 ft
Perkins Reef
Bar · 2.4 mi
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Top: Coho salmonPeak season
- Coho salmon 61
- Chinook salmon 58
- Rockfish 58
4 kt NWH 11:30 AM · 7.2 ftL 5:07 PM · 2.7 ft
Browns Point
Cape · 9.5 mi
60
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
- Chinook salmon 60
- Coho salmon 60
- Albacore tuna 55
4 kt NWH 11:30 AM · 7.2 ftL 5:07 PM · 2.7 ft
Toleak Point
Cape · 6.3 mi
59
Top: Coho salmonPeak season
- Coho salmon 59
- Chinook salmon 57
- Rockfish 50
4 kt NWH 11:38 AM · 7.1 ftL 5:18 PM · 2.6 ft