Waterlands

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Chinook salmonCatch & release

Cape · Washington

Cow Point

46.96°N · 123.83°W · Cape · Grays Harbor Bar

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Best score today · 7 PM · Chinook salmon

79/100Great
Now
653 AM PDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score65Great
Tide3.1 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward W
Wind4 kn SWgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 7 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water60°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 2-2 (Grays Harbor)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Sep 16 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Check regulations from Feb 1
Other
West of the Buoy 13 line: Marine Area 2 rules through Sept. 30, daily limit 2, release Chinook and wild coho. East Grays Harbor: daily limit 2, release Chinook. Westport and Ocean Shores boat basins: daily limit 6 with up to 4 adults, release Chinook. Humptulips North Bay is closed. Minimum size 12 inches inside the harbor. Rules as listed in WDFW's 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries, which match WDFW's adopted rule (WAC 220-313-070). Waters west of the Buoy 13 line follow Marine Area 2 rules.

From WDFW 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries (final), read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Chum salmon Special rules
  • Coho salmon Special rules
  • Pink salmon Special rules
  • Sockeye salmon Special rules

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chinook salmon is best here

Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Chinook salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Cow Point

Depth
7-35 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · slope
Season
Peak seasonChinook salmon

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 Cow Point

Cow Point is a cape in Grays Harbor Bar, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is 7-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Middle Channel

    Bay · 3.8 mi

    64
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 64
    • Coho salmon 64
    • Lingcod 58

    6 kt SWH 7:08 AM · 6.9 ftL 12:20 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Bowerman Basin

    Bay · 5.0 mi

    64
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 64
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Cabezon 58

    6 kt SWH 7:08 AM · 6.9 ftL 12:20 PM · 4.8 ft

  • South Channel

    Bay · 5.4 mi

    64
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 64
    • Coho salmon 64
    • Lingcod 58

    6 kt SWH 7:23 AM · 6.1 ftL 11:55 AM · 4.3 ft

  • Aberdeen Reach

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    63
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 63
    • Chinook salmon 62
    • Cabezon 58

    4 kt SWH 7:08 AM · 6.9 ftL 12:20 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 WDFW before you keep a fish.