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Coho salmonRetention openBay · Washington
Boat Harbor
48.55°N · 122.58°W · Bay · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 10 AM · Coho salmon
- Now
- 703 PM PDT
- Best window
- 3-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding7.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Boat Harbor scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 3 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
86Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt WSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 58°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Coho salmon
Species seasonality
84Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)
Coho salmon(hatchery-marked)
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 salmon combined per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 1
- Other
- Bellingham Bay has a separate daily limit through Sept. 30. Some bays, piers and creek mouths have separate rules or closures. Check the pamphlet. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13. Season and limits as listed in WDFW's 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries. WDFW's adopted rule (WAC 220-313-060, WSR 26-13-052) sets the same rules for these dates.
From WDFW 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries (final), read Sep 13
Other species here
- Chinook salmon Catch & release (No retention)
- Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
- 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)
Source: WDFW · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Coho salmon is best here
Peak season for Coho salmon · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Boat Harbor
- Depth
- 35-250 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
- Season
- Peak seasonCoho salmon
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 Boat Harbor
Boat Harbor is a bay in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 35-250 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are coho salmon, cabezon and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, lingcod and surfperch. Coho salmon peak from July through September. Cabezon peak from May through August. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- Casperson Point71
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 71
- Coho salmon 70
- Kelp greenling 69
5 kt WSWH 4:14 PM · 7.7 ftL 9:46 PM · 5.2 ft
- Guemes Channel71
Bay · 2.9 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 71
- Coho salmon 70
- Kelp greenling 68
5 kt WSWH 4:14 PM · 7.7 ftL 9:46 PM · 5.2 ft
- Levant Passage68
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 68
- Chinook salmon 67
- Kelp greenling 65
5 kt WSWH 4:14 PM · 7.7 ftL 9:46 PM · 5.2 ft
- Penguin Harbor67
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 67
- Coho salmon 66
- Kelp greenling 63
5 kt WSWH 4:14 PM · 7.7 ftL 9:46 PM · 5.2 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.