Waterlands

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SablefishShoulder season

Bay · Washington

Boat Harbor

48.55°N · 122.58°W · Bay · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 11 AM · Sablefish

78/100Great
Now
401 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-4 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding6.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score40Fair
Tide6.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind1 kn ESEgusts 2 · building
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp55°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy61% cloud
Water57°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

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 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)

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

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 Washington

Spot profile

Boat Harbor

Depth
35-250 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonSablefish

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 kelp greenling, cabezon and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, Pacific halibut and lingcod. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.

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.
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.
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

  • Casperson Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    63
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Kelp greenling 61
    • Cabezon 59

    1 kt ESEH 1:58 AM · 6.2 ftL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Guemes Channel

    Bay · 2.9 mi

    61
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 61
    • Kelp greenling 61
    • Pacific halibut 56

    1 kt ESEH 1:58 AM · 6.2 ftL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Levant Passage

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    60
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 60
    • Kelp greenling 57
    • Pacific halibut 56

    1 kt ESEH 1:58 AM · 6.2 ftL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Penguin Harbor

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    60
    Top: CabezonShoulder season
    • Cabezon 60
    • Kelp greenling 60
    • Chinook salmon 59

    1 kt ESEH 1:58 AM · 6.2 ftL 9:00 AM · 0.9 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.