Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder 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 · Surfperch

78/100Great
Now
553 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-5 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing5.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score55Good
Tide5.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward WSW
Wind1 kn SSEgusts 3 · building
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp55°Cool
WeatherMostly cloudy72% cloud
Water57°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Surfperch 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 Surfperch is best here

Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder

Surfperch season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Surfperch in Washington

Spot profile

Boat Harbor

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

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, lingcod and surfperch. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Surfperch
Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
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

  • Guemes Channel

    Bay · 2.9 mi

    68
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 64
    • Coho salmon 63

    1 kt SSEL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Casperson Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    65
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 65
    • Kelp greenling 64
    • Cabezon 61

    1 kt SSEL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Penguin Harbor

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    62
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 62
    • Cabezon 61
    • Kelp greenling 61

    1 kt SSEL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Levant Passage

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    61
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 61
    • Kelp greenling 60
    • Coho salmon 57

    1 kt SSEL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:31 PM · 7.7 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.