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SurfperchShoulder seasonBay · 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 · 11 AM · Surfperch
- 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
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 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
88Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
83Wind: 1 kt SSEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 57°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Surfperch
Species seasonality
54Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
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 Channel68
Bay · 2.9 mi
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 Point65
Cape · 1.3 mi
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 Harbor62
Bay · 2.2 mi
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 Passage61
Bay · 0.8 mi
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.
