Waterlands

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Chinook salmonCatch & release

Cape · Washington

Broken Point

48.60°N · 122.97°W · Cape · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 11 AM · Chinook salmon

79/100Great
Now
621 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-4 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding5.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score76Great
Tide6.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward ENE
Wind7 kn ESEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp53°Cool
WeatherMostly cloudy60% cloud
Water60°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
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

  • 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 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

Broken Point

Depth
40-170 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonChinook 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 Broken Point

Broken Point is a cape in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is 40-170 ft, with a drop-off. 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, kelp greenling, lingcod and Pacific halibut. 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

  • Caldwell Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 62
    • Coho salmon 59
    • Cabezon 55

    1 kt SSWH 2:09 AM · 5.8 ftL 9:23 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Pole Pass

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    60
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 60
    • Coho salmon 56
    • Kelp greenling 54

    1 kt SSWH 2:09 AM · 5.8 ftL 9:23 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Evans Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    59
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 59
    • Coho salmon 56
    • Kelp greenling 54

    1 kt SSWH 2:09 AM · 5.8 ftL 9:23 AM · 0.8 ft

  • West Sound

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    59
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 59
    • Coho salmon 57
    • Kelp greenling 54

    1 kt SSWH 2:09 AM · 5.8 ftL 9:23 AM · 0.8 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.