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CabezonShoulder seasonBar · Washington
Center Reef
48.64°N · 123.16°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Cabezon
- Now
- 651 PM PDT
- Best window
- 3-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.1 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Center Reef 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 · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
92Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
83Wind: 1 kt SSWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
76Water temp: 55°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Cabezon
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)
No rule for Cabezon 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cabezon is best here
Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Center Reef
- Depth
- 60-400 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCabezon
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 Center Reef
Center Reef is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 60-400 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, cabezon and coho salmon. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and sablefish. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Coho salmon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Davison Head78
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 78
- Coho salmon 78
- Kelp greenling 70
6 kt SSEH 4:42 PM · 7.2 ftL 10:16 PM · 4.5 ft
- Spieden Channel70
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 70
- Chinook salmon 63
- Lingcod 59
1 kt SSWH 4:42 PM · 7.2 ftL 10:16 PM · 4.5 ft
- Sentinel Rock66
Bar · 0.4 mi
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season- Kelp greenling 66
- Cabezon 65
- Coho salmon 65
1 kt SSWH 4:42 PM · 7.2 ftL 10:16 PM · 4.5 ft
- Danger Shoal65
Bar · 0.9 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 65
- Chinook salmon 62
- Lingcod 62
1 kt SSWH 4:42 PM · 7.2 ftL 10:16 PM · 4.5 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.