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SablefishShoulder seasonBar · Washington
Chuckanut Rock
48.68°N · 122.50°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Sablefish
- Now
- 445 PM PDT
- Best window
- 5-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High7.9 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Chuckanut Rock 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
37Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
64Water temp: 60°F, hotLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Sablefish
Species seasonality
45Season: 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 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sablefish is best here
Last week of shoulder season for Sablefish · the off season next
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Chuckanut Rock
- Depth
- 40-60 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Chuckanut Rock
Chuckanut Rock is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 40-60 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, kelp greenling and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, Pacific halibut and lingcod. Cabezon peak from May through August. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Governors Point73
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 73
- Cabezon 67
- Kelp greenling 67
6 kt SSWL 10:40 PM · 4.3 ftH 3:23 AM · 6.7 ft
- Chuckanut Point73
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 73
- Cabezon 67
- Kelp greenling 67
6 kt SSWL 10:40 PM · 4.3 ftH 3:23 AM · 6.7 ft
- Chuckanut Bay70
Bay · 0.2 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 70
- Kelp greenling 66
- Pacific halibut 64
6 kt SSWL 10:40 PM · 4.3 ftH 3:23 AM · 6.7 ft
- Pleasant Bay70
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 70
- Kelp greenling 66
- Pacific halibut 64
6 kt SSWL 10:40 PM · 4.3 ftH 3:23 AM · 6.7 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.