Waterlands

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RockfishClosed

Bar · Washington

Cypress Reef

48.62°N · 122.72°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 11 AM · Rockfish

74/100Great
Now
203 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing5.9 ft ▼

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

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Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 76

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score20Poor
Tide5.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind1 kn SSEgusts 3 · building
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 2 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

Rockfish

Closed
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No end date on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Fishing for, keeping or possessing rockfish is prohibited. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13.

From WDFW recreational bottomfish and halibut fisheries page, read Sep 13

Other species 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)
  • Sockeye salmon Catch & release (No retention)
Always check with WDFW ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Rockfish is best here

Shoulder season for Rockfish · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Rockfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Rockfish · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Rockfish in Washington →

Spot profile

Cypress Reef

Depth
30-150 ftDrop-off
Structure
Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonRockfish

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 Cypress Reef

Cypress Reef is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 30-150 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, kelp greenling and Pacific halibut. 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. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

Rockfish
Rockfish live on rocky reefs, pinnacles and kelp from the shoreline out past 300 feet, with black and blue rockfish schooling mid-water over shallow reefs and copper, quillback, yelloweye and vermilion sitting tight to deeper bottom. Drift over the structure with a shrimp fly above a lead-head grub or metal jig, or a squid strip, and reel up a few cranks after touching bottom to cut snags. Use a descending device to release any fish brought up from deep water.
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

View all on map →
  • Boulder Reef

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: CabezonShoulder season
    • Cabezon 66
    • Kelp greenling 66
    • Pacific halibut 58

    3 kt SEL 9:08 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:40 PM · 7.5 ft

  • Eagle Harbor

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    64
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 64
    • Cabezon 63
    • Chinook salmon 60

    1 kt SSEL 9:19 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:43 PM · 7.6 ft

  • Lydia Shoal

    Bar · 2.9 mi

    59
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 59
    • Coho salmon 56
    • Lingcod 54

    1 kt SSEL 8:45 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:43 PM · 7.8 ft

  • Buckeye Shoal

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    58
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 58
    • Coho salmon 54
    • Pacific halibut 54

    1 kt SSEL 9:08 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:40 PM · 7.5 ft

Open in the tide map

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.