Waterlands

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SablefishShoulder season

Bar · Washington

Danger Rock

48.52°N · 122.97°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 7 AM · Sablefish

76/100Great
Now
4812 PM PDT
Best window
7-10 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding6.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score48Good
Tide6.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward SSW
Wind8 kn NNWgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water53°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

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

  • Lingcod Check regulations
  • Pacific halibut Check regulations

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sablefish is best here

Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder

Sablefish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sablefish in Washington

Spot profile

Danger Rock

Depth
10-200 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 Danger Rock

Danger Rock is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 10-200 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 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

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

  • Pear Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    71
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 71
    • Kelp greenling 68
    • Cabezon 67

    8 kt NNWL 4:39 PM · 6.3 ftH 7:59 PM · 6.6 ft

  • Boat Channel

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    69
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 69
    • Kelp greenling 67
    • Pacific halibut 64

    8 kt NNWL 4:39 PM · 6.3 ftH 7:59 PM · 6.6 ft

  • Turn Rock

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    69
    Top: CabezonShoulder season
    • Cabezon 69
    • Kelp greenling 68
    • Pacific halibut 64

    8 kt NNWL 4:39 PM · 6.3 ftH 7:59 PM · 6.6 ft

  • Kansas Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 67
    • Cabezon 66

    8 kt NNWL 4:39 PM · 6.3 ftH 7:59 PM · 6.6 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.