Waterlands

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SablefishShoulder season

Bar · Washington

Danger Rock

48.66°N · 123.07°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 11 AM · Sablefish

74/100Great
Now
6211 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score62Good
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NE
Wind6 kn Sgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherOvercast99% cloud
Water55°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

  • 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)

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
90-300 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 90-300 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 lingcod. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, lingcod and Pacific halibut. Cabezon peak from May through August. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Lingcod peak from April through June.

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

  • Point Disney

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    77
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 77
    • Coho salmon 77
    • Lingcod 72

    6 kt SH 4:49 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:36 PM · 4.5 ft

  • Mouatt Reef

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    76
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 76
    • Cabezon 74
    • Lingcod 74

    6 kt SH 4:49 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:36 PM · 4.5 ft

  • Cowlitz Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    75
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 75
    • Chinook salmon 74
    • Kelp greenling 74

    6 kt SH 4:49 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:36 PM · 4.5 ft

  • President Channel

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    75
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 75
    • Chinook salmon 73
    • Lingcod 72

    6 kt SH 4:49 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:36 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.