Waterlands

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Chinook salmonCatch & release

Cape · Washington

Dogfish Point

48.63°N · 122.46°W · Cape · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 11 AM · Coho salmon

73/100Great
Now
714 PM PDT
Best window
4-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding7.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score71Great
Tide7.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward N
Wind6 kn SSWgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy44% cloud
Water60°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 1
Other
Bellingham Bay has a separate daily limit through Sept. 30. Some bays, piers and creek mouths have separate rules or closures. Check the pamphlet. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13. Season and limits as listed in WDFW's 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries. WDFW's adopted rule (WAC 220-313-060, WSR 26-13-052) sets the same rules for these dates.

From WDFW 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries (final), read Sep 13

Other species here

  • 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 Chinook salmon is best here

Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Chinook salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Dogfish Point

Depth
Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonChinook salmon

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 Dogfish Point

Dogfish Point is a cape in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is up to 4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, cabezon and coho salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, lingcod and surfperch. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Cabezon peak from May through August. Coho salmon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Chinook salmon
Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
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.
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

  • Pigeon Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    74
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 74
    • Kelp greenling 68
    • Coho salmon 67

    6 kt WSWL 10:24 PM · 4.9 ftH 2:19 AM · 6.4 ft

  • Chuckanut Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    69
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 69
    • Cabezon 64
    • Kelp greenling 64

    6 kt SSWL 10:24 PM · 4.9 ftH 2:19 AM · 6.4 ft

  • Samish Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    68
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Cabezon 63
    • Kelp greenling 63

    6 kt WSWL 9:46 PM · 5.2 ftH 1:58 AM · 6.2 ft

  • Pleasant Bay

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    65
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 65
    • Kelp greenling 63
    • Pacific halibut 62

    6 kt SSWL 10:24 PM · 4.9 ftH 2:19 AM · 6.4 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.