Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder season

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 · 5 PM · Surfperch

73/100Great
Now
4010 PM PDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMSteady pressure
Tide now
Low4.9 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 PM · now

Time10PNOW
Score40Fair
Tide4.9 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind6 kn SSEgusts 11 · easing
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 2 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast91% cloud
Water60°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Surfperch 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 Surfperch is best here

Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder

Surfperch season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Surfperch in Washington

Spot profile

Dogfish Point

Depth
Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSurfperch

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 coho salmon, Chinook salmon and Pacific halibut. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, cabezon, kelp greenling and lingcod. Coho salmon peak from July through September. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

Surfperch
Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Pleasant Bay

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    59
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 59
    • Coho salmon 56
    • Chinook salmon 54

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

  • Chuckanut Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    58
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 58
    • Coho salmon 58
    • Cabezon 52

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

  • Samish Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    57
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 57
    • Coho salmon 51
    • Chinook salmon 50

    2 kt SH 1:58 AM · 6.2 ftL 9:00 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Pigeon Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    56
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 56
    • Coho salmon 56
    • Pacific halibut 55

    2 kt SL 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.