Waterlands

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Chum salmonCatch & release

Bar · Washington

Gull Rocks

48.41°N · 122.66°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 2 PM · Chum salmon

72/100Great
Now
3512 PM PDT
Best window
1-3 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding3.5 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
Score35Fair
Tide3.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood4.0 kn · toward ESE
Wind5 kn SSWgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 7 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water55°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chum salmon

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Aug 16 to Sep 24, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 16
Other
Dungeness Bay is closed to salmon 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

  • Chinook 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 Chum salmon is best here

Out of season for Chum salmon · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks

Chum salmon season by week of the year. Out of season for Chum salmon · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Chum salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Gull Rocks

Depth
9-80 ftDrop-off
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · drop-off
Season
Off seasonChum 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 Gull Rocks

Gull Rocks is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 9-80 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Chum salmon
Chum stage off stream mouths and hatchery beaches in late fall in Puget Sound and Hood Canal and in midsummer in Southeast Alaska. Fish from the beach or a skiff in 5 to 30 feet with a green or cerise jig under a float, a large fly or a spoon. They fight hard, so step up to 12 to 20 pound line.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Bowman Bay

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    69
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 69
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 64

    5 kt SSWH 4:07 PM · 6.9 ftL 9:41 PM · 4.6 ft

  • Northwest Pass

    Bay · 0.3 mi

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

    5 kt SSWH 4:07 PM · 6.9 ftL 9:41 PM · 4.6 ft

  • Canoe Pass

    Bay · 0.8 mi

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

    5 kt SSWH 4:07 PM · 6.9 ftL 9:41 PM · 4.6 ft

  • Coffin Rocks

    Bar · 0.2 mi

    66
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 66
    • Cabezon 64
    • Coho salmon 64

    5 kt SSWH 4:07 PM · 6.9 ftL 9:41 PM · 4.6 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.