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CabezonShoulder seasonBar · Washington
Hope Reef
48.47°N · 123.00°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Cabezon
- Now
- 7411 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 AM-1 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hope Reef scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.9 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 6 kt SPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
94Water temp: 54°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Cabezon
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)
No rule for Cabezon 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)
Source: WDFW · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cabezon is best here
Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hope Reef
- Depth
- 15-70 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCabezon
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 Hope Reef
Hope Reef is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 15-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, cabezon and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and surfperch. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- Griffin Bay79
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 79
- Coho salmon 79
- Lingcod 72
6 kt SH 4:54 PM · 7.0 ftL 10:26 PM · 4.4 ft
- Halftide Rocks76
Bar · 0.2 mi
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season- Kelp greenling 76
- Cabezon 74
- Chinook salmon 74
6 kt SH 4:01 PM · 6.7 ftL 9:28 PM · 4.3 ft
- North Pacific Rock76
Bar · 0.3 mi
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season- Kelp greenling 76
- Cabezon 74
- Chinook salmon 74
6 kt SH 4:01 PM · 6.7 ftL 9:28 PM · 4.3 ft
- Harbor Rock71
Bar · 1.4 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 71
- Coho salmon 71
- Kelp greenling 68
6 kt SH 4:01 PM · 6.4 ftL 9:20 PM · 4.4 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.