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Pacific halibutRetention openBar · Washington
Klootchman Rock
48.25°N · 122.65°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Pacific halibut
- Now
- 4812 PM PDT
- Best window
- 2-7 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Klootchman Rock 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 · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
46Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
84Wind: 1 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
54Water temp: 55°F, hotLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Pacific halibut
Species seasonality
64Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay)
Pacific halibut
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- 2 in possession
- Size
- No minimum size.
- Season
- Aug 16 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- 6 halibut per year
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 1
- Other
- Annual limit 6 halibut. Record each halibut on your WDFW catch record card right away. Only one daily limit may be on board the vessel. The fishery can close early when the quota is taken. Annual limit 6. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13. Vessels fishing for bottomfish or halibut must carry a descending device rigged for immediate use.
From WDFW Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca halibut seasons page, read Sep 13
Other species 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
- Pink salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
- Rockfish Closed (No retention)
- Sockeye salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
Source: WDFW · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Pacific halibut is best here
Shoulder season for Pacific halibut · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Klootchman Rock
- Depth
- 3-50 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · ProtectedLedge · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonPacific halibut
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 Klootchman Rock
Klootchman Rock is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 3-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, cabezon and lingcod. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and sablefish. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Lingcod peak from April through June.
Tackle & technique
- Pacific halibut
- Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.
- 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
- Maylor Point69
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 69
- Chinook salmon 67
- Kelp greenling 67
1 kt NNEH 4:13 PM · 10.9 ftL 10:05 PM · 5.6 ft
- Oak Harbor68
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season- Kelp greenling 68
- Cabezon 66
- Coho salmon 66
1 kt NNEH 4:13 PM · 10.9 ftL 10:05 PM · 5.6 ft
- Long Point67
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 67
- Chinook salmon 65
- Kelp greenling 59
1 kt NNEH 4:24 PM · 10.7 ftL 10:18 PM · 5.6 ft
- Lovejoy Point67
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 67
- Chinook salmon 65
- Kelp greenling 59
1 kt NNEH 4:24 PM · 10.7 ftL 10:18 PM · 5.6 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.