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SablefishShoulder seasonBar · Washington
Lawson Rock
48.53°N · 122.79°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Sablefish
- Now
- 5410 AM PDT
- Best window
- 10 AM-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.2 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lawson 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
78Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.6 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 6 kt SPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
68Water temp: 54°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Sablefish
Species seasonality
49Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)
No rule for Sablefish 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 Sablefish is best here
Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Lawson Rock
- Depth
- 70-170 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonSablefish
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 Lawson Rock
Lawson Rock is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 70-170 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 lingcod. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and Pacific halibut. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Lingcod peak from April through June.
Tackle & technique
- Sablefish
- Sablefish live on soft bottoms along the continental slope, and sport anglers find adults in 700 to 2,000 feet. Fish a multi-hook deep-drop rig with glow squid skirts and squid or herring on circle hooks, using several pounds of weight and an electric reel. It takes a long run offshore and a calm day to keep the line near vertical, so most trips happen in summer.
- 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
- Fauntleroy Point75
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 75
- Coho salmon 75
- Kelp greenling 71
6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.1 ftL 10:09 PM · 4.4 ft
- Decatur Head75
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 75
- Coho salmon 75
- Kelp greenling 71
6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.1 ftL 10:09 PM · 4.4 ft
- Thatcher Pass73
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 73
- Coho salmon 73
- Kelp greenling 70
6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.1 ftL 10:09 PM · 4.4 ft
- Davis Bay73
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 73
- Coho salmon 73
- Kelp greenling 70
6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.1 ftL 10:09 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.