Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder season

Bar · Washington

Leo Reef

48.55°N · 122.86°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 10 AM · Surfperch

72/100Great
Now
3510 PM PDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low5.1 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 PM · now

Time10PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide5.1 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward SE
Wind2 kn Sgusts 6 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water54°FObserved

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

Leo Reef

Depth
40-110 ftDrop-off
Structure
Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · drop-off
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 Leo Reef

Leo Reef is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 40-110 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shoal Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    62
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 62
    • Chinook salmon 61
    • Kelp greenling 55

    6 kt WH 1:23 AM · 5.7 ftL 8:54 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Lopez Sound

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    60
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 60
    • Coho salmon 57
    • Kelp greenling 56

    2 kt SH 1:34 AM · 5.9 ftL 8:50 AM · 0.9 ft

  • 58
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 58
    • Lingcod 54
    • Coho salmon 53

    2 kt SH 1:23 AM · 5.7 ftL 8:54 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Swifts Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    57
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 57
    • Kelp greenling 56
    • Pacific halibut 56

    2 kt SH 1:23 AM · 5.7 ftL 8:54 AM · 0.7 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.