Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder season

Bar · Washington

Parker Reef

48.73°N · 122.89°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 12 PM · Surfperch

74/100Great
Now
4312 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding5.5 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 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score43Fair
Tide5.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind3 kn Wgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 2 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherOvercast97% 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)

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

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

Parker Reef

Depth
10-70 ftDrop-off
Structure
Reef · Outer · 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 Parker Reef

Parker Reef is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 10-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, outer water and 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

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.
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

  • Johnson Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    60
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 60
    • Coho salmon 59
    • Lingcod 56

    3 kt WH 2:37 AM · 6.6 ftL 10:01 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Ev Henry Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    58
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 58
    • Coho salmon 57
    • Pacific halibut 54

    3 kt WH 2:37 AM · 6.6 ftL 10:01 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Wiggins Head

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    58
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 58
    • Coho salmon 57
    • Pacific halibut 54

    3 kt WH 2:37 AM · 6.6 ftL 10:01 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Snoring Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    56
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 56
    • Coho salmon 56
    • Lingcod 55

    3 kt WH 2:37 AM · 6.6 ftL 10:01 AM · 0.9 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.