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SablefishShoulder seasonBay · Washington
Penguin Harbor
48.57°N · 122.61°W · Bay · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Sablefish
- Now
- 5711 AM PDT
- Best window
- 7-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Penguin Harbor 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
93Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 6 kt SPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 54°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Sablefish
Species seasonality
45Season: 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
Penguin Harbor
- Depth
- 20-60 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Penguin Harbor
Penguin Harbor is a bay in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 20-60 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, Chinook salmon and coho salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and Pacific halibut. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Coho salmon peak from July through September.
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.
- 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
- Clark Point79
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 79
- Coho salmon 79
- Kelp greenling 75
6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.6 ftL 10:21 PM · 4.3 ft
- Boat Harbor78
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 78
- Chinook salmon 75
- Kelp greenling 75
6 kt SH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:02 PM · 4.5 ft
- Cypress Head77
Cape · 2.6 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 77
- Coho salmon 77
- Kelp greenling 74
6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.6 ftL 10:21 PM · 4.3 ft
- Levant Passage74
Bay · 3.0 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 74
- Chinook salmon 73
- Lingcod 70
6 kt SH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:02 PM · 4.5 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.