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Chinook salmonCatch & releaseCape · Washington
Point Whitehorn
48.89°N · 122.79°W · Cape · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 726 PM PDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing8.1 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Point Whitehorn 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
70Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt SSEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
72Water temp: 62°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
94Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Catch & release
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)
Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)
Catch & release- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 1
- Other
- Bellingham Bay has a separate daily limit through Sept. 30. Some bays, piers and creek mouths have separate rules or closures. Check the pamphlet. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13. Season and limits as listed in WDFW's 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries. WDFW's adopted rule (WAC 220-313-060, WSR 26-13-052) sets the same rules for these dates.
From WDFW 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries (final), read Sep 13
Other species here
- 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 Chinook salmon is best here
Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Point Whitehorn
- Depth
- Up to 30 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · slope
- Season
- Peak seasonChinook salmon
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 Point Whitehorn
Point Whitehorn is a cape in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is up to 30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, cabezon and coho salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, lingcod and Pacific halibut. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Cabezon peak from May through August. Coho salmon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- Coho salmon
- Coho feed in the top 30 to 50 feet along tide rips, kelp edges and bait schools, and often hit within a few feet of the surface. Troll faster than for Chinook, 2 to 4 mph, with a small flasher and hoochie, bucktail fly or herring, or cast spinners and flies from beaches near stream mouths as fish stage in late summer. The hour around a tide change is often the best window.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Birch Point71
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 71
- Cabezon 61
- Coho salmon 61
6 kt SSEL 10:24 PM · 5.5 ftH 2:45 AM · 6.8 ft
- Birch Bay68
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 68
- Kelp greenling 62
- Cabezon 61
6 kt SSEL 10:26 PM · 5.4 ftH 2:41 AM · 6.6 ft
- Drayton Harbor67
Bay · 5.8 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 67
- Kelp greenling 62
- Cabezon 61
6 kt SSEL 10:24 PM · 5.5 ftH 2:45 AM · 6.8 ft
- Alden Bank65
Bar · 4.9 mi
Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season- Pacific halibut 65
- Chinook salmon 63
- Lingcod 58
6 kt SSEL 10:26 PM · 5.4 ftH 2:41 AM · 6.6 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.