Waterlands

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SablefishShoulder season

Bay · Washington

Port Susan

48.15°N · 122.40°W · Bay · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 7 AM · Sablefish

74/100Great
Now
494 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing8.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score49Good
Tide8.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.1 kn · toward SSE
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp50°Cool
WeatherClear19% cloud
Water55°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 8-2 (Ports Susan and Gardner)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sablefish is best here

Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder

Sablefish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sablefish in Washington

Spot profile

Port Susan

Depth
80-250 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 Port Susan

Port Susan is a bay in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 80-250 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, lingcod, Pacific halibut and cabezon. 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

  • Lowell Point

    Cape · 4.7 mi

    67
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 67
    • Coho salmon 66
    • Kelp greenling 65

    3 kt SSEL 9:14 AM · 0.8 ftH 4:21 PM · 10.8 ft

  • Elger Bay

    Bay · 3.8 mi

    65
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 65
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Coho salmon 63

    3 kt SSEL 9:14 AM · 0.8 ftH 4:21 PM · 10.8 ft

  • Triangle Cove

    Bay · 4.5 mi

    65
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 65
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Cabezon 61

    5 kt ESEL 11:32 AM · 0.3 ftH 4:51 PM · 6.6 ft

  • Livingston Bay

    Bay · 5.3 mi

    63
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Kelp greenling 63
    • Cabezon 60

    5 kt ESEL 11:32 AM · 0.3 ftH 4:51 PM · 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.