Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder 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 · Surfperch

74/100Great
Now
522 PM PDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding8.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score52Good
Tide8.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward N
Wind2 kn Sgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 4 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast53% chance of rain
Water56°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 8-2 (Ports Susan and Gardner)

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 Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)

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

Port Susan

Depth
80-250 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 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 coho salmon, kelp greenling and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, lingcod, cabezon and sablefish. Coho salmon peak from July through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.

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.
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.
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

  • Livingston Bay

    Bay · 5.3 mi

    74
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 74
    • Chinook salmon 72
    • Kelp greenling 69

    2 kt SH 4:51 PM · 6.6 ftL 12:43 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Lowell Point

    Cape · 4.7 mi

    72
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 72
    • Chinook salmon 70
    • Kelp greenling 70

    5 kt NH 4:21 PM · 10.8 ftL 10:09 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Triangle Cove

    Bay · 4.5 mi

    71
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 71
    • Kelp greenling 70
    • Chinook salmon 69

    2 kt SH 4:51 PM · 6.6 ftL 12:43 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Elger Bay

    Bay · 3.8 mi

    69
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 69
    • Kelp greenling 69
    • Chinook salmon 67

    5 kt NH 4:21 PM · 10.8 ftL 10:09 PM · 4.7 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.