Waterlands

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CabezonShoulder season

Bay · Washington

Post Office Bay

48.57°N · 122.99°W · Bay · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 11 AM · Cabezon

75/100Great
Now
521 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-4 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding5.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score52Good
Tide5.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward NW
Wind1 kn SSWgusts 5 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
Water61°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cabezon 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 Cabezon is best here

Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Cabezon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cabezon in Washington

Spot profile

Post Office Bay

Depth
3-110 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonCabezon

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 Post Office Bay

Post Office Bay is a bay in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 3-110 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, kelp greenling and surfperch. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, surfperch, Pacific halibut and cabezon. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Surfperch peak from April through June.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Point George

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    66
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 66
    • Cabezon 58
    • Kelp greenling 58

    1 kt SSWH 1:45 AM · 5.7 ftL 9:09 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Parks Bay

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    63
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Kelp greenling 57
    • Coho salmon 55

    1 kt SSWH 1:45 AM · 5.7 ftL 9:09 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Hix Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    63
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Kelp greenling 57
    • Surfperch 57

    1 kt SSWH 1:45 AM · 5.7 ftL 9:09 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Reid Rock

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    62
    Top: CabezonShoulder season
    • Cabezon 62
    • Kelp greenling 61
    • Chinook salmon 58

    1 kt SSWH 1:45 AM · 5.7 ftL 9:09 AM · 0.8 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.