Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder season

Cape · Washington

Sandy Point

48.79°N · 122.71°W · Cape · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 7 AM · Surfperch

77/100Great
Now
561 PM PDT
Best window
1-9 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding4.0 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score56Good
Tide4.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward NNW
Wind5 kn Sgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy47% chance of rain
Water61°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

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 Catch & release (No retention)

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

Sandy Point

Depth
Up to 2 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
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 Sandy Point

Sandy Point is a cape in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is up to 2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, coho salmon and cabezon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, lingcod and surfperch. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Coho salmon peak from July through September. Cabezon peak from May through August.

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.
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.
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

  • Point Migley

    Cape · 2.6 mi

    71
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 71
    • Chinook salmon 69
    • Surfperch 57

    5 kt SH 5:05 PM · 8.1 ftL 10:20 PM · 4.5 ft

  • Lummi Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    71
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 71
    • Chinook salmon 69
    • Surfperch 57

    5 kt SH 4:50 PM · 8.3 ftL 10:39 PM · 4.4 ft

  • Lummi Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    67
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 67
    • Chinook salmon 66
    • Surfperch 62

    5 kt SH 5:01 PM · 8.4 ftL 10:53 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Lummi Flats

    Flat · 1.6 mi

    62
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 62
    • Chinook salmon 60
    • Surfperch 56

    5 kt SH 5:01 PM · 8.4 ftL 10:53 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.