Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

SurfperchShoulder season

Bar · Washington

Spindle Rock

48.59°N · 122.80°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 AM · Surfperch

74/100Great
Now
6211 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.1 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Spindle Rock scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score62Good
Tide2.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.2 kn · toward NE
Wind6 kn Sgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water58°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

Spindle Rock

Depth
15-120 ftDrop-off
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Spindle Rock

Spindle Rock is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 15-120 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Deer Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    82
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 82
    • Chinook salmon 80
    • Cabezon 69

    6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.8 ftL 9:47 PM · 4.2 ft

  • Peavine Pass

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    79
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 79
    • Chinook salmon 78
    • Kelp greenling 70

    6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.8 ftL 9:47 PM · 4.2 ft

  • Obstruction Pass

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    79
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 79
    • Chinook salmon 78
    • Kelp greenling 68

    6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.8 ftL 9:47 PM · 4.2 ft

  • Lydia Shoal

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    74
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 74
    • Chinook salmon 72
    • Lingcod 67

    6 kt SH 4:43 PM · 7.8 ftL 9:47 PM · 4.2 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.