Waterlands

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Coho salmonRetention open

Bay · Washington

Sunrise Cove

48.70°N · 122.66°W · Bay · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 7 AM · Coho salmon

74/100Great
Now
7312 PM PDT
Best window
12-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score73Great
Tide2.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.4 kn · toward N
Wind5 kn SSEgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherOvercast56% chance of rain
Water60°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

Coho salmon(hatchery-marked)

Retention open
Daily limit
2 salmon combined per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 1
Other
Bellingham Bay has a separate daily limit through Sept. 30. Some bays, piers and creek mouths have separate rules or closures. Check the pamphlet. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13. Season and limits as listed in WDFW's 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries. WDFW's adopted rule (WAC 220-313-060, WSR 26-13-052) sets the same rules for these dates.

From WDFW 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries (final), read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Chinook salmon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
  • 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 Coho salmon is best here

Peak season for Coho salmon · 1 more week at peak

Coho salmon season by week of the year. Peak season for Coho salmon · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Coho salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Sunrise Cove

Depth
1-20 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
Season
Peak seasonCoho salmon

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 Sunrise Cove

Sunrise Cove is a bay in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 1-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Bumstead Spit

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    77
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 77
    • Coho salmon 76
    • Cabezon 64

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

  • Echo Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    76
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 76
    • Coho salmon 75
    • Cabezon 67

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

  • Hale Passage

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    73
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 73
    • Coho salmon 73
    • Surfperch 65

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

  • The Portage

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    73
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 73
    • Coho salmon 73
    • Surfperch 65

    5 kt SSEH 4:50 PM · 8.3 ftL 10:39 PM · 4.4 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.