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Best score today · 7 AM · Sablefish

78/100Great

Now: 473 AM PDT
Best window: 6-8 AMEbb tide
Tide now: Ebbing5.4 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 78

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time3ANOW

Score47Good

Tide5.4 ft ▼Ebbing

CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward SE

Wind1 kn SSEgusts 3 · building

Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 2 s

Air temp55°Cool

WeatherMostly cloudy72% cloud

Water55°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

12A

1A

2A

NOW

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

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7P

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42

37

38

47

52

53

55

56

49

44

53

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54

55

56

47

43

49

55

54

47

40

46

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21

20

21

31

63

84

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105

125

135

124

114

104

105

94

93

83

72

73

63

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55°

56°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sablefish 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)

Always check with WDFW ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sablefish is best here

Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
Not here
This week

Sablefish in Washington →

Spot profile

Thatcher Bay

Depth: 8-60 ftDrop-off
Structure: Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
Season: Shoulder seasonSablefish

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 Thatcher Bay

Thatcher Bay is a bay in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 8-60 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Sablefish: Sablefish live on soft bottoms along the continental slope, and sport anglers find adults in 700 to 2,000 feet. Fish a multi-hook deep-drop rig with glow squid skirts and squid or herring on circle hooks, using several pounds of weight and an electric reel. It takes a long run offshore and a calm day to keep the line near vertical, so most trips happen in summer.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

Undertakers Reef
Bar · 2.0 mi
66
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
- Kelp greenling 66
- Cabezon 64
- Lingcod 60
1 kt SSEL 8:50 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:43 PM · 7.1 ft
Leo Reef
Bar · 1.7 mi
65
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
- Kelp greenling 65
- Cabezon 64
- Lingcod 61
1 kt SSEL 8:54 AM · 0.7 ftH 4:35 PM · 7.3 ft
Thatcher Pass
Bay · 1.7 mi
65
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
- Chinook salmon 65
- Kelp greenling 64
- Coho salmon 62
1 kt SSEL 8:50 AM · 0.9 ftH 4:43 PM · 7.1 ft
Blakely Island Shoal
Bar · 1.7 mi
61
Top: Coho salmonPeak season
- Coho salmon 61
- Chinook salmon 59
- Lingcod 57
1 kt SSEL 8:54 AM · 0.7 ftH 4:35 PM · 7.3 ft