Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder season

Cape · Washington

Toe Point

48.79°N · 122.94°W · Cape · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 7 AM · Surfperch

78/100Great
Now
4710 AM PDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Low0.9 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score47Good
Tide0.9 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward S
Wind6 kn Sgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
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

Toe Point

Depth
10-250 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Toe Point

Toe Point is a cape in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is 10-250 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, Pacific halibut and coho salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, lingcod, cabezon and kelp greenling. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Coho 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.
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.
Pacific halibut
Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • West Bank

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    63
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 63
    • Coho salmon 59
    • Lingcod 59

    6 kt SH 5:10 PM · 8.1 ftL 11:03 PM · 4.5 ft

  • Active Cove

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    62
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 62
    • Chinook salmon 60
    • Coho salmon 57

    6 kt SH 5:12 PM · 8.2 ftL 10:59 PM · 4.5 ft

  • Shallow Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    62
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 62
    • Chinook salmon 60
    • Coho salmon 58

    6 kt SH 5:10 PM · 8.1 ftL 11:03 PM · 4.5 ft

  • Clements Reef

    Bar · 2.5 mi

    62
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 62
    • Lingcod 57
    • Cabezon 56

    6 kt SH 5:10 PM · 8.1 ftL 11:03 PM · 4.5 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.