Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CabezonShoulder season

Cape · Washington

Tongue Point

48.99°N · 122.77°W · Cape · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Cabezon

78/100Great
Now
4910 AM PDT
Best window
11 AM-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Low1.0 ft

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

Notify me when Tongue Point 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 · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score49Good
Tide1.0 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind6 kn SSEgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherOvercast51% chance of rain
Water62°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cabezon 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 Cabezon is best here

Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Cabezon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cabezon in Washington

Spot profile

Tongue Point

Depth
Up to 35 ftDrop-off
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonCabezon

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 Tongue Point

Tongue Point is a cape in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is up to 35 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Semiahmoo Spit

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 62
    • Chinook salmon 59
    • Coho salmon 55

    6 kt SSEH 4:59 PM · 8.7 ftL 10:50 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Semiahmoo Bay

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    61
    Top: Pacific halibutShoulder season
    • Pacific halibut 61
    • Chinook salmon 56
    • Coho salmon 52

    6 kt SSEH 4:59 PM · 8.7 ftL 10:50 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Birch Point

    Cape · 4.0 mi

    59
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 59
    • Coho salmon 57
    • Pacific halibut 56

    6 kt SSEH 4:59 PM · 8.7 ftL 10:50 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Drayton Harbor

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    55
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 55
    • Pacific halibut 55
    • Coho salmon 52

    6 kt SSEH 4:59 PM · 8.7 ftL 10:50 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.