Waterlands

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Chinook salmonCatch & release

Cape · Washington

Utsalady Point

48.26°N · 122.50°W · Cape · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands

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Best score today · 7 AM · Chinook salmon

79/100Great
Now
674 AM PDT
Best window
6-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing8.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score67Great
Tide8.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp50°Cool
WeatherClear19% cloud
Water55°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Aug 1 to Oct 11, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 12
Other
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

  • 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 Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chinook salmon is best here

Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak

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

Chinook salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Utsalady Point

Depth
15-50 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonChinook 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 Utsalady Point

Utsalady Point is a cape in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is 15-50 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, kelp greenling and coho salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, Pacific halibut and lingcod. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Coho salmon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Polnell Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    67
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 67
    • Kelp greenling 65
    • Coho salmon 63

    5 kt ESEL 9:14 AM · 1.1 ftH 4:32 PM · 11.0 ft

  • Strawberry Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    67
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 67
    • Kelp greenling 65
    • Coho salmon 63

    5 kt ESEL 9:14 AM · 1.1 ftH 4:32 PM · 11.0 ft

  • Utsalady Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    64
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 64
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Cabezon 60

    5 kt ESEL 11:32 AM · 0.3 ftH 4:51 PM · 6.6 ft

  • Saratoga Passage

    Bay · 3.3 mi

    63
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 63
    • Coho salmon 60
    • Kelp greenling 57

    5 kt ESEL 9:14 AM · 1.1 ftH 4:32 PM · 11.0 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.