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SablefishShoulder seasonBar · Washington
Yellow Bluff Reef
48.53°N · 122.65°W · Bar · Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Sablefish
- Now
- 454 PM PDT
- Best window
- 4-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding7.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Yellow Bluff Reef scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
52Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 4 kt SWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
58Water temp: 54°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Sablefish
Species seasonality
45Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)
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)
Source: WDFW · synced today
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
Spot profile
Yellow Bluff Reef
- Depth
- 8-50 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Reef · Outer · ExposedReef · 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 Yellow Bluff Reef
Yellow Bluff Reef is a bar in Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Washington. Depth is 8-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, cabezon and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and Pacific halibut. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Chinook 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Kellys Point77
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 77
- Kelp greenling 71
- Coho salmon 70
4 kt SWH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:02 PM · 4.5 ft
- Guemes Channel74
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 74
- Kelp greenling 70
- Coho salmon 67
4 kt SWH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:02 PM · 4.5 ft
- Bellingham Channel73
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 73
- Coho salmon 67
- Kelp greenling 59
4 kt SWH 4:43 PM · 7.6 ftL 10:21 PM · 4.3 ft
- City of Seattle Rock72
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season- Kelp greenling 72
- Cabezon 70
- Chinook salmon 68
4 kt SWH 4:31 PM · 7.7 ftL 10:02 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.