UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Chinook salmonRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 6811 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 AM-1 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bainbridge 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
83Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 3 kt SSEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 57°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
68Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton Area)
Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)
Special rules- Daily limit
- Not published
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Catch & release from Oct 1
- Other
- Hatchery Chinook may be kept only in Sinclair Inlet (south of the Manette Bridge, south of a line true west from Battle Point, and west of a line true south from Point White), where the daily limit is 3, Chinook minimum 22 inches, release wild Chinook and chum. Elsewhere release all Chinook. Year-round piers (Seacrest, Pier 86, Waterman, Bremerton Boardwalk and Illahee State Park) have separate rules. 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Chinook salmon is best here
Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bainbridge Reef
- Depth
- 50-190 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · 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 Bainbridge Reef
Bainbridge Reef is a bar in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 50-190 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, cabezon and lingcod. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and sablefish. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Lingcod peak from April through June.
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.
- 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
- Beans Point78
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 78
- Chinook salmon 77
- Kelp greenling 74
3 kt SSEH 4:31 PM · 10.8 ftL 10:33 PM · 4.8 ft
- Orchard Point78
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 78
- Chinook salmon 77
- Kelp greenling 74
3 kt SSEH 4:31 PM · 10.8 ftL 10:33 PM · 4.8 ft
- Clam Bay76
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 76
- Chinook salmon 74
- Kelp greenling 73
3 kt SSEH 4:31 PM · 10.8 ftL 10:33 PM · 4.8 ft
- Rich Passage74
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 74
- Chinook salmon 72
- Kelp greenling 71
3 kt SSEH 4:31 PM · 10.8 ftL 10:33 PM · 4.8 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.