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CabezonShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Cabezon
- Now
- 563 AM PDT
- Best window
- 5-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding10.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Balch Passage 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 · 3 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 4 kt SSWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC
51Water temp: 57°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Cabezon
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)
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 Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
- Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
- Coho salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
- Lingcod Check regulations
- Pacific halibut Closed (No retention)
- 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 Cabezon is best here
Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Balch Passage
- Depth
- 45-100 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Balch Passage
Balch Passage is a bay in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 45-100 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
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, lingcod and surfperch. Chinook salmon peak from July through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Hogan Point67
Cape · 2.3 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 67
- Kelp greenling 64
- Cabezon 62
4 kt SSWL 10:05 AM · 1.1 ftH 5:06 PM · 12.9 ft
- Still Harbor66
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season- Kelp greenling 66
- Cabezon 63
- Chinook salmon 63
4 kt SSWL 10:01 AM · 1.1 ftH 4:46 PM · 12.5 ft
- Hyde Point63
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 63
- Kelp greenling 62
- Cabezon 60
4 kt SSWL 10:01 AM · 1.1 ftH 4:46 PM · 12.5 ft
- Drayton Passage60
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 60
- Coho salmon 56
- Kelp greenling 53
4 kt SSWH 3:33 AM · 11.0 ftL 10:08 AM · 1.2 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.