Waterlands

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Chum salmonCatch & release

Bar · Washington

Decatur Reef

47.58°N · 122.47°W · Bar · Puget Sound and Hood Canal

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Best score today · 11 AM · Chum salmon

74/100Great
Now
354 PM PDT
Best window
4-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding10.7 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 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide10.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward NE
Wind3 kn NEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy83% cloud
Water57°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton Area)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chum salmon

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Retention open 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

  • Chinook salmon Special rules
  • 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chum salmon is best here

Out of season for Chum salmon · shoulder season starts next week

Chum salmon season by week of the year. Out of season for Chum salmon · shoulder season starts next week.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Chum salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Decatur Reef

Depth
60-350 ftDrop-off
Structure
Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · drop-off
Season
Off seasonChum 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 Decatur Reef

Decatur Reef is a bar in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 60-350 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 Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and sablefish. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Chum salmon
Chum stage off stream mouths and hatchery beaches in late fall in Puget Sound and Hood Canal and in midsummer in Southeast Alaska. Fish from the beach or a skiff in 5 to 30 feet with a green or cerise jig under a float, a large fly or a spoon. They fight hard, so step up to 12 to 20 pound line.
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

  • Restoration Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    74
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 74
    • Kelp greenling 70
    • Cabezon 68

    3 kt NEL 10:33 PM · 4.7 ftH 3:46 AM · 9.3 ft

  • Blakely Harbor

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    72
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 72
    • Cabezon 69
    • Chinook salmon 68

    3 kt NEL 10:33 PM · 4.7 ftH 3:46 AM · 9.3 ft

  • Blakely Rock

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    71
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 71
    • Cabezon 70
    • Chinook salmon 65

    3 kt NEL 10:33 PM · 4.7 ftH 3:46 AM · 9.3 ft

  • Tyee Shoal

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    62
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 62
    • Kelp greenling 62
    • Cabezon 60

    3 kt NEL 10:34 PM · 4.9 ftH 3:46 AM · 9.3 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.