UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SablefishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Sablefish
- Now
- 4711 PM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding5.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Decatur 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 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
45Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
55Water temp: 57°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Sablefish
Species seasonality
56Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton Area)
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 Special rules
- 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 Sablefish is best here
Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Decatur Reef
- Depth
- 60-350 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-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 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 cabezon, kelp greenling and lingcod. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for cabezon, kelp greenling, lingcod and sablefish. Cabezon peak from May through August. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Lingcod peak from April through June.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Restoration Point64
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 64
- Chinook salmon 61
- Kelp greenling 59
5 kt SSWH 2:57 AM · 8.9 ftL 9:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Blakely Harbor61
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 61
- Kelp greenling 60
- Cabezon 59
5 kt SSWH 2:57 AM · 8.9 ftL 9:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Blakely Rock60
Bar · 1.0 mi
Top: CabezonShoulder season- Cabezon 60
- Kelp greenling 60
- Lingcod 58
5 kt SSWH 2:57 AM · 8.9 ftL 9:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Tyee Shoal55
Bar · 2.2 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 55
- Kelp greenling 53
- Cabezon 52
5 kt SSWH 2:57 AM · 8.8 ftL 9:23 AM · 1.1 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.