Waterlands

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CabezonShoulder season

Cape · Washington

Dover Point

47.15°N · 122.90°W · Cape · Puget Sound and Hood Canal

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Best score today · 5 PM · Cabezon

74/100Great
Now
594 AM PDT
Best window
12-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing11.2 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score59Good
Tide11.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind3 kn SSWgusts 5 · steady
Air temp51°Cool
WeatherOvercast92% cloud
Water57°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Cabezon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cabezon in Washington

Spot profile

Dover Point

Depth
15-140 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Dover Point

Dover Point is a cape in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth in the nearest water is 15-140 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are Chinook salmon, kelp greenling and cabezon. 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. Cabezon peak from May through August.

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

  • Jeal Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    62
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 62
    • Kelp greenling 61
    • Cabezon 59

    3 kt SSWL 10:15 AM · 1.2 ftH 5:12 PM · 13.7 ft

  • Boston Harbor

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    62
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 62
    • Cabezon 60
    • Chinook salmon 59

    3 kt SSWL 10:15 AM · 1.2 ftH 5:12 PM · 13.7 ft

  • Dofflemyer Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    62
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 62
    • Kelp greenling 61
    • Cabezon 59

    3 kt SSWL 10:15 AM · 1.2 ftH 5:12 PM · 13.7 ft

  • Zangle Cove

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    60
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 60
    • Chinook salmon 59
    • Cabezon 53

    3 kt SSWL 10:15 AM · 1.2 ftH 5:12 PM · 13.7 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.