Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

SablefishShoulder season

Bar · Washington

Itsami Ledge

47.17°N · 122.84°W · Bar · Puget Sound and Hood Canal

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Sablefish

71/100Great
Now
4911 AM PDT
Best window
4-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.4 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Itsami Ledge scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score49Good
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward WSW
Wind4 kn Sgusts 10 · steady
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water57°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sablefish is best here

Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder

Sablefish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sablefish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sablefish in Washington

Spot profile

Itsami Ledge

Depth
35-70 ftDrop-off
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Itsami Ledge

Itsami Ledge is a bar in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 35-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, 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

  • Dickenson Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    72
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 72
    • Chinook salmon 71
    • Kelp greenling 66

    4 kt SH 5:15 PM · 13.3 ftL 11:27 PM · 5.1 ft

  • Dickenson Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    70
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 70
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 66

    4 kt SH 5:15 PM · 13.3 ftL 11:27 PM · 5.1 ft

  • Dana Passage

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    70
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 70
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 66

    4 kt SH 5:15 PM · 13.3 ftL 11:27 PM · 5.1 ft

  • Johnson Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    69
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 69
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 65

    4 kt SH 5:15 PM · 13.3 ftL 11:27 PM · 5.1 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.