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Best score today · 7 AM · Rockfish
- Now
- 204 AM PDT
- Best window
- 6-10 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing11.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Olympia Shoal 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 · 4 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
32Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 4 kt SSWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC
33Water temp: 57°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Rockfish
Species seasonality
48Closed season · capped at 20Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Closed
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)
Rockfish
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- No end date on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Fishing for, keeping or possessing rockfish is prohibited. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13.
From WDFW recreational bottomfish and halibut fisheries page, read Sep 13
Other species 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)
- Sockeye salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
Source: WDFW · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Rockfish is best here
Shoulder season for Rockfish · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Olympia Shoal
- Depth
- 15-45 ftSlope
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · ProtectedShoal · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRockfish
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 Olympia Shoal
Olympia Shoal is a bar in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 15-45 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and protected.
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, surfperch and lingcod. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Rockfish
- Rockfish live on rocky reefs, pinnacles and kelp from the shoreline out past 300 feet, with black and blue rockfish schooling mid-water over shallow reefs and copper, quillback, yelloweye and vermilion sitting tight to deeper bottom. Drift over the structure with a shrimp fly above a lead-head grub or metal jig, or a squid strip, and reel up a few cranks after touching bottom to cut snags. Use a descending device to release any fish brought up from deep water.
- 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
- Budd Inlet62
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 62
- Kelp greenling 60
- Coho salmon 55
4 kt SSWL 10:12 AM · 1.2 ftH 4:52 PM · 13.5 ft
- Little Tykel Cove60
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 60
- Kelp greenling 60
- Cabezon 54
4 kt SSWL 10:12 AM · 1.2 ftH 4:52 PM · 13.5 ft
- Big Tykel Cove60
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 60
- Kelp greenling 60
- Cabezon 58
4 kt SSWL 10:12 AM · 1.2 ftH 4:52 PM · 13.5 ft
- Butler Cove60
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 60
- Kelp greenling 60
- Cabezon 58
4 kt SSWL 10:15 AM · 1.1 ftH 5:13 PM · 13.8 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.