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CabezonShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Cabezon
- Now
- 606 PM PDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing13.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Outer Channel 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
90Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 7 kt WPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC
83Water temp: 57°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Cabezon
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)
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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cabezon is best here
Shoulder season for Cabezon · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Outer Channel
- Depth
- 15-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
- 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 Outer Channel
Outer Channel is a channel in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 15-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, 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
- Priest Point72
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 72
- Kelp greenling 68
- Cabezon 67
7 kt WL 11:06 PM · 6.1 ftH 3:38 AM · 11.3 ft
- Entrance Channel70
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 70
- Kelp greenling 67
- Coho salmon 64
7 kt WL 11:06 PM · 6.1 ftH 3:38 AM · 11.3 ft
- Ellis Cove69
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 69
- Kelp greenling 67
- Cabezon 65
7 kt WL 11:06 PM · 6.1 ftH 3:38 AM · 11.3 ft
- Butler Cove69
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Chinook salmonPeak season- Chinook salmon 69
- Kelp greenling 67
- Cabezon 65
7 kt WL 11:06 PM · 6.1 ftH 3:38 AM · 11.3 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.