Waterlands

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Chinook salmonRetention open

Cape · Washington

Piner Point

47.34°N · 122.45°W · Cape · Puget Sound and Hood Canal

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Best score today · 12 PM · Coho salmon

73/100Great
Now
684 PM PDT
Best window
4-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High10.9 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score68Great
Tide10.9 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind2 kn WSWgusts 8 · steady
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast86% cloud
Water57°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Aug 15 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Nov 16
Other
Year-round piers (Des Moines, Les Davis, Point Defiance Boathouse Dock and Redondo) have separate rules. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13.

From WDFW emergency rule: Marine Area 11 salmon fishery update (Aug. 12, 2026), read Sep 13

Other species here

  • 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 Chinook salmon is best here

Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Chinook salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Piner Point

Depth
40-450 ftDrop-off
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonChinook salmon

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 Piner Point

Piner Point is a cape in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 40-450 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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

  • Neill Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    68
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 65
    • Cabezon 64

    2 kt WSWL 9:51 PM · 6.4 ftH 2:01 AM · 8.7 ft

  • 68
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 68
    • Cabezon 66
    • Chinook salmon 66

    2 kt WSWL 9:49 PM · 6.4 ftH 1:58 AM · 8.8 ft

  • Dalco Passage

    Bay · 3.3 mi

    65
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 65
    • Kelp greenling 57
    • Coho salmon 55

    2 kt WSWL 9:51 PM · 6.4 ftH 2:01 AM · 8.7 ft

  • Dumas Bay

    Bay · 3.5 mi

    65
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 65
    • Kelp greenling 64
    • Cabezon 58

    2 kt WSWL 9:42 PM · 6.3 ftH 2:03 AM · 8.6 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.