Waterlands

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SablefishShoulder season

Bay · Washington

Squamish Harbor

47.86°N · 122.67°W · Bay · Puget Sound and Hood Canal

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Best score today · 7 AM · Sablefish

77/100Great
Now
353 AM PDT
Best window
6-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High8.2 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score35Fair
Tide8.2 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind0 kn NNEgusts 2 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp53°Cool
WeatherPartly cloudy43% cloud
Water55°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal)

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 Special rules
  • Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Coho salmon Retention open (4 salmon combined per day)
  • Lingcod Check regulations
  • Pacific halibut Closed (No retention)
  • Pink salmon Retention open (4 salmon combined per day)
  • Rockfish Closed (No retention)
  • Sockeye salmon Catch & release (No retention)

Source: WDFW · synced yesterday

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

Squamish Harbor

Depth
20-60 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Squamish Harbor

Squamish Harbor is a bay in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 20-60 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, 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

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.
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

  • Termination Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    64
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 64
    • Kelp greenling 62
    • Cabezon 60

    0 kt NNEL 9:13 AM · 1.0 ftH 4:19 PM · 9.6 ft

  • Case Shoal

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    58
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 58
    • Chinook salmon 56
    • Cabezon 55

    0 kt NNEL 9:12 AM · 1.1 ftH 4:20 PM · 10.1 ft

  • Sisters

    Bar · 1.5 mi

    56
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 56
    • Chinook salmon 55
    • Cabezon 54

    0 kt NNEL 9:13 AM · 1.0 ftH 4:19 PM · 9.6 ft

  • Rock Island

    Bar · 1.5 mi

    56
    Top: Kelp greenlingShoulder season
    • Kelp greenling 56
    • Chinook salmon 55
    • Cabezon 54

    0 kt NNEL 9:13 AM · 1.0 ftH 4:19 PM · 9.6 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.