Waterlands

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SurfperchShoulder 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 · Surfperch

77/100Great
Now
523 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
Score52Good
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 Surfperch 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 Surfperch is best here

Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder

Surfperch season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Surfperch · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Surfperch in Washington

Spot profile

Squamish Harbor

Depth
20-60 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonSurfperch

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

Surfperch
Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
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.