Waterlands

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Pacific halibutRetention open

Bay · Washington

Neah Bay

48.37°N · 124.61°W · Bay · West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca

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Best score today · 8 AM · Pacific halibut

61/100Good
Now
399 AM PDT
Best window
9 AM-2 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding3.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score39Fair
Tide3.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward NW
Wind4 kn Wgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateRough5.3 ft · 10 s
Air temp51°Cool
WeatherMostly cloudy54% cloud
Water58°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay)

IN EFFECT NOW

Pacific halibut

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day
Possession
2 in possession
Size
No minimum size.
Season
Aug 16 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
6 halibut per year
Changes
Closed from Oct 1
Other
Annual limit 6 halibut. Record each halibut on your WDFW catch record card right away. Only one daily limit may be on board the vessel. The fishery can close early when the quota is taken. The C-shaped yelloweye rockfish conservation area off the north coast is closed to halibut and bottomfish fishing. Annual limit 6. Vessels fishing for bottomfish or halibut must carry a descending device rigged for immediate use.

From WDFW emergency rule: Summer halibut fishery 2026 (Aug. 5, 2026), read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Cabezon Retention open (1 per day (9 bottomfish combined))
  • Chinook salmon Closed (No retention)
  • Chum salmon Closed (No retention)
  • Coho salmon Closed (No retention)
  • Kelp greenling Retention open (9 bottomfish combined per day)
  • Lingcod Retention open (2 per day (9 bottomfish combined))
  • Pacific cod Retention open (9 bottomfish combined per day)
  • Pink salmon Closed (No retention)
  • Rockfish Retention open (7 per day (9 bottomfish combined))
  • Sablefish Retention open (9 bottomfish combined per day)
  • Sockeye salmon Closed (No retention)
  • Surfperch Retention open (12 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Pacific halibut is best here

Shoulder season for Pacific halibut · 1 more week at shoulder

Pacific halibut season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Pacific halibut · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Pacific halibut in Washington

Spot profile

Neah Bay

Depth
25-40 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonPacific halibut

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below the DEM vertical datum, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Neah Bay

Neah Bay is a bay in West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca, Washington. Depth is 25-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are kelp greenling, cabezon and surfperch. It is peak season now for Chinook salmon and coho salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, surfperch and rockfish. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Cabezon peak from May through August. Surfperch peak from April through June.

Tackle & technique

Pacific halibut
Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.
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

  • Waadah Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishShoulder season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Lingcod 63
    • Cabezon 62

    6 kt WNWH 12:07 PM · 6.0 ftL 5:46 PM · 2.8 ft

  • Koitlah Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    64
    Top: RockfishShoulder season
    • Rockfish 64
    • Lingcod 63
    • Cabezon 62

    8 kt WNWH 12:07 PM · 6.0 ftL 5:46 PM · 2.8 ft

  • Dtokoah Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    63
    Top: RockfishShoulder season
    • Rockfish 63
    • Cabezon 62
    • Kelp greenling 62

    4 kt WH 12:07 PM · 6.0 ftL 5:46 PM · 2.8 ft

  • Klachopis Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    63
    Top: RockfishShoulder season
    • Rockfish 63
    • Cabezon 62
    • Kelp greenling 62

    4 kt WH 12:07 PM · 6.0 ftL 5:46 PM · 2.8 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.