Strait of Juan de Fuca (Neah Bay) fishing conditions and tides
Washington · Pacific coast · 7.5 ft mean tide range · 31 ppt
Where the Pacific pours into the inland sea: halibut, lingcod and ocean-bright salmon
Current conditions
Excellent
Fishing score 90/100
How this score is calculated
52°F against a 46–55°F band for chinook salmon.
Outgoing (ebb) at 2.2 ft, moving 1.3 ft/hr. Strong water movement is positioning bait on structure.
15 mph out of the NW. Workable wind with useful chop.
2.4 ft at 11 seconds. Good working surf for beaches and inlets.
Good working clarity with some colour for cover.
30.00 inHg and falling.
56% illumination — neap tides with a smaller exchange.
Fall pattern is fully established for this zone.
What should I do today?
The highest-percentage pattern for this tide and this wind.
Backup pattern
Pacific Halibut — heavy jig or bait on a spreader bar in 180–450 ft. Hold on gravel and mud flats in 250–450 ft on the banks; short, strictly managed seasons.
Right now
Current conditions
Tide
Outgoing (ebb)
2.2 ft, -1.3 ft/hr
Next high
8:15 AM
6.8 ft
Next low
2:02 AM
1.1 ft
Mean range
7.5 ft
Typical high-to-low swing
Water temp
52°F
0°F / 3 days
Water clarity
Lightly stained
Salinity about 31 ppt
Swell
2.4 ft
11 second period
Wind
15 mph
Out of the NW
Pressure
30.00"
Falling pressure — a change is moving in
Air temp
51°F
67% cloud cover
Moon
56%
First Quarter · solunar 12/100
Daylight
6:54 AM
Sunset 5:12 PM
Timing
Today's tides and fishing windows
- Low tide (1.1 ft) — tide change window1:02 AM – 3:02 AM
- Solunar major 26:00 AM – 8:00 AM
- Morning prime window6:29 AM – 9:14 AM
- Sunrise6:54 AM
- High tide (6.8 ft) — tide change window7:15 AM – 9:15 AM
- Low tide (0.7 ft) — tide change window1:27 PM – 3:27 PM
- Evening window3:12 PM – 5:47 PM
- Sunset5:12 PM
- Solunar major 16:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- High tide (6.4 ft) — tide change window7:40 PM – 9:40 PM
Targets
Target species in this zone
| Species | Activity | Depth | Best tide | Technique | Bait | Active temp | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Halibut | ★★★★★ | 180–450 ft | Slack water for holding bottom in deep water | Heavy jig or bait on a spreader bar | Herring, salmon belly, octopus | 42–50°F | Short season, typically May through June |
| Lingcod | ★★★★★ | 40–200 ft | Light current on a slack window | Large swimbait or live bait on a jig head | Live greenling, herring | 44–52°F | Mid-April through mid-June |
| Chinook Salmon | ★★★★★ | 30–150 ft | First hours of the flood along the kelp | Downrigger trolling herring behind a flasher | Herring | 46–55°F | July through September |
| Coho Salmon | ★★★★☆ | 5–60 ft | Moving water with visible bait | Shallow trolling and casting to surface activity | Herring | 50–58°F | August through September |
- Pacific Halibut: Hold on gravel and mud flats in 250–450 ft on the banks; short, strictly managed seasons.
- Lingcod: Sit on top of rock pinnacles from Duncan Rock west; big females hold on the highest relief.
- Chinook Salmon: Ocean-bright fish feed along the kelp lines and rips; the strait's fish are the freshest in Washington.
- Coho Salmon: Aggressive and shallow, often mixed with Chinook but higher in the column.
Structure
Habitat and structure that holds fish
- Rock reef
- Kelp bed
- Offshore bank
- Deep strait channel
- Gravel beach
- Tatoosh Island
- Swiftsure Bank
- Duncan Rock
- Sail Rock kelp
- Blue Dot / Garbage Dump halibut ground
Surf and beach notes
Open Pacific swell. A 4 ft swell at 12 seconds is manageable; anything larger makes the run past Tatoosh dangerous in a small boat.
Bait in the zone
Herring for salmon, salmon belly and octopus for halibut, live greenling for big lingcod.
Patterns
Season-by-season patterns
Spring
46–50°FHalibut and lingcod seasons open; weather windows are short and the ocean dictates the schedule.
Summer
52–56°FThe salmon season — ocean-bright Chinook and coho along the kelp lines and rips.
Fall
50–54°FCoho fishing holds into September before the weather closes down the outer water.
Winter
45–47°FRarely fishable — large Pacific swell and storms make the outer strait unsafe for small boats.
Outlook
7-day fishing forecast
| Day | Score | Water | Wind | Swell | First high tide | Best species | Morning window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 84Excellent | 52°F | 15 mph NW | 2.4 ft | 8:15 AM (6.8 ft) | Chinook Salmon | 6:29 AM – 9:14 AM |
| Tue | 81Very Good | 52°F | 12 mph N | 2.2 ft | 9:05 AM (7.2 ft) | Lingcod | 6:30 AM – 9:15 AM |
| Wed | 83Excellent | 52°F | 8 mph NE | 1.9 ft | 9:56 AM (7.5 ft) | Lingcod | 6:32 AM – 9:17 AM |
| Thu | 92Excellent | 52°F | 12 mph S | 3.3 ft | 10:46 AM (7.8 ft) | Lingcod | 6:33 AM – 9:18 AM |
| Fri | 89Excellent | 49°F | 3 mph W | 0.4 ft | 11:37 AM (8.1 ft) | Pacific Halibut | 6:35 AM – 9:20 AM |
| Sat | 97Excellent | 51°F | 9 mph S | 1.5 ft | 12:02 AM (8.3 ft) | Lingcod | 6:36 AM – 9:21 AM |
| Sun | 98Excellent | 53°F | 13 mph N | 2.7 ft | 1:43 AM (8.4 ft) | Chinook Salmon | 6:38 AM – 9:23 AM |
Trends
Last 7 days
Water temperature
53°F → 52°F
Wind
13 mph → 15 mph
Swell
2.8 ft → 2.4 ft
Daily score
89 → 84
Water temperature has been stable within 1°F all week, so the established fall pattern should hold.
The water
About Strait of Juan de Fuca (Neah Bay)
Neah Bay sits at the northwest tip of the continental United States, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the open Pacific. Cold, nutrient-rich water pushes in with each flood, and the rocky bottom and kelp beds from Tatoosh Island to Swiftsure Bank hold halibut, lingcod and rockfish. Salmon entering the inland waters pass through here first, arriving in the best condition of their run.
Local knowledge
Expert notes
- Fish the kelp line on the flood. Bait gets pushed against the kelp and salmon hold on its outer edge in 40–90 ft of water.
- For halibut in 350 ft, fish the slack window. Outside of slack, a 2-knot current means you need 3 lb of lead and you still will not hold bottom.
- Always carry a descending device. Rockfish brought up from 150 ft cannot re-submerge on their own, and releasing them at the surface is both illegal and fatal for the fish.
Logistics
Access, ramps and launches
boat ramp
Neah Bay marina ramp
Main launch; Makah Recreation Pass required on tribal land.
boat ramp
Sekiu launch
Inside the strait with a shorter, more protected run.
camping
Hobuck Beach
Camping near the launch, popular with visiting anglers.
shore
Clallam Bay shoreline
Beach access for coho and sea-run cutthroat.
Rules
Regulations
- Washington license plus a catch record card; Makah Recreation Pass required for tribal lands.
- Halibut seasons are only a handful of days and are announced annually.
- Rockfish retention rules and descending-device requirements apply in all marine areas.
Always verify current regulations with the relevant state wildlife agency before fishing. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Transparency
Data sources
Where this data comes from
Conditions are modelled from each water's documented climate, structure and seasonal patterns. Modules marked “Live data integration pending” are not yet pulling from their API, so those values are clearly labelled as sample data rather than presented as real-time readings.
Weather API
PendingNOAA / National Weather Service — Air temperature, wind, cloud cover, rainfall and barometric pressure with a 7-day forecast.
Water Level & Flow API
PendingUSGS Water Services — Reservoir stage, discharge and 7-day level trend from the nearest gauge.
Water Temperature
PendingUSGS / NOAA buoys — Surface water temperature and its multi-day trend.
Tide & Current API
PendingNOAA CO-OPS — Tide predictions, current direction and speed for coastal zones.
Moon & Solunar
LiveComputed on-site — Moon phase, illumination and solunar major/minor periods are calculated from date and coordinates.
Water Clarity
PendingSatellite imagery + angler reports — Visibility estimates by lake arm, refined by submitted fishing reports.
Fishing Regulations
PendingState wildlife agencies — License, size and creel rules, linked to the official agency page for verification.
Map Data
PendingBathymetry + access point database — Depth zones, structure locations and boat ramps for the lake infographic.
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