Vendovi Island Kelp Beds sits in DFO subarea 7 off Bellingham, Washington, where a rock-bottom kelp reef rises across mid-exposure water in depths of 15 to 60 feet. The reef holds Kelp Greenling from June through December, Lingcod through the November-to-February and March-to-June windows, and Cabezon across the fall and winter months, with Rockfish concentrating from March into September. Jigging works the structure directly for these bottom species, using leadhead jigs with soft plastics or swimbaits, metal jigs, and bucktail jigs, while bait fishing with shrimp, squid, and herring strips covers the same rock edges. Chinook Salmon move through from June to September and Coho from June into October, both taken on downrigger trolling and trolling with flashers, hoochies, trolling spoons, and whole or cut-plug herring, or by mooching over the reef margins. The kelp and rock relief concentrate fish along the reef edges, making the deeper 40-to-60-foot zones productive for holding bottom species.

Vendovi Island Kelp Beds is one of the spots we track around Bellingham. See every scored spot in Washington.

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