Neah Bay

Neah Bay sits at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Makah Reservation, roughly 18.8 miles west of Sekiu along Highway 112. The bay itself is sheltered behind Waadah Island, which forms the natural northeast breakwater. The primary boat-dive anchor at the Waadah Island Fingers sits about 2.5 nautical miles from the Neah Bay Marina ramp, and underwater, parallel rocky ridges rise on a sloping bottom over broken shell substrate, with canyon walls over 20 feet high and dive depths running 50 to 80 feet.

Neah Bay is the largest community on the Makah Reservation and the working port for the region's salmon, halibut, lingcod, and tuna fisheries, with charter operators running out of the marina. Emerald Diving documents Waadah Island Fingers as among the few Washington sites where adult yelloweye rockfish are regularly observed, and reports more wolf eels swimming in the open here than at all other Washington sites combined. Giant Pacific octopus are documented throughout the area.

A rocky reef biome covers the parallel ridges and the hard bottom between them, and a kelp forest biome fills in on the shallower structure of the site. Scuba and spearfishing are the working activities. The advanced rating on the site comes from moderate to heavy current on both flood and ebb, unreliable slack predictions, and the need for a live boat; free ascents from 40 to 80 feet in heavy current are part of the profile, and 3-foot swell and Cape Flattery fog are common through summer.

Access is boat-only from the Neah Bay Marina ramp. The Makah Recreation Pass at $20 per vehicle for the calendar year is required for scuba, sportfishing, and any other recreation on tribal lands and waters, sold at the Makah Marina, Mini Mart, Museum, Tribal Center Financial Services, Hobuck Beach Resort, The Cape Resort, the Cape Flattery trailhead booth, and online. A Washington saltwater license is also required. Marine Area 4 rules east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line are enforced by WDFW: the bottomfish season runs from the second Saturday in March through the third Saturday in October, with rockfish retention restricted to black, blue, deacon, yellowtail, and widow rockfish; yelloweye rockfish are release-only year-round. From June 1 through July 31, bottomfish retention is prohibited seaward of the 20-fathom (120 foot) depth line except on halibut-open days. Wolf eels and giant Pacific octopus are protected non-take statewide, and bang sticks are prohibited.