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The interactions between waves and currents can be complex, primarily because of the nonlinear relationships between the two. Nevertheless, in computational models it is often desirable to simplify, or even ignore, the coupling between waves and currents because of the computational expense. In order to assess the errors associated with different forms of wave-current coupling in a realistic coastal inlet environment, the STWAVE wave model and ADCIRC current model been applied to Humboldt Bay, California, the only deep-draft harbor in a 400-mile stretch along the Pacific coast of the continental United States. These models will also ultimately be used to help understand the details of sediment transport and the implications of alternative dredging schemes at Humboldt Bay. The models are initially validated and then examined under a variety of climatological wave and tidal forcing conditions using uncoupled, one-way coupled, and two-way coupled forms of the wave and current models. Current fields, radiation stress, wave height, wave period, and wave turning are compared in the coupled and uncoupled applications to determine the importance of modeling wave-current interaction accurately at Humboldt Bay. A general set of guidelines for coupled model application are presented based on the results from this study.