Washington Fishing Reports
Washington Fishing Reports
Summer Chinook Season Kicks off July 17th in Puget Sound & San Juan Islands
Puget Sound’s biggest salmon opener kicks off on July 17th with Hatchery Chinook retention happening all over. The Sound will be buzzing with fishing boats all on the search for one of our most prized catches of the year. Here’s a quick post to get you up to speed and geared up for the 2025 Puget Sound Summer Chinook Season.
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The Puget Sound 2025 Summer Crabbing Season kicks off on July 3rd
The 2025 crabbing season has been announced, and it's time to start preparing for a full summer of Puget Sound crabbing. The ever-so-popular Dungeness Crab season kicks off this July, we can’t wait to soak some crab pots and have those epic summer seafood feasts with our friends and family! We've published this as a quick guide for Puget Sound, Hood Canal, San Juan Islands and Strait of Juan de Fuca season information, including links to each area's official rules & regulations.
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Seattle’s Marine Area 10 opens to salmon fishing on June 1st
The 2025 salmon season is looking great, with some amazing options for Coho, Chinook and Pink Salmon fishing. While the area opens to salmon fishing on June 1, different salmon rules occur at different times, so let’s break that down!
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Salmon Fishing at Possession Bar
Possession Bar is one of the famed fishing spots of Puget Sound. Annually, it hosts thousands of boaters, all working the vast area in search of Salmon, Lingcod, Flounder, Dungeness Crab and Shrimp. Sealife is abundant here.
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Salmon Fishing at Point No Point
The scene at Point No Point is one of the most diverse, busy, chaotic and fun salmon fishing places in Puget Sound. Uniquely, the Point offers something for everyone, from trollers to moochers, jiggers to shore anglers.
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Salmon Fishing at Point Wilson
Point Wilson is a popular salmon fishing spot where Puget Sound ends and the Strait of Juan de Fuca begins. Strong currents at the lighthouse on this sandy point of land push incoming Chinook Salmon into a tight area for a few hours each day, giving the locals at Porth Townsend a chance to catch them from their small boats.
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Salmon Fishing at Midchannel Bank
Midchannel Bank located near the entrance to Puget Sound in Admiralty Inlet and one of the better places to catch salmon near Port Townsend, WA. It’s best known as one of the first places in Puget Sound where anglers catch Summer Chinook as they migrate home. Fishing is best when the currents are strongest, making this a challenging yet rewarding salmon fishing spot. Where is Midchannel Bank? Admiralty Inlet is the waterway that connects Central Puget Sound to the Strait of Juan De Fuca, it is narrow and has some of the strongest tidal currents in the region. On the western side of the Inlet, between Port Townsend and Marrowstone Island is a shallow bar called MidChannel Bank. It’s coarse gravel makeup is perfect habitat for Candlefish, one of the top food sources for Chinook Salmon. It holds resident Chinook year round, and is a major feeding area for migratory Chinook as they make their way back to Puget Sound in the summer. For quick reference, here is the Marine Area 9 Regulations Page and Marine Area 9 Emergency Regulations Midchannel Bank Fishing Map Midchannel Bank Fishing Seasons Mid Channel Bank is one of the northernmost fishing areas in Puget Sound’s Marine Area 9. Lately we have had some really great fishing here during the first few weeks of the Puget Sound summer salmon fishing season, but with a quota based season and typically high catch rates, it won’t last all summer. Coho and Pink salmon fishing occurs during late summer and early fall and can be really good in the area as well. Check out Marine Area 9 Regulations and Emergency Rules Fishing at Midchannel Bank Mid Channel Bank runs parallel to the main channel of Admiralty Inlet, and gently slopes from 30’ to a steep dropoff around 120’. It’s typically in the 70’ to 110’ depth zone where most of the fishing occurs, on the eastern drop off of the bank. Moochers, jiggers and some trollers will work shallower areas in 45’ to 70’ and find success. The best tides to fish Mid Channel Bank are an extreme outgoing tide, the larger the tide change the better. Plan on getting there just after high tide and fish all the current through the low tide. Once the tide slacks out and begins to flood, most of the Chinook will scatter and the bite will die. Most of the trollers will start just north of the tide rips at Marrowstone Island Lighthouse and troll northwest towards Port Townsend along the bank, cross currents will push your boat outward, so slightly angle the bow to the west to maintain a good trackline along the contour. It’s amazing how fast the current moves here so concentration and teamwork are a must! Because the primary forage is Sand Lance (Candlefish), all the Chinook will be found within 10’ of the bottom, scouring the gravel looking for food. Regardless of the technique, most people won’t catch salmon unless their gear is close to the bottom. Seattle Fishing Co. Salmon Gear Most people catch their salmon at Mid Channel Bank with downriggers and trolling gear. There is a small contingent of people mooching and jigging on the top of the bar that do really well. Check out our recommendations below, or if you want to see our full selection, visit our Saltwater Salmon Page. Our favorite Midchannel Trolling Gear Pro-Troll Lighted 11" Flasher Gibbs Highliner Flasher Oki Tackle Big Shooter Flasher Silver Horde Coho Killer Spoon Gibbs Skinny G Spoon P-Line CFX Fluorocarbon Leader Krippled Anchovy Helmet Gamakatsu Herring Leader Mooching Gear for Puget Sound Fisherman’s Gold Coated Mooching Sinker Gamakatsu Herring Leader Green Label Herring Brine N Bite bait knife bait cutting guide Jigging on Midchannel Bank Puget Pounder Jig P-Line Laser Minnow Buzz Bomb Jigs P-Line SS Fluorocarbon Gamakatsu Big River Bait Open Eye Hooks
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Halibut Fishing in Washington
Halibut fishing is one of the most popular saltwater fisheries in Washington State, and for good reason. The state has a popular fishery that usually begins early in the spring in much of its saltwater areas. So whether your experience and boat are capable of running out 40 miles into the Pacific Ocean, or you feel most comfortable in the protected waters of Puget Sound, there is a good chance that you’ll pick up a Halibut this season. With a little knowledge and the right gear of course!
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Puget Sound Lingcod season starts May 1st, 2025
The 2025 Puget Sound Lingcod season opens on May 1st! As the spring season comes around, anglers across the Puget Sound region start to get really excited about one of our first substantial fishing seasons of the year. Whether you’re located in South Puget Sound, or on the northern edges of the San Juan Islands near the Canadian border, this is a fishery you absolutely need to experience.
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Our Guide to Washington's 2025 Halibut Season
One of our most popular fisheries in Washington’s marine waters is Halibut. The 2025 season is looking good, with generous open ocean opportunities on the Washington Coast and an early season kickoff in Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, San Juan Islands and Sekiu. We’ve broken down the seasons by area, and hope it helps you break down the dates to plan your Halibut fishing trips.
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Marine Area 10 & 11 Blackmouth Season Begins April 2, 2025
We are really excited for the recently announced early Chinook season in Puget Sound! While this has traditionally been deemed Winter Blackmouth, but with the season pushed into April, we are going to have to change up the branding as this has become a true spring fishery.
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Skagit and Sauk River Steelhead Fishing opens Feb 1, 2025
This world class catch & release Wild Steelhead fishery is a great chance to land a true trophy. Anyone looking to put together a list of the top Wild Steelhead destinations on the West Coast would definitely include the Skagit and Sauk Rivers. The Skagit is the largest river in the Puget Sound region by far. The Sauk being its largest tributary, is a big glacial river known for its superior Steelhead genetics. The story of these river’s Steelhead comeback gives us all hope and excitement for the future of Wild Steelhead, and the dream of catching and releasing big trophies. While we have only recently been gifted with the chance to target these fish here, we have recently been seeing some good forecast returns and fishing opportunities. 2025 is looking to match last year for the forecast, and if they do come back in those numbers it is going to be a great season! Skagit & Sauk River Steelhead Season for 2025 These rivers have a minimum forecast return for Steelhead that determines whether or not we will have a catch and release fishing season each year. This year we expect to see many more return, and at a forecast of 7,019, fishing on sections of these rivers will be open to fishing 7 days a week from February 1, 2025 to April 15, 2025. Catch and release only for Wild Steelhead Any Wild Steelhead you catch needs to be carefully released, and the rule is you can’t fully remove the fish from the water. Up to 2 hatchery Steelhead can be kept, however it is unlikely that you’ll see them in the Skagit or Sauk since there is not hatchery program in this watershed. Selective Gear Rules are in effect, which means only artificial lures and flies with single-point barbless hooks (you can still use multiple hooks if you’re rig requires it, up to 3). No bait, no scent and all nets need to be knotless. Night closure is also in effect. Where is fishing open on the Sauk and Skagit Rivers? Fishing on the Skagit River is open from the Dalles Bridge (Concrete) upstream to the Marblemount Bridge. The Sauk River is open from the mouth upstream to the Darrington Bridge (Sauk Prairie Road). Fishing up here is highly monitored to make sure that overfishing doesn’t occur, so expect to see creel checkers and state surveyors out and about. While the season is expected to last through April 15, it’s always good practice to check the emergency rules prior to a trip to make sure there aren’t any changes. Skagit River emergency rules and Sauk River emergency rules. Fishing on the Skagit & Sauk Rivers The Skagit and Sauk are a great pair of rivers that provides some fishing opportunities regardless of what the weather conditions have been. The Skagit, being a larger river whose flows are dam controlled, fishes well through and after larger rain events. It is a clearer river above the Sauk most of the time, and below it is heavily influenced by the Sauk’s glacial nature. The Sauk is a bit smaller and will fish best when we see occasional rain events and cold temperatures in the mountains. Fishing on the Sauk River Both rivers offer good access to fishing spots via bank and boat. The Sauk River has Highway 530 and Concrete-Sauk Valley Road as the main access roads to multiple gravel bars. Because each spot usually only holds an angler or two, I’ll refrain from listing specific places, but feel free to search for public access points, you will find plenty! Boaters access the river via a boat launch at the Darrington Mill and Hippie Bar, some float all the way down into the Skagit and take out downriver. Fishing on the Skagit River Get around the Skagit River via Highway 20 and Concrete-Sauk Valley Road. Sweeping gravel bars above and below the Sauk River mouth provide good fishing access. Rockport State Park is a popular place for boaters and bank anglers alike. The Skagit has a unique rule that allows for motorized boats, but prohibits people from fishing while the boat is under power, hence you will see jet boats equipped with oars, as well as the usual mix of rafts and drift boats. Seattle Fishing Co. can help you get geared up There are a bunch of great techniques that will work on the Skagit and Sauk Rivers, one of the most important factors is water conditions and whether you are fishing from a boat or bank. High water gear In high water conditions, if the water is a little colored up, consider drift fishing a large pink work like a BnR Holey Worm, if you are fishing from a boat this would be the perfect time to tie on one of our custom Yakima Bait Mag Lip 3.5 plugs or a tried and true Luhr Jensen Kwikfish K11X rigged with a single point Gamakatsu Big River Bait 1/0 open eye siwash hook with the barb pinched. When conditions are perfect When the water levels are moderate with a little bit of visability, boat anglers may want to downsize to a Brad's Wiggler or Hot Shot 30 plug, of course rigged with a single point hooks as mentioned above. Bobber-dogging with a float and BnR Holey Worm, BnR Soft Bead, or a hand-tied yarnie made with Glo Bug Yarn would be a good bet. Bank anglers will continue to throw pink worms but will also switch to float fishing with a jig like the Aerojig Rabbit, Beau Mac Pro Series or Mustad Addicted Jig. Swinging Little Cleo Spoons also becomes viable as water visability improves. Low flows and clear water During those occasional periods of winter chill when the snow level is low and precipitation is minimal, even these big rivers can see the faucet turn off and drop into a low and clear flow that makes Steelhead fishing more of a finesse game. Small jigs like Aerojig Hackle, Yakima Bait Maxi Jigs and BnR Soft Beads can all be fished under a float and produce when the larger profiled lures don't. This is also a phenomenal opportunity to hone in your spinner game. Size 4 Steelhead Slammer spinners and Blue Fox Vibrax spinners will catch fish in clear water when big spoons and plugs won't. Have a great season everyone! It's really exciting to see such a historically important fishery continue, it's important that we all act as stewards of the resource and treat these wild fish with care when we catch and release them. Hope you all find the one you're looking for this season, as always if you need any guidance or gear, please reach out!
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