Puget Sound Salmon: Marine Areas, Access and First Trips

Overview

Plan Puget Sound salmon fishing as a set of local trips. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) marine areas divide these waters. Fish Areas 8-1 through 13; Areas 6 and 7 lie to the north.

Choose the water and access first. Then choose your target fish and method. Admiralty Inlet is a summer salmon fishery centered on late summer. Shoreline coho and pink salmon return near Deception Pass. South Puget Sound has winter resident Chinook. Plan each outing around its local water and season.

Blackmouth means resident Chinook that stay in the Salish Sea rather than migrating to the ocean. These fish come from both hatchery and wild runs. Start each trip with WDFW’s current rules for the exact water, then check emergency changes.

Use the calendar below to choose your season and target fish. Check your access, fishing spot and WDFW rules before you go.

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Best months: Jun–Nov — see June, July, August, September, October and November.

Getting There

Choose a Hub Near Your Access

Base a Marine Area 10 trip in Seattle or Bremerton. Tacoma and Vashon Island frame Area 11. Everett’s public saltwater launch gives you an access starting point for the Ports Susan and Gardner area. Port Townsend Boat Haven has a ramp for the Admiralty Inlet side. Pick the facility before booking your stay or planning a ferry connection.

For Hood Canal, Quilcene Marina has a ramp. For a northern trip, marina hubs include Anacortes, La Conner, Bellingham and Blaine in Area 7.

If you fly, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is the regional airport. Build the ground trip around your chosen departure point. Load supplies and review the weather before launching.

Ferry Crossings

These crossing times for Washington State Ferries, part of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), are approximate. Add terminal waits and the rest of your drive.

The direct Fauntleroy–Vashon crossing is about 20 minutes. A sailing via Southworth can take about 45 minutes. Check the Washington State Ferries schedule and the WSDOT Travel Center Map before leaving.

Licenses, Passes and Boating Rules

Choose your resident or visitor fishing license on WDFW’s license page and read its exemptions. Get a salmon catch record card. Record retained catch as directed before continuing to fish. Sort out both documents before reaching the water.

Check parking separately. WDFW’s Vehicle Access Pass applies only to its lands and comes with certain licenses. The Discover Pass covers several state land systems. The Discover Pass is not valid at Seattle boat ramps. Do not assume a fishing license pays for launching or parking.

Check Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission boater education card requirements and exemptions for the person who will operate the boat.

Treat the pre-trip paperwork as separate lines: fishing license, catch record card, facility access and boater education. Check WDFW’s current rules and emergency rules for the fishing water. Treaty tribes co-manage natural resources with Washington state.

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The Marine Areas

Use each linked marine-area page to check the map and full boundary text for your fishing position.

Marine Area 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay)

Marine Area 8-1 takes in Deception Pass, Hope Island, Skagit Bay and part of Saratoga Passage; check its boundary on the WDFW Marine Area 8-1 map before you fish. Coho and pink salmon return toward the Skagit River. Fish from shore at North Beach in Deception Pass State Park.

Marine Area 8-2 (Ports Susan and Gardner)

Fish Marine Area 8-2 from a small boat or from shore, mainly for coho and pinks when the season is open. The area runs between the East Point Light–Camano Island Light line and the Possession Point–Shipwreck line; check both lines on the WDFW Marine Area 8-2 map. Launch at Everett’s 10th Street Boat Launch or Mukilteo’s Lighthouse Park.

Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet)

Reach Marine Area 9 by boat from the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas, Whidbey Island or eastern Puget Sound. The area includes the water north of the Hood Canal Bridge; check the line on the WDFW Marine Area 9 map. Launch at Port Townsend Boat Haven or Salsbury Point, or fish from Edmonds Fishing Pier.

Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton Area)

Marine Area 10 runs from the Apple Cove Point–Edwards Point line, between Kingston and Edmonds, south to the line through the north tip of Vashon Island; check both on the WDFW Marine Area 10 map. Work it out of Seattle or Bremerton. Launch a trailered boat at Seattle’s Don Armeni ramp, or hand-carry a small boat in at Seacrest.

Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island)

Marine Area 11 runs from the north-tip-of-Vashon line to the northernmost Tacoma Narrows Bridge; check both lines on the WDFW Marine Area 11 map. Fish it from shore, a pier or a small boat, with Tacoma as your base. Launch at Redondo, or fish from shore at Browns Point Lighthouse Park.

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal)

Marine Area 12 is Hood Canal south of the Hood Canal Bridge; check the line on the WDFW Marine Area 12 map. Fish it from shore or a small boat, and pick your shoreline by wind direction. Launch at Quilcene Marina, or fish from shore at Belfair State Park.

Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)

Marine Area 13 is everything south of the northernmost Tacoma Narrows Bridge; check the line on the WDFW Marine Area 13 map. Fish resident Chinook there in winter and spring from shore, a pier or a small boat. Penrose Point offers overnight moorage and camping; launch at Home, the nearest public ramp.

Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait)

Marine Area 6 takes in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and the waters west of Whidbey Island; check its boundary on the WDFW Marine Area 6 map. Launch at Gardiner on Discovery Bay. Keep Area 6 separate from an Admiralty Inlet plan when checking boundaries and forecasts.

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

Marine Area 7 takes in the San Juan Islands, Haro Strait, Rosario Strait, Bellingham Bay and the southern Strait of Georgia; check its boundary on the WDFW Marine Area 7 map. Base a northern trip in Anacortes or Bellingham and build a separate launch plan.

Where to Mooch and Where to Troll

Fish the tide rips off bars and points and the back eddies where current concentrates bait and feeding salmon.

Check WDFW’s current rules and emergency rules.

Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2 (Deception Pass to Ports Susan and Gardner)

Fish the Hat Island–Camano Head reach by boat.

• Deception Pass North Beach. Cast Buzz Bombs, spinners, jigs or cut-plug herring east of West Point along North Beach for migratory coho and pinks in August–September.
• Hat Island (Gedney Island), southeast bar. Troll east along the southeast bar in 90–150 feet of water for Chinook; work down toward the bunkers through the day.
• Tulalip Bubble (west of Mission Point). Mooch or jig darts over marked bait or Chinook on the morning high tide, staying west of the Mission Point–Hermosa Point line; Tulalip Bay east of that line is closed to fishing at all times.
• Tulalip Bubble (outside bay). Troll with downriggers outside the bay when midday low tide drains the inside flats.

Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet)

Fish Mid-Channel Bank, between Point Wilson and Marrowstone Point, along with Possession Bar and Point No Point.

• Possession Bar. Mooch across the bait: drift shallow to deep on the east side and from 220 feet toward 90 feet on the west side; start with a 4-ounce sinker and increase to 6 ounces to reach the fish.
• Possession Bar. Jig the outer two-thirds of the bar, drifting the east side on the outgoing tide and the west side on the incoming tide.
• Possession Bar. Troll with downriggers on the east side during the flood and the west side during the ebb; find bait along the ledge with sonar and raise the gear as the bottom climbs.
• Point No Point. Mooch or jig the current rip on the outgoing tide; fish the moving water before slack scatters bait and salmon.
• Point No Point. Cast Buzz Bombs or weighted spoons for Chinook, coho and chum from the west side on the outgoing tide and the east side on the incoming tide.
• Point No Point / Pilot Point outer shelf. Troll with downriggers with the tide over the outer shelf in 100–150 feet of water; stay outside the mooching boats.
• Possession Point (Bait Box hole). Cast Buzz Bombs or other weighted jigs from shore on the incoming tide.
• Possession Point (Bait Box hole). Mooch or jig on the outgoing tide, starting in 40 feet of water and drifting over the drop-offs.
• Mid-Channel Bank. Mooch or jig in 60–100 feet of water; fish the window from one hour before to two hours after a tide change.
• Mid-Channel Bank. Troll with downriggers in 90–150 feet of water around the tide change.
• Point Wilson. Mooch or jig off the lighthouse on either tide, where current pushes bait into shallower water.
• Marrowstone Point. Mooch or jig the Marrowstone side of Mid-Channel Bank on either tide, where current pushes bait into shallower water.
• Double Bluff / Useless Bay. Troll the steep edge on the incoming tide in 70–90 feet of water; follow the shelf into Useless Bay in 90–120 feet and find bait near bottom.

1. Possession Bar: fishing spot
2. Point No Point: fishing spot
3. Mid-Channel Bank: fishing spot
4. Possession Point / Bait Box vicinity: fishing spot
5. Hat Island (Everett fishing spot): fishing spot
6. Point Wilson: fishing spot
7. Marrowstone Point: fishing spot
8. Camano Head: fishing spot
9. Deception Pass North Beach: fishing spot
10. Edmonds Fishing Pier: pier
11. Double Bluff: fishing spot
12. Pilot Point: fishing spot
13. Tulalip Bubble outside-bay fishing area: fishing spot
14. John’s Sporting Goods: service: tackle
15. Harbor Marine: service: repair
16. The Prop Shop: service: repair
17. Hookup Hut — Edmonds: service: tackle, bait
18. Port of Edmonds Fuel Dock: service: fuel
19. Port Townsend Fuel Dock LLC (Fish ’N’ Hole): service: fuel
20. Gold Star Marine: service: repair
21. Port Ludlow Marina fuel dock: service: fuel
22. Essential Shipyard — ESI North store and boatyard: service: tackle, bait, repair
23. Essential Shipyard — ESI South boatyard: service: repair
24. Holiday Sports (Burlington supply stop): service: tackle, bait
25. Point No Point: WDFW access site
26. Jacobsen’s Marine: service: repair

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Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton Area)

Fish blackmouth here in late winter, when WDFW opens Marine Area 10 to them (March and April under the current rules).

• Jefferson Head (Point Jefferson). Troll south toward Jefferson Head on the incoming tide or southwest from the head on the ebb; both tides fish.
• West Point to Elliott Bay Marina. Troll from West Point toward Elliott Bay Marina on either tide for Chinook, coho and late-winter blackmouth; stay west of the West Point–Alki line in July and August, when WDFW closes Elliott Bay.
• Kingston bay (north of ferry lanes). Troll the bar north of the ferry lanes in 90–100 feet of water for Chinook; follow it east to its northward turn, then troll back into the bay on the flood.
• Richmond Beach / Point Wells. Troll with the tide in 90–120 feet of water: north toward Edwards Point on the ebb and south from Edwards Point on the flood, covering the mile south of the point.
• Manchester fuel dock–ramp drift. Mooch for late-winter blackmouth between the fuel dock and ramp; favor the ebb and fish the two hours on either side of a tide change.
• Manchester / Orchard Point circuit. Troll with downriggers for late-winter blackmouth from Orchard Point toward the Navy fuel dock, then toward Manchester ramp and south toward the turquoise boathouse.
• Blake Island, north end. Mooch the shallow bank at the north end of Blake Island for late-winter blackmouth.
• Allen Bank. Mooch for late-winter blackmouth on either tide, favoring the ebb; use 10–15-pound mainline, an 8–9-foot leader of 10–12-pound test and 2–6-ounce sinkers.

Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island)

Fish blackmouth here in late winter, when WDFW opens Marine Area 11 to them (March and April under the current rules).

• Point Defiance / Clay Banks. Mooch the outgoing-tide back eddy for summer Chinook at first light, dusk or from one hour before to two hours after a tide change.
• Point Defiance / Clay Banks outer drift. Troll with downriggers outside the mooching drift for summer Chinook at first light, dusk or around the tide change.
• Point Dalco. Mooch on the incoming tide from about 100 feet of water in front of the ferry dock toward Point Dalco; troll with downriggers outside the drift at first light, dusk or around the tide change.
• Quartermaster Harbor mouth. Troll off the harbor mouth for late-winter blackmouth.
• Tacoma Narrows / Point Evans. Mooch fresh cut-plug herring just off bottom or jig herring- and needlefish-sized darts for late-winter blackmouth and summer Chinook; drift from the Point Evans power lines toward the bridge on the flood and from just north of the bridge back toward Point Evans on the ebb.
• Browns Point. Cast Buzz Bombs, jigs or flies from shore for migratory coho and pinks; use flies or small spinning tackle for resident coho in fall and late winter.
• Browns Point. Troll cut-plug herring with downriggers for fall coho in the top 30 feet early in the day, then fish 50–90 feet later.

1. Jefferson Head: fishing spot
2. West Point (Seattle): fishing spot
3. Point Defiance: fishing spot
4. Browns Point: fishing spot
5. Apple Cove Point: fishing spot
6. Allen Bank: fishing spot
7. Point Dalco: fishing spot
8. Alki Point: fishing spot
9. Les Davis Pier: pier
10. Blake Island north-end mooching vicinity: fishing spot
11. Orchard Point: fishing spot
12. Point Wells: fishing spot
13. Edwards Point: fishing spot
14. Point Evans: fishing spot
15. Port of Kingston fuel dock / marina retail: service: fuel, ice
16. Shilshole Bay Fuel Dock / store: service: fuel, bait, ice
17. Seaview Boatyard — Seattle: service: repair
18. Elliott Bay Marina fuel dock: service: fuel
19. Outdoor Emporium (Seattle supply stop): service: tackle
20. Point Defiance Marina Store / fuel station: service: tackle, bait, fuel, ice
21. Breakwater Marina: service: repair
22. Sportco (Fife supply stop): service: tackle
23. CSR Marine South: service: repair
24. Port Orchard Marina fuel dock: service: fuel
25. Sportsman’s Warehouse — Silverdale (regional supply stop): service: tackle
26. Gig Harbor Fly Shop: service: tackle
27. Seacrest Park Pier: pier

Des Moines Marina fuel dock: location not mapped

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Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal)

• Belfair State Park. Fly-fish from shore or suspend an anchovy under a bobber for returning coho staging in the estuary.
• Hoodsport Hatchery / Finch Creek frontage. Jig from a boat for salmon staging at low tide as the tide starts returning toward Finch Creek.
• Eagle Creek mouth / west shore south of Ayock Point. Troll south along the west shore from Ayock Point at higher tide; work the shelf eddy at Eagle Creek mouth and turn east into the canal before reaching shallow water.

Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)

• Fish Trap. Jig or troll for hatchery Chinook returning in late summer and early fall.
• Fox Island / Fox Point. Troll fresh herring on a 20-pound leader behind a downrigger on the outgoing tide; work the deeper ledge where the bottom falls from 60 to 150 feet for blackmouth.
• Gibson Point (Point Gibson). Troll with downriggers just above bottom on the incoming tide, following 90 feet of water from Gibson Point toward the big shoreline rock.
• Fox Island concrete dock frontage. Troll with downriggers in 90–150 feet of water off the concrete dock on the last half of the incoming tide; fish blackmouth around the tide change and troll with the tide for summer Chinook.
• Johnson Point shoreline approach. Troll westward along the mainland shoreline from Zittel’s Marina toward Johnson Point.
• Lyle Point (Anderson Island). Mooch the southwest shoreline eddies for Chinook in early August.
• Thompson Cove. Motor mooch herring on light line for Chinook in 15–20 feet of water; move slowly with the current and keep the bait near bottom.

1. Fox Island: fishing spot
2. Gibson Point: fishing spot
3. Johnson Point: fishing spot
4. Belfair State Park: fishing spot
5. Fish Trap: fishing spot
6. Fox Point: fishing spot
7. Lyle Point: fishing spot
8. Thompson Cove: fishing spot
9. Hoodsport Hatchery / Finch Creek frontage: fishing spot
10. Eagle Creek mouth (Hood Canal): fishing spot
11. Ayock Point: fishing spot
12. Zittel’s Marina store, fuel dock and boatyard: service: tackle, bait, fuel, repair
13. Pleasant Harbor Marina: service: fuel
14. Home Port Marina — Pleasant Harbor: service: ice
15. Outfitters — Hoodsport ACE: service: tackle
16. Point Whitney: WDFW access site
17. Pleasant Harbor: WDFW access site
18. Misery Point: WDFW access site
19. Triton Cove: WDFW access site
20. Luhr's Landing: WDFW access site
21. Boston Harbor: WDFW access site
22. Tacoma Narrows: fishing spot
23. Narrows Marina Bait & Tackle Store / Fuel Dock: service: tackle, bait, fuel, ice

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1. Current arrow
2. Point
3. Bar
4. Tide-rip line
5. Sheltered back eddy
6. Bait concentration
7. Feeding salmon

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How to Fish It

Mooching

Drift a banana-weighted plug-cut herring and raise and lower it with the rod and reel; keep the fishing line at a 45-degree angle by changing sinker weight.

Cut the head with the knife tilted about 20 degrees and angled back about 30 degrees, then insert the top hook just above the backbone and pull the trailing hook through the same hole.

For trolling, leave the trailing hook free at or just behind the tail; for drift mooching, set it into the opposite side of the bait.

Use fresh or pre-brined herring and test for a tight spin as it moves through the water. Follow the Mooching lesson.

1. Drifting generic boat
2. Water surface
3. Rod
4. Fishing line
5. 45-degree fishing-line angle
6. Banana-shaped weight
7. Leader
8. Plug-cut herring
9. Rise-and-fall arrows
10. Herring spin arrow

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1. Knife blade
2. Herring
3. Backbone
4. Top hook above the backbone
5. Trailing hook pulled through the same hole
6. Trolling: trailing hook free at or slightly behind the tail
7. Drift mooching: trailing hook inserted in the opposite side
8. Tight-spin arrow

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Trolling With Downriggers

Attach the fishing line to the release clip and lower the separate cable and ball while watching the depth counter.

Secure the rod in its holder and reel in slack until the rod bends downward; fish pressure releases the line from the clip. Keep the gear above rocky or snaggy bottom. Follow the Trolling lesson.

1. Boat
2. Rod bent in holder; reel to minimize slack
3. Fishing line
4. Release clip: the line connects here
5. Separate downrigger cable
6. Ball
7. Depth counter: read it as the ball is lowered
8. Flasher
9. Leader
10. Lure
11. Fishing line releasing under fish pressure

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Flashers, Hoochies and Spoons

Tune boat speed for a flasher’s full 360-degree rotation or a dodger’s side-to-side sway.

Behind an 11-inch flasher, rig a fly or hoochie with 40–44 inches of leader measured from the flasher tie to the tail hook; use at least 40-pound leader to transmit the flasher’s action.

For a spoon behind that 11-inch flasher, use lighter 22–25-pound leader and start at about 36 inches for coho or 48 inches for Chinook.

1. Flasher with 360-degree rotation arrow
2. Dodger with side-to-side sway arrow
3. Flasher tie
6. Hoochie
5. Tail hook
4. Leader
7. Spoon

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Jigging

Lower a fish-shaped lead jig to the chosen depth and raise and lower it with rod sweeps. For a horizontal presentation, cast, let the jig sink, then pull the rod toward you to lift it; push the rod back and reel slack as the jig falls. Follow the Jigging lesson.

1. Rod
2. Line
3. Fish-shaped lead jig
4. Desired depth
5. Upward rod sweep
6. Falling jig
7. Cast
8. Sink
9. Retrieve with alternating rises and falls
10. Reel slack on drop

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Casting From Shore

Cast Buzz Bombs, jigs or flies at Browns Point for migratory coho and pinks. At North Beach, fish east of West Point with spinners, jigs or cut-plug herring during the August–September migration. Follow Beach Fly Fishing and Spoons and Spinners.

Launches and Marinas

Plan the tow around the ramp, parking and launch conditions.

For another small-boat option, Port Hadlock has a sand-covered ramp. Mats-Mats Bay has a ramp with a floating pier. Match the ramp to your boat and the conditions.

WDFW Water Access Sites

These saltwater access sites are on WDFW lands. The table pairs each site with its nearest marine area. Check WDFW’s access-pass rules and each site’s seasonal access notes before you go.

1. Gardiner: WDFW access site
2. Point No Point: WDFW access site
3. Point Whitney: WDFW access site
4. Pleasant Harbor: WDFW access site
5. Misery Point: WDFW access site
6. Triton Cove: WDFW access site
7. Luhr's Landing: WDFW access site
8. Boston Harbor: WDFW access site

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Tackle, Bait, Fuel and Boat Service

Get your boat serviced at Jacobsen’s Marine at the Edmonds Marina, at the Port of Edmonds.

North Sound and Admiralty Inlet

Seattle and Kingston

Tacoma and South Sound

Hood Canal and Kitsap

Piers and Bank Access

Use the public fishing pier directory to choose an access point. Read the pier’s access instructions and fishing rules.

Edmonds Fishing Pier is beside the Olympic Beach Visitor Station at 200 Admiral Way. It is in Marine Area 9. Seacrest Park and Golden Gardens Park each have a fishing pier. Les Davis Pier has accessible access, restrooms, lights and a cleaning station. It is also a squid-jigging spot.

Elliott Bay Fishing Pier is closed. Choose another access point. Redondo has a boat launch.

For beach fishing, use Alki Point, Browns Point Lighthouse Park and Belfair State Park as shoreline approaches. Browns Point is also salmon water. Confirm the public approach and respect private shoreline before choosing where to cast.

Summer Coho and Pinks

Coho and pink salmon return around Deception Pass in summer and fall. At North Beach, migration runs August through September. Late-summer and early-fall coho also return around the outer San Juan Islands and nearby straits. Match your trip to the local migration.

Washington pink salmon runs occur in odd-numbered years. Their life cycle lasts two years. Check the year before building a trip around pinks, then check the area rules.

Look for coho around tide and current rips, where moving water concentrates food and baitfish. Choose access and conditions that fit your experience.

Fall Chinook and Coho

Admiralty Inlet’s Chinook and coho fishing centers on late summer and runs into early fall only as far as WDFW opens it each season. Fish Trap in South Puget Sound has returning Chinook in late summer and early fall. Choose the return and the water before you choose your tackle.

For shoreline coho, look for staging fish at Belfair State Park and migratory fish at Browns Point. Match the beach, target species and current area rules before choosing tackle.

Chum return in fall. For a closer look, see Hood Canal chum. Keep that narrower topic separate from a general fall Chinook or coho plan.

Winter Blackmouth

Blackmouth are resident Chinook. Both hatchery and wild runs contribute resident fish that stay in the Salish Sea. Blackmouth fishing centers on winter and early spring. From December through February, fish them in Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound). Marine Areas 10 and 11 open to blackmouth in late winter (March and April under WDFW’s current rules).

Before making plans, check the marine area, date, species identification and any retention conditions in WDFW’s current rules. Then check emergency changes.

Match the winter boat plan to the forecast and your crew. Keep a shore-based backup.

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Rules and Management

Use WDFW’s fishing regulations and emergency rules together. Check WDFW’s current rules and emergency rules before fishing. Read the exact area entry and the exceptions for that water. Check species, date, retention conditions, fish identification, size provisions, catch limits and hook or gear provisions in those current sources.

Recheck after choosing your launch and again before departure. If you change the planned fishing water, repeat the area check. Keep the rule page available so the crew can read the same instructions rather than relying on a remembered summary.

Treaty tribes co-manage natural resources with Washington state. Use the North of Falcon hub for salmon and steelhead co-management information.

Safety, Weather and Radio

Read the Right Forecast

The National Weather Service is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Its marine forecast zones include PZZ135 (Puget Sound and Hood Canal) and PZZ134 (Admiralty Inlet). Northern context includes PZZ133 for the northern inland waters and San Juan Islands, plus PZZ132 for the east entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Read the zone for the water you plan to use, including the return trip.

Observation stations include West Point WPOW1, Point Wells 46120, Carr Inlet 46121 and Hansville–Hood Canal 46125. Check the observation timestamp and which measurements are present.

Separate Water Level From Current

Tide-station records are available for Seattle, Tacoma and Port Townsend. Current-prediction locations include Admiralty Inlet off Bush Point and The Narrows north of the bridge. Choose the correct product and location. Do not use a water-level prediction as a substitute for a current prediction.

The Narrows and Agate Passage have strong tidal currents. Watch for floating logs and deadheads in Puget Sound, ferry activity and traffic managed through the United States Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service Puget Sound. Allow room for ship and ferry movements.

Cold Water and Radio

Cold-water shock is an immediate involuntary reaction. A properly fitted life jacket helps keep your head above water. Put the life jacket on before the boat portion of the trip. Plan how you would get back aboard and how the crew would call for help.

Marine VHF channel 16 is for distress, safety and calling. Channel 22A/1022 is for Coast Guard liaison and maritime safety broadcasts announced on channel 16. Learn the radio before departure. Keep the emergency function separate from routine fishing talk.

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Seasonal Calendar

Best Times, Not Regulations

The calendar shows the broad fishing season for each fish month by month. Nothing in it is an open date. Check WDFW’s current rules and emergency rules before every trip.

WDFW sets the open dates for each marine area every season; confirm them in the current rules before you go.

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First Trip Checklist

1. Choose one target species and one marine area. Use WDFW’s directory to begin the location check.
2. Read the current marine-area rules and emergency changes for your fishing position.
3. Review WDFW’s fishing-license choices and eligibility guidance.
4. Get the salmon catch record card and read its recording instructions.
5. Check parking, launch payment and any land-access pass with the facility.
6. Review Washington State Parks’ boater education card eligibility and exemptions.
7. Confirm the facility suits your boat; Seacrest is hand-carry access.
8. Check the ferry sailing and WSDOT Travel Center Map if they affect your approach.
9. Read the relevant marine forecast and check station timestamps.
10. Review tide and current products separately for the planned water.
11. Fit life jackets and review the marine radio, including channel 16.
12. Agree on a return plan, a weather decision and a backup activity before departure.

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Lodging and Camping

Methods

Use these lessons to learn the vocabulary and compare approaches:

• Mooching
• Trolling
• Jigging
• Beach Fly Fishing
• Spoons and Spinners

Guides Who Specialize in This

Browse Puget Sound salmon guides. Compare the stated fishing area, target species and methods with the trip you have in mind.

Ask your guide for their WDFW guide license number before you book.

FAQ

When Should I Plan a Salmon Trip?

Start with a species and place. Plan around late-summer salmon in Admiralty Inlet, August–September migration at North Beach and winter or spring resident Chinook farther south. Use those patterns to begin planning, then check current rules.

Are Pink Salmon an Every-Year Target?

Washington pink salmon runs occur in odd-numbered years. Check the marine-area rules and emergency changes for your date.

What Are Blackmouth?

They are resident Chinook that remain in the Salish Sea. Both hatchery and wild runs contribute resident fish. Do not infer a fish’s retention status from the name.

Can I Start Without a Boat?

You can fish from shore at North Beach, Alki Point and Browns Point. Check the public approach and rules for the exact water. Respect private shoreline when choosing your approach.

Does a Discover Pass Cover a Seattle Boat Ramp?

The Discover Pass is not valid at Seattle boat ramps. WDFW’s Vehicle Access Pass has a separate scope limited to WDFW lands.

Which Forecast Should I Read?

Use the zone matching the water. National Weather Service PZZ135 covers Puget Sound and Hood Canal, while PZZ134 covers Admiralty Inlet. Check observations and current predictions as separate parts of the departure review.

Where Should I Mooch for Winter Blackmouth?

From December through February, fish Marine Area 13: troll herring along the deep ledge off Fox Point or fish the tide change off the Fox Island concrete dock. In late winter, when WDFW opens Marine Areas 10 and 11 (March and April under the current rules), mooch between the Manchester fuel dock and ramp around the tide change, fish Allen Bank on the ebb or drift cut-plug herring past Point Evans in the Tacoma Narrows.

Which Side of Possession Bar Should I Fish?

Jig the east side on the outgoing tide and the west side on the incoming tide. Troll with downriggers on the east side during the flood and the west side during the ebb.

Related

Continue with Puget Sound squid, Puget Sound crabbing or Hood Canal chum. For broader species reading, see salmon, Chinook and coho.

Sources for this guide are listed on our Credits page.

— The Salish Guide

Related fisheries

• Squid Jigging in Puget Sound: Piers, Timing and Gear
• Puget Sound Crabbing: Dungeness, Red Rock and Timing
• Hood Canal Chum Salmon Fishing: When, Where and How
• Skagit, Snohomish and Skykomish Salmon and Steelhead Fishing