Hatchery Chinook salmon fishing ‘hot’ in Willapa bay and river
Published 1:30 am Thursday, September 11, 2025
Recreational salmon fishing in Willapa Bay and its tributaries has been hot for several weeks, with anglers encountering good runs.
Fishermen targeting the Willapa River upstream near the Port of Willapa Harbor have been catching daily limits. Although the fishing has remained promising, the number of participating anglers decreased with the resumption of school. The season should remain steady through the rest of the month and into the beginning of October.
The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife keeps close tabs on catch and salmon run data.
“Effort and catch in the Willapa Bay marine recreational salmon fishery decreased” at the end of August, WDFW Biologist Barbara McClellan said.
The highest effort — in terms of vessels and number of anglers — was reported Aug. 31, but the highest hatchery Chinook catch was Aug. 30.
“There were 88 hatchery Chinook salmon and 66 coho observed by staff and caught in this statistical week 35 for Aug. 25 [to] 31. There were no unmarked, natural origin (NOR) Chinook retained during this same time frame since they are illegal in this fishery starting Aug. 1. However, there were 15 NOR Chinook encountered and released from this fishery documented through angler interviews either at the Tokeland or South Bend docks. Currently, this marine recreational fishery has accrued a total of 20 NOR Chinook impacts, or 61.1% of the preseason expected natural origin Chinook impacts for the season,” McClellan added.
WDFW classifies escaped hatchery Chinook that have resumed natural spawning behavior as natural and deserving of additional protections. Upstream fisheries are expected to see the most action as salmon move toward the hatcheries.
A commercial fishery was open in late August for two 12-hour openers. Approximately 886 hatchery Chinook and 56 coho were netted during the opener.
“To date, the fishery is approximately 59.9% of the preseason hatchery Chinook estimate expected for the season,” McClellan said. “The fleet has accrued a total of 117 local, natural origin (NOR) Chinook impacts to-date since the fishery started on Aug. 13, or approximately 39.0% of the total preseason, local NOR Chinook estimated impacts available for the season for the commercial fishery in Willapa Bay for 2025.”
The recreational fishery is open Sept. 12 for tangle net gear in Areas 2N, 2M and 2R. The area near Tokeland — Area 2T — is scheduled for a one-day opening on Sept. 12.
