Northwest Fishing Magazine September 2025 Volume 5 Issue 1 - Flipbook - Page 25
The Marine Area 6 salmon
fishery is open daily
through Sept. 26 with a
two salmon daily limit, plus
two additional pink may
be retained, and release
Chinook, chum, sockeye,
and wild coho. The area is
then open daily for coho
from Sept. 27 to Oct. 15
with a two salmon daily
limit, release Chinook,
chum, and sockeye.
Oftentimes, the best coho
fishing in the Strait of Juan
de Fuca occurs offshore in
the shipping lanes, which
is the main migration path.
These deep-water areas
are about one to 10 miles
out in 200 to 500 feet of
water and sometimes even
deeper off the edge of the
main shipping channels.
Remember to stay within
the U.S. side of the shipping
lane. Look for tide rips and
current breaks where krill
and schools of baitfish
attract coho, and watch for
coho jumping and rolling
on the surface.
In the eastern Strait of Juan
de Fuca, the Dungeness
Bay hatchery coho fishery
is open from Oct. 1 to 31.
The 2025 Dungeness River
coho forecast is 13,328,
down slightly from 14,305
in 2024 and 14,654 in 2023.
The Marine Area 7 (San
Juan Islands) coho season
is open daily through Sept.
6 with a two salmon daily
limit, plus two additional
pink may be retained, and
release Chinook, chum,
sockeye, and wild coho.
The area is then open daily
for coho from Sept. 7 to 30
with a two salmon daily
limit, plus two additional
pink may be retained, and
release Chinook, chum, and
sockeye. In Marine Area 7,
look for coho staging along
the western and southern
portions of the island chain.
Coho fishing in Marine
Area 8–1 (Deception Pass,
Hope Island, and Skagit
Bay) is open daily, Sept. 30,
with a two salmon daily
limit, plus two additional
pink may be retained, and
release Chinook and chum.
