2021 Salmon seasons are now finalized as the North of Falcon process which determines the sport fishing seasons working with the tribes, concludes.

Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) is currently open until April 30th for hatchery chinook. Marine Area 13 is the only place to fish for hatchery chinook in May. Starting in June and into July, the opportunity expands considerably, see the details below.

Puget Sound Salmon Seasons for 2021

As a disclaimer, always refer to WDFW for the actual season specifics,

You will want to check this page frequently as we go through 2021 and the Puget Sound salmon seasons get modified. Feel free to also check out a few companion references such as our comprehensive guide to Puget Sound Salmon Fishing

2021 Puget Sound Salmon Season by Marine Area

Marine Area 5 (Seiku) – The Strait of Juan de Fuca

Opens from March 1st – April 30 in 2021 for hatchery chinook or until quota is reached

Fishing for hatchery chinook opens on Jul 1 to Aug 15 or until the quota of 4,077 is reached.

Fishing for pinks and hatchery coho will be open from Jul 1 – Sep 30.

There will be another awesome opportunity to chase winter hatchery chinook in 2022 from Mar 1 to April 10.

I cannot wait for this season as I absolutely love fishing for salmon out of Sekiu.

Marine Area 6 (Port Angeles) – The Strait of Juan de Fuca

Fishing for hatchery chinook west of the true north-south line through #2 buoy just east of Ediz Hook, opens from Jul 1 to Aug 15 or until the quota of 4,769 is reached. All chinook east of the #2 buoy must be released.

Fishing for pinks and hatchery coho will be open from Jul 1 – Sep 30.

The Dungeness Bay sub-area terminal fishery will be open from Oct 1 to Oct 31 for hatchery coho only.

Marine Area 7

Fishing for hatchery chinook opens on Jul 1 to Jul 31 or until the quota of 1,382 is reached. And again from Aug 16 – 31

Fishing for hatchery coho and pinks will be open from Aug 1 – Sep 30.

The Bellingham Bay sub-area terminal fishery will be open Aug 16 – Sep 30 for hatchery chinook, hatchery coho, and pinks.

Marine Area 8-1 and 8-2

Fishing for coho and pinks only will be open from Aug 1 to Sep 19 within Marine Area 8-1

Fishing for coho and pinks only will be open from Aug 14 to Sep 19 within Marine Area 8-2 South and west of the Mukileto-Clinton boundary line.

Marine Area 9

Fishing for hatchery chinook opens earlier this year than 2020, from Jul 16 to Aug 15 or until the quota of 4,700 is reached.

Fishing for hatchery coho and pinks will be open from Jul 16 to Sep 30 with no bonus limit for pinks.

We say this every year, but get your chinook in that first week as the bite is typically better and the smaller quota this year will not last long.

Marine Area 10

Opens from January 1st – March 31 or until the quota is reached (which could be in January with nowhere else to fish for blackmouth!)

The summer salmon season kicks off with the highly popular resident / out-migrating coho program on Jun 16. This is a later start compared to normal years, but usually, the fishing is better by mid-June compared to Jun 1 anyway.

Fishing for any coho remains open all the way until Nov 15.

Fishing for hatchery chinook to be open starting Jul 16-Aug 31 or until the quota of 3718 is reached. Again, get at this early, the quota will not last.

Fishing for pinks will be open (I believe starting Jul 16) until Nov 15 with no bonus limit for pinks.

Fishing for Chum will be open Sep 16 – Nov 15.

The Elliot Bay sub-area of Marine Area 10 has a small opportunity from Aug 2 to noon on Aug 5.

We can also expect another winter blackmouth opportunity in early 2022 from Jan 1 to March 31 with another tight quota (read will likely only be open for the first 2 weeks of January weather permitting).

Marine Area 11 – Tacoma / Vashon

Fishing for hatchery chinook is to be open starting June 16 to June 30 or until the quota of 431 is reached.

Starting on July 1 to Sep 30, fishing for hatchery chinook will be open with a quota of 2,656.

Fishing for Pinks / Coho will be open throughout the summer as well, but there is no bonus pink limit in the saltwater in 2021.

From Oct 1 – Oct 31, fishing will remain open, but only coho will be allowed to be retained.

There’s also a new wintertime opportunity to fish for hatchery chinook from Nov 1 to Dec 31 with a quota of 237.

Of all the Marine Areas, those fishing MA11 near Tacoma / Vashon had the most new opportunity in the 2021 season to fish. These are my home waters and I’m excited to take an early crack at these fish starting June 16. I believe these early fish bite much better than the fish that show up in late July / early August as well.

Marine Area 12

Fishing for hatchery chinook to be open south of Ayock Point starting Jul 1 to Sep 30 with a 20″ min size limit. All chum are to be released.

The area north of Ayock Point opens on Jul 11, but requires all chinook and chum to be released. Read differently this is open for Pinks and coho only starting on Jul 11 until Sep 30.

All of Hood Canal is open Oct 1 to Nov 30 for coho only.

Marine Area 13

Marine Area 13 will remain open all year long for hatchery chinook retention with a min size of 22″ from Oct 1 – to Jun 30 and a minimum size of 20″ from Jul 1 to Sep 30.

Retention is only allowed on hatchery coho or any pink salmon, all chum are to be released.

Puget Sound Salmon Forecasts for 2021

Forecasts for the 2021 Puget Sound Salmon Seasons are released and this link will take you to the WDFW website for the raw numbers.

Detailed blog post just released detailing what was shared by WDFW, this post will provide breakdowns and summaries if the raw material being used to create our salmon seasons.

Here’s the stupid simple summary for Puget Sound:

Chinook returns are forecast (216k) lower by 28k.

Coho returns are forecast (615k) to be higher by 105k, especially in the South and mid Sound.

Pinks are forecast (2.9 million pinks!) to be around the same number as what returned last year, with the North Sound seeing a big jump.

Chum and Sockeye are not worth talking about here other than to say there won’t be seasons on these runs in 2021 due to low forecasted returns.

One of the major risks to our salmon seasons in 2021 is the weaker stocks of coho and chinook salmon on select rivers/systems which can impact the fisheries in Puget Sound. There are several weak systems for chinook like the Stillaguamish in the North Sound, the Mid-Hood Canal stocks, and potentially the Nisqually in the South Sound.

For coho, there is an expected low return to the Queets which could impact ocean quotas in places like Neah Bay. We will see once salmon seasons get announced how it all shakes out.

Meeting calendar for the 2021 season setting process

IMPORTANT – If you care about salmon fishing in Puget Sound, you need to go check what’s going on with the Fish Northwest lawsuit related to the North of Falcon process.

Here’s what to expect in terms of the 2021 puget sound salmon season-setting process based on 2020 timing.

• February 26th – WDFW unveils 2021 salmon forecasts to the public – COMPLETED – Checkout the detailed puget sound salmon forecast here
• March 29th– Draft Salmon Seasons made public, posted / summarized here. COMPLETED
• April 8 – 15 – Final salmon seasons set. COMPLETED

Puget Sound Winter Blackmouth Seasons for 2021

March 1st opens up Marine Area 5 which provides a viable opportunity for not only Blackmouth but potentially returning Puget Sound springers as well.

When it comes to blackmouth it’s all about the bait. Typically, you will find blackmouth down deep, near the sea floor, as they are feeding on candlefish and other prey. However, in several places, there will be an abundance of herring as well that may require you to bring your downriggers up to more mid-column, just above the bait to be effective.

Unfortunately, Marine Area 10 is not expected to re-open as we ground through the entire quota in the first 3 weeks of January 2021. Check out our page dedicated to blackmouth fishing in the Puget Sound.

Evaluating the 2020 Puget Sound Salmon Returns

As a reference, here’s our link to last years Puget Sound salmon season

The story of the 2020 Puget Sound Season for summer chinook was all about the record herring spawn the amount of bait all over the Puget Sound and the Strait.

The fishing out in Neah Bay and Sekiu was epic with limits of nice fat kings the expectation. However, as these fish made their way into the Puget Sound they were not very good biters due to having fed so well in the Strait. We didn’t hit our Chinook quota really anywhere in Puget Sound.

The coho fishing was stupid good all the way from the opener in June until late September. Based on what we are hearing about the coho jack returns on the Columbia, the coho fishing could be even better with one concern.

That aforementioned concern is the likely huge return of pink salmon in 2021. Pinks return every two years on the odd years and the 2019 return far exceeded forecasts. The huge return of pinks in 2019 also coincided with below-average coho returns. Hopefully, based on 2019 we get the bonus pink limits back in the salt and in the rivers.

Chum returns disappointed almost everywhere in the Puget Sound. Because chum spend so little time in freshwater and experience heavy predation, it takes chum runs longer to bounce back than other runs of salmon. Hopefully, we see an uptick in 2021, but I expect the lower returns in 2020 to affect the 2021 season setting for sure.

Where am I excited to fish in the Puget Sound for Salmon in 2021?

Without the seasons being announced, there’s not a lot to go on yet. However, here’s what I’m already thinking will be on my calendar:

Fishing for Blackmouth in Marine Area 10 on Jan 1st near Kingston / Jeff Head

This opener is for sure going to happen and I cannot wait to drop downrigger balls for Chinook again after a long break since the summer. Presentation size and speed are critical to avoid eating up the quota on shakers.

Targeting Coho in Marine Area 10 when it usually opens in June

Hopefully, this will open on schedule and stay consistent all summer again.

Fishing out of Sekiu, WA – Area 5 in July

There’s no fishery I’m more excited for than this! Last year was epic!

Targeting Pinks, Kings and Coho in August Marine Area 10-11 and 13

Can you beat the summertime salmon fishing in Puget Sound interior waters close to home?