How to Prepare for the 2025 Puget Sound Spot Shrimp Season

The 2025 spot shrimp season has been announced! That’s right, it’s time to once again prepare all the gear, the bait, and make some shrimpy plans to take part in the biggest and best harvest event(s) of the year in Puget Sound! This blog post is meant to guide you through all the steps to make sure you don’t miss anything.

The most important place to start in your preparation for the 2025 spot shrimp season is to review the recent announcement from WDFW and determine when and where you should target spot shrimp in Puget Sound.

Second, I’ve provided the helpful educational resources available on my website and YouTube channel that I think are some of the best information on the topic available for free. Even though I’m an experienced shrimper, I will still review my own material each year as I always forget stuff, and my goal is to limit out on shrimp quickly and efficiently and not forget anything mission-critical toward that end.

Lastly, we all have to actually pull our shrimp gear out from wherever it’s stored and give it a thorough inspection. There’s always gonna be stuff that broke last year that you said, “I will fix this next year,” and then forgot about it. Stuff rusts, gets lost, whatever. You don’t want to be on the water waiting for 9 am and then realize something critical is not right in your gear.

Also, as part of the above, I will provide a few helpful Amazon links to gear and bait if you are looking to get a jump on things or add to your arsenal. As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission on these links, but you pay the same price regardless, and by using them, you are supporting the website, so thank you!

I’ve broken the seasons out by marine area below, but you can also use the table of contents to jump around if you are already familiar with the season announcement.

Marine Area 6 (Eastern Strait) Spot Shrimp Season 2025

Below is the 2025 season information for MA6:

Marine Area 6 (Port Angeles Harbor, eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District): Open on May 21-23, June 6-7, June 20-21, and July 18-19. Shrimping is allowed during daylight hours only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

Marine Area 6 (Discovery Bay Shrimp District): Open on May 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

Here’s data from the 2020 Spot Shrimp Season on catch rates:

Catch of spot shrimp is definitely better in Discovery Bay compared to outside, but the area outside has much more opportunity for harvest. Shrimping in Marine Area 6 can be a considerable challenge due to the strong currents of the Strait and sometimes unpredictable weather. Some of the best shrimping is in places like Eastern Bank in the middle of the Strait, but that’s only accessible when weather and tides perfectly line up.

I’ve tried multiple times to plan a trip up there, but the Strait is no joke once those winds pick up. I’ve ended up shrimping closer to Protection Island and not done as well as I would have liked, but you can definitely grind out limits on the edges there, just be mindful of the Disco Bay Shrimp District boundaries.

These tides look outstanding and reveal that there will be very little water movement. Think a little bit runnier bait, so you get good dispersion.

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) Spot Shrimp Season 2025

Below is the 2025 season information for MA7 South, East and West:

Marine Area 7 East (northern Rosario Strait, Bellingham Bay, Sucia, and Matia islands, Strait of Georgia): Open on May 21-23, and June 6-7. Shrimping is allowed during daylight hours only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season.

Marine Area 7 South (Iceberg Point, Point Colville, Biz Point, Salmon Bank): Open on May 21-23, and June 6-7. During June 20-21 only the Iceberg Point section will be open for spot shrimp. Shrimping is allowed during daylight hours only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

Marine Area 7 West (San Juan Channel, Speiden Channel, Stuart, and Waldron islands): Open on May 21-23, June 6-7, June 20-21, and July 18-19. Shrimping is allowed during daylight hours only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

Here’s data from the 2020 Spot Shrimp Season on catch rates:

Marine Area 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10 and 11 (Puget Sound) Spot Shrimp Season 2025

Below is the 2025 season information for MA 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10 and 11:

Marine Area 8-1 (Saratoga Passage, Deception Pass) and Marine Area 8-2 (Port Susan, Port Gardner, Everett): Open on May 21, and June 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

Marine Area 9 (Edmonds, Port Townsend Bay, Admiralty Inlet): Open on May 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

Marine Area 10 (inside of Elliott Bay east of a line from West Point to Alki Point): Open on May 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

Marine Area 10 (outside of Elliott Bay west of a line from West Point to Alki Point, which includes the Bainbridge Island shrimp fishing grounds): Closed for spot shrimp harvest in 2025 due to low abundance. 

Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island): Closed for spot shrimp harvest in 2025 due to low abundance. 

I know many will be disappointed about the closures of 10 outside Elliot Bay and Marine Area 11, but I think this is an important conservation step. The abundance hasn’t been good in 11 for the past few years, except for a few spots, and in 10, it dropped off precipitously compared to just a few years ago.

Let’s rest these shrimp and let them come back to better numbers in the years ahead.

Here’s data from the 2020 Spot Shrimp Season on catch rates:

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) Spot Shrimp Season 2025

Below is the 2025 season information for MA 12:

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal Shrimp District): Open on May 21, May 22,June 4, June 18, and July 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season. 

I love that we get two back-to-back days of shrimping on the initial opener again! I’m definitely going to be there for these.

The tides are going to be quite small, which means very little water movement, which translates to our bait needing to be a bit runnier so we get the proper dispersion.

Resources to help you get quick limits of Puget Sound spot shrimp

If you prefer to read versus watch, then our comprehensive guide to Puget Sound spot shrimping blog page might be for you.

Comprehensive checklist to prepare for the 2025 spot shrimp season

One of the first things I will do is pull out all of my gear from wherever it’s stored and stacked, lay it all out in my garage and inspect the following things:

• Are all my connections (quick links and c-links) still usable? Any rust or damage that prevents operation?
• Do I know where my pot puller is? Any rust on that I need to deal with?
• How are my lines? Still tightly coiled on their garden hose reels, hopefully…
• What about buoy sticks and emergency/extra buoys and their connections?
• What about bait containers? Do I have all of them? Are their lids still intact?
• Do I have enough shrimp pellets, canned cat food, canned mackerel, and crab/shrimp sauce/fuel to mix up my bait for the morning? Do I have enough extra to pack on the boat in case I need to re-adjust my ratios to match the water movement?

Should you consider a few upgrades to your shrimping game in 2025? My favorite pot I’m using is the McKay Crab & Shrimp big Octagon pot, but their shrimp coffins are the absolute top of the line pot. With two bait holder areas and more tunnels, each pot fishes like 2 pots right next to each other and can put 400 shrimp in it on one drop in the right spot.

What about line management? If you haven’t made your own hose reel setup yet, the SMI line winder is still a really good option.

Do you really want to supercharge your shrimp bait? Consider adding some of this stuff: Bloody tuna oil.

Are you shrimping places with high current, like the Strait or the San Juans? Do you have pot anchors, and do you know where they are?

Always make your bait up at least the night before to give the oils a chance to really soak into the pellets.

WDFW Press Release on the 2025 Spot Shrimp Season

OLYMPIA – The recreational spot shrimp fishery will open May 21 in many Puget Sound marine areas, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fishery managers announced today, with additional dates scheduled in several areas into early July.

Marine areas 10 (Seattle/Bremerton area) outside Elliott Bay, 11 (Tacoma/Vashon area), and 13 (South Puget Sound) will remain closed to spot shrimp fishing in 2025 due to low estimated spot shrimp abundance. 

Details are listed below. Refer to WDFW’s recreational shrimp fishing webpage for the latest regulations. Additional dates and times may be announced if quota remains after the initial shrimp fishing days. 

“Spot shrimping is one of Washington’s signature recreational fisheries and the shrimp harvested are one of the finest things you can eat,” said Don Velasquez, a WDFW Puget Sound shellfish biologist. “However, with increasing shrimping effort we must be cautious not to over-harvest this important resource. The 2025 season will provide increased opportunities in Hood Canal and Discovery Bay but fewer openings in central and south-central Puget Sound.”  

WDFW fishery managers selected the shrimp fishing dates to offer opportunities to harvest spot shrimp while distributing participants and reducing the chance of exceeding recreational quotas. Due to high expected turnout, some areas cannot support weekend openings while remaining within their current quota. 

Shrimpers should monitor weather conditions and avoid launching or leaving the dock if their vessel can’t safely participate. Check with local access ramps and marinas ahead of time to stay informed on potential closures or fee changes. Also allow extra time for launching boats, show courtesy to others at the boat ramps, and respect others’ gear while on the water. 

All shrimp — including spot, dock, coonstripe, sidestripe, and pink shrimp — can be kept as part of the daily limit. However, because only larger-mesh (one-inch) traps are allowed during these announced seasons, most harvest will be spot shrimp. Also known as prawns, spot shrimp are the largest shrimp in Puget Sound and may grow up to nine inches in length. A shrimp species identification guide is available on WDFW’s webpage. 

Proposed state ferry terminal closure zones

A proposed rule prohibiting deploying shrimp fishing gear in state ferry terminal closure zones could take effect when the 2025 spot shrimp season opens.Shrimpers should refer to the WDFW emergency fishing rules webpage for any updates.  

If implemented, the proposed rule will prohibit commercial or recreational crabbing, shrimping, and fishing with purse seine or gillnets near 19 Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)-managed ferry terminals in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. 

These types of fishing and shellfishing equipment can cause significant and costly damage to Washington State Ferries. The closure would prohibit using these types of fishing gear within 400 yards from the end of the ferry terminal dock and 100 yards on each side. 

The rule would not apply to trolling or other methods of recreational salmon, lingcod, and finfish fishing. To view the proposed rule, refer to the WDFW current rule making webpage. 

Recreational shrimp fishing regulations 

In all areas of Puget Sound, the daily limit per shrimper is 80 spot shrimp with a total daily weight limit of 10 pounds (whole shrimp) for all shrimp species combined. Shrimpers who retain only spot shrimp may remove and discard the heads while in the field and before returning to shore. Shrimpers retaining any shrimp species other than spot shrimp must continue to retain the heads until finished and on shore to verify compliance with the 10-pound daily limit. More information on recreational shrimp fishing rules, seasons, and marine areas is available on WDFW’s webpage, including a webpage on shellfishing gear rules.  

Shrimpers are reminded that traps can be set one hour before official sunrise during any open period in the marine areas without specified harvest hours. These include Marine Areas 4, 5, 6 (except for the Discovery Bay Shrimp District), Marine Area 7 East, Marine Area 7 South, and Marine Area 7 West. The pots must be removed from the water in these same areas by one hour after sunset at the end of an open period. The start and end times for all other areas are listed above. 

Seasons for non-spot shrimping (dock, coonstripe, sidestripe, and pink shrimp only) will begin later this year and will be announced separately. During non-spot shrimp seasons 1/2-inch mesh pots are allowed, depth restrictions are in place, and all spot shrimp are required to be released immediately. 

Now that spring has arrived, Washingtonians must have a valid 2025-26 recreational fishing or shellfishing license. Licenses can be purchased from WDFW’s licensing website, WDFW regional offices, and from hundreds of license vendors around the state. All participants 15-years-old or older must have an applicable license. 

Stay 1,000 yards away from Southern Resident killer whales 

Shrimpers and other boaters are reminded to follow Washington rules to help protect endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). New for 2025, under state law recreational vessels in Washington waters must stay 1,000 yards away from Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). Refer to WDFW’s news release or webpage for more information on the new regulations.  

1,000 yards is approximately one-half nautical mile. Boaters who think they may be closer than 1,000 yards to SRKW, but not within 400 yards, should attempt to navigate out of the path and away from SRKW at a speed of 7 knots or less. 

If SRKW approach within 400 yards of the vessel, disengage the transmission, luff sails, or stop paddling (if it is safe to do so) until the animal moves away. 

In addition to SRKW, Washington is also home to the Bigg’s, or transient, killer whales, which are subject to a 200-yard buffer under federal law. SRKW feed almost exclusively on salmon, while transient killer whales primarily prey on marine mammals like seals and sea lions.  

Shrimpers are also encouraged to watch for the Whale Warning Flag, an optional tool that lets others know that there might be whales nearby. If you see the flag, slow down and follow guidelines. For more details about steps boaters and fisherscan take to keep the whales – and themselves – safe, refer to the Be Whale Wisewebsite. 

Above is from the WDFW Press Release dated April 16th, 2025