Fishing off of Ediz Hook, looking up at the Olympics, and across the Strait at Vancouver Island is one of the most beautiful places I’ve fished. It’s where I caught my first chinook salmon on my first boat.
Growing up, I fished for chinook salmon one time on a charter out of John Wayne Marina (Marine Area 6-1 has been closed for quite some time) and caught my first ever chinook salmon on that trip, mooching.
I’ve been fishing Marine Area 6 around Port Angeles for years, and it’s one of my absolute favorite places to fish for salmon.
Below is a map from WDFW’s Marine Area definitions to show you where Marine Area 6 sits within the Strait/Puget Sound:
Marine Area 6 Salmon Fishing 2025
The main event in Marine Area 6, Port Angeles, is salmon fishing, but Halibut might be ranked 2 if not 1A.
Every summer, Marine Area 6 might be the most consistent place to hook a chinook salmon in all the non-coastal marine areas (5-13). So much so that we’ve provided a dedicated page to the topic here: Marine Area 6 Chinook Salmon Fishing.
Marine Area 6 is one of the few places left where a season on King salmon can usually go the distance consistently without fear of an early shutdown.
Coho fishing can be extremely good as well in late August and into September. I’ve done less coho fishing in Marine Area 6 as I’m not willing to make the drive when I have great coho fishing closer to me.
Of course, in 2025, we will have a large run of pink salmon as well that will start showing up in the angler’s creel survey by mid-late July and certainly can take things over by early August.
The primary salmon fishing technique in Marine Area 6 is fishing with downriggers. I’ve written an extensive guide to fishing for salmon with downriggers and also posted a how-to video for beginners to help you get started:
What is the forecast for Salmon in Marine Area 6 in 2025?
One of the big factors about fishing in Marine Area 6 is that all of the Puget Sound Salmon runs, including the fish bound for Hood Canal, have to pass through the waters of Marine Area 6. They aren’t always in close to Ediz Hook, but often times that’s exactly where they can be caught.
This section is to take a look at those run sizes based on what we know from the North of Falcon process in 2025.
Chinook salmon fishing is expected to be as good as it can possibly be in recent years. Fishing should be steady .25 – .5 chinook per rod all month of July, as it typically is.
Pink fishing was great in 2023…now imagine 2x more pinks.
Look for coho fishing to be as good as it’s been the last few years.
When is the best time to fish for Coho Salmon in Marine Area 6 / Port Angeles?
Take a look at the below graph, which is based on 6 years of recent coho fishing dockside creel reports and posted on WDFW’s website:
Catch rates really start to climb in late August and into September, approaching 1 fish per rod by late September.
Recent Coho Salmon Fishing Reports from Marine Area 6 / Port Angeles
Even better than a dubiously provided fishing report of questionable accuracy, I will show you the actual data from the dockside creel samples WDFW collects and posts nightly below.
Don’t expect to see anything here until the season is actually open, which is typically July-September.
When is the best time to fish for Pink Salmon in Marine Area 6 / Port Angeles?
Take a look at the graph below, which is based on 6 years of recent pink fishing dockside creel reports and posted on WDFW’s website:
It’s hard to rely on creel graphs sometimes for pink salmon fishing timing because not everyone wants to keep pinks. In fact, there are quite a few pink salmon snobs, and potentially more so in places where it’s fairly easy to catch a freezer full of chinook and coho in a season.
Think of it this way, there are a lot of pinks caught in Puget Sound in late July / early August, and a lot of pinks caught in Hood Canal in mid-July…All of these runs have to pass through Marine Area 6 waters.
Recent Pink Salmon Fishing Reports from Marine Area 6 / Port Angeles
Marine Area 6 Port Angeles Lingcod Fishing
Lingcod fishing is not would I would call stellar in Marine Area 6. There are always a few places to get them, especially in some of the rockier areas near points and the banks in the middle of the Strait.
Here’s what the graphs are saying about when the peak catch is for lingcod in Marine Area 6:
Fishing tends to start out reasonably well, slow down, and then provide a little bit more action near the end of the season.
But are people catching lingcod right now in Marine Area 6? What do the recent reports say? I’m glad you asked!
There are a few being caught, but not many. A lot of those anglers being counted might be targeting halibut as well, which would skew these numbers.
Halibut fishing in Marine Area 6 / Port Angeles
Marine Area 6 around Port Angeles and out of John Wayne Marina is one of the popular places to fish for halibut outside of coastal areas.
According to these graphs, fishing remains fairly steady all spring from when it opens until it closes. If it opens later on with extra quota available, the catch rate isn’t as good, but that could be skewed by fewer people fishing for them, and still being counted due to being on the water fishing for coho.
Are there any recent catches of Halibut in Marine Area 6?
Halibut fishing looks to be providing right around 1 fish per 4 rods fairly consistently. It’s all about location and the weather determining whether you can get out to the best spots.
Staying safe while fishing out of Marine Area 6
While you won’t often encounter significant swell in Marine Area 6, due to the stronger currents and weather convergence zones, Marine Area 6 can be one of the most dangerous areas to fish when unstable weather is present.
Stories are legendary of anglers immediately pulling up all lines and hauling immediately to safety when seeing some weather patterns developing, only to just avoid 60 mph winds and massive life-threatening seas.
Not only do you need to know how to read a marine weather forecast, but you also need to understand how opposing winds and currents affect things. If you are deciding to fish around unstable weather, you need to be ready at a moments notice to head back to port (and ideally you aren’t fishing far from safety).
Things can go from okay to absolutely terrible very quickly in the Strait. Don’t mess around.
I’ve written a page on marine weather safety that’s extensive and one of the best references I’ve found that’s free on the internet, which attempts to explain many of the concepts you need to understand when fishing big water like Marine Area 6.
Tides / Marine Forecast for Marine Area 6 / The Strait.
Please use caution regarding the below information as this feature is new and may encounter bugs that result in inaccurate or stale information being displayed.
Tides are from Port Angeles and the Marine Forecast from the Central Strait.
Marine Forecast for Central U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca as of 3 days and 18 hours ago
Forecast may be too old to safely rely on!Forecast published on 05/02/2026 01:13:00 Synopsis: SYNOPSIS FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS...Broad high pressure will build back into the northeastern Pacific and remain situated over the region into early next week with lower pressure inland. Diurnal westerly pushes are likely through the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
You should always check the forecast on the NWS Marine Forecast Page, the text below is added for your convenience:
Question about how to read a marine forecast to stay safe? Check out our comprehensive guide on Marine Weather Safety here
Yesterday’s last tide
| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 23:11 | 6.08 ft | L | NA | NA |
05/05/2026 Tue
Daytime Marine Forecast: W wind 5 to 10 kt, rising to 10 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Waves around 3 ft.| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 02:56 | 6.86 ft | H | 0.78 | 0.21 |
| 12:08 | -0.88 ft | L | -7.74 | -0.84 |
| 21:37 | 6.28 ft | H | 7.16 | 0.76 |
| 23:53 | 6.22 ft | L | -0.06 | -0.03 |
05/06/2026 Wed
Daytime Marine Forecast: W wind 10 to 15 kt, rising to 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Waves 3 to 4 ft.| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 03:14 | 6.74 ft | H | 0.52 | 0.16 |
| 12:52 | -0.60 ft | L | -7.34 | -0.76 |
05/07/2026 Thu
| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 03:38 | 6.54 ft | H | 7.14 | 0.48 |
| 13:38 | -0.27 ft | L | -6.81 | -0.68 |
| 23:42 | 6.31 ft | H | 6.58 | 0.65 |
05/08/2026 Fri
| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 14:26 | 0.10 ft | L | -6.21 | -0.42 |
| 23:32 | 6.28 ft | H | 6.18 | 0.68 |
05/09/2026 Sat
| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 15:16 | 0.55 ft | L | -5.73 | -0.36 |
| 23:28 | 6.30 ft | H | 5.75 | 0.70 |
05/10/2026 Sun
| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 16:04 | 1.10 ft | L | -5.2 | -0.31 |
Looking for more tides? Checkout the NOAA Tide Prediction page for Port Angeles here
Marine Area 6, Port Angeles Fishing Regulations
Here’s a link to WDFW’s marine area rules and definitions.
Marine Area permanent regulations are updated in late June / early July of the year as salmon seasons are finalized, and you can access the current Marine Area 6 regulations here.
Emergency Fishing Regulations for Marine Area 6, Port Angeles
The above permanent regulations for Marine Area 6 are subject to change at any time and without being updated on this blog. One must consult the WDFW Emergency Regulations before any trips to ensure they are in full compliance with state laws regulating fisheries.
