FISHING RULE CHANGE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
July 13, 2023
Salmon fishing suspended in Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island)
Salmon fishing suspended in Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island)
Puget Sound
Should we lie to WDFW about the fish we caught?
You might be thinking this is a ridiculous blog post just from the title, but it’s actually a really important question to think through with a full understanding of how our fishing and catching data is used by WDFW. By attempting to apply logic and reason to this question we will hopefully illuminate some things we may not fully understand.
Puget Sound Salmon Seasons 2023
We made it, we’re finally here in the summer of 2023! And, I cannot believe I haven’t yet made a comprehensive post about the Puget Sound salmon seasons this year. Inside this blog post I will cover the “likely” seasons WDFW has published for Marine Area 5 – 13, the catch charts that give you some idea about timing the runs, and some of my thoughts on each area.
Puget Sound Crab Season 2023
The details of our Puget Sound summer crabbing season have finally been announced! Most of it gets underway on July 1st, with some of the usual areas delaying their openers out of concern for soft shells continuing through July.
This blog post will share the season details and connect you to helpful resources for anyone just starting out, or if you need a refresher / new gear for this crabbing season.
Salmon fishing suspended in Marine Area 11
June 13, 2023
Salmon fishing suspended in Marine Area 11
Action: Closes to all salmon fishing.
Halibut Fishing Trip May 2023
My friends and I recently had an absolutely epic halibut fishing trip out of Westport, WA. You know, the “early limits” back at the dock first kind of trip that you and your buddies will talk about for a long time.
This blog post breaks down everything we did in hopes that it might help someone repeat a similar level of success. And that includes me! When I write this stuff down, I like to go back and study it before the next trip so I can repeat what I did.
2023 Puget Sound Spot Shrimp Season
We are only a few weeks away from the 2023 Puget Sound Shrimping season! Now is the time to review season details, and take inventory of your pots, your riggings, and of course your bait.
Do you remember where you left off last year? Do you remember the valuable lessons you learned? Now is the time to review, head to the store if you need to, and come up with a plan to make your 2023 season a big success.
Puget Sound Lingcod Fishing Season 2023
Puget Sound Lingcod season marks that period in the fishing calendar where we can consistently plan to be on the water and know something will be open to angle for until things die down into the fall.
Inside this blog post you will get a reminder of the season information from WDFW, historical catch timing graphs that indicate the best times and places to fish for lingcod around Puget Sound, and of course date creel information that indicates how many lingcod are being caught in Marine Areas 5-13 in and around the Puget Sound.
What happened to our 2023 Skykomish Summer Chinook Fishery?
As many of you are now aware, we’ve lost most of the fishing opportunities in 2023 to pursue Skykomish summer chinook and summer steelhead returning in the same timeframe.
The Skykomish summer chinook fishery is an incredible opportunity close to home for many folks in the north Puget Sound region represents a massive amount of business for local guides and the surrounding businesses and fills a hole in the fishing calendar.
How did this happen? And what does it mean for the future of this fishery? Let’s explore together using the data available from the North of Falcon Process and the Management Plan for Puget Sound Chinook agreed upon between the Tribes and WDFW.
Puget Sound Halibut Fishing 2023
Halibut fishing opens up in April of 2023 for the waters considered “Puget Sound”, which includes the Strait. The Washington Coast will open in May for halibut fishing. This blog post is all about sharing the previous year’s catch data and the current year’s effort and catch data to help you hone in on “where and when to fish” for halibut in 2023 for Marine Areas 5-9.
