Looking ahead to 2023, salmon fishing enthusiasts can look forward to a decent season on the Green River. This popular fishing river originates in the Cascade mountains east of Tacoma, WA and flows into the Howard A Hansen Dam, which was created for flood control and water supply.
Despite passing through heavily populated areas of Pugetropolis, the Green River remains one of the best salmon rivers in the state, with a high number of returning salmon. As the river nears the saltwater of Elliot Bay and the city of Seattle, it forms the Duwamish waterway, providing ample opportunities for anglers to enjoy the fishery.
This blog article attempts to concentrate in one place the angling opportunity, fishing regulations and hatchery data to make your research and trip planning to the Green River as simple as possible.
Every year chinook, coho and chum salmon return to the Green river / Duwamish in good numbers. On odd years the Green gets a massive return of pink salmon as well. I love taking people to the Green to hook their first salmon during chum season in particular!
Let’s take a look at a couple of new features I’ve got up on the blog to help you understand run timing and how many salmon are returning at the hatcheries:
- Automatically updating graph of the Escapement Report for the Green River / Duwamish
- Historical run timing graph providing a visual of when salmon normally return to the Green River / Duwamish
We will evaluate these separately for coho, chinook, pink and chum salmon.
We also provide an extensive explanation of the forecast for Green River salmon returns in 2023.
Updated Status of returning Fall Chinook on the Green River
These graphs will automatically update as fish start to return to the hatchery
Historical Run Timing of Fall Chinook on the Green River
Updated Status of returning Coho on the Green River
These graphs will automatically update as fish start to return to the hatchery
Historical Run Timing of Coho on the Green River
Forecast for 2023 Green River Fall Chinook
Escapement history just counts fish at the hatcheries that report escapement, total run-size combines escapement plus estimated catch of hatchery fish.
Hatchery escapement has been pretty strong since the 2014 lows, with 6 of the last 7 years over 10k chinook salmon returning to the hatchery.
Forecasts are for total run-size, total return isn’t available until estimated catch has been calculated and released.
It’s always good to see increasing forecasts from one year to the next as we see for 2023.
This is the return map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Green River on the map and interpret the color.
In this case it’s green or > 125% of the 10 year avg run-size for the 2022 returns.
This is the forecast map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Green River on the map and interpret the color.
The forecast for 2023 is again, expected to greatly exceed the 10 year average.
Forecast for 2023 Green River Pink
This is the forecast map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Green River on the map and interpret the color.
The numbers of pink salmon expected back to the Green are simply mind boggling!
Forecast for 2023 Green River Coho
Escapement history just counts fish at the hatcheries that report escapement, total run-size combines escapement plus estimated catch of hatchery fish.
The coho trend is not what we want in terms of total hatchery escapement.
Forecasts are for total run-size, total return isn’t available until estimated catch has been calculated and released.
I’m guessing total run-size for 2022 will be adjusted much lower than forecast, but for now 2023 is expected to exceed 2022 by 20k coho, which would be great if it materializes.
This is the return map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Green River on the map and interpret the color.
As you can see returns were poor for coho in the Green River in 2022.
This is the forecast map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Green River on the map and interpret the color.
Returns of Green River coho are expected to be much better in 2023.
Forecast for 2023 Green River Chum
This is the return map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Green River on the map and interpret the color.
This is the forecast map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Green River on the map and interpret the color.
Fishing Regulations for Green River Salmon 2023
Here are the “proposed seasons” for 2023 for the Green River, more details and regulations will be included in the 2023-24 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet, which outlines the regulations from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 and will be available in early summer 2023:
| Season | Min. size | Daily limit | Additional rules | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Green River – East-West line extending through the southernmost tip of Harbor Island to Old Hwy. 99/Tukwilla Intl. Blvd. |
Aug. 20 – Dec. 31 |
12” |
6 |
Night closure and Anti-snagging rule. Daily limit 6. Up to 3 may be any combination of adult coho and chum. Release Chinook. |
|
Green River – Old Hwy. 99/Tukwilla Intl. Blvd. to South 212th St. Bridge |
Aug. 20 – Dec. 31 |
12” |
6 |
Night closure and Anti-snagging rule. Daily limit 6. Up to 3 may be any combination of adult coho, chum, and Chinook, except not more than 2 adult Chinook may be retained. Anglers must retain the first 2 adult Chinook caught. |
|
Green River – South 212th St. Bridge to the Hwy. 18 Eastbound Bridge |
Sept. 16 – Dec. 31 |
12” |
6 |
Night closure and Anti-snagging rule. Daily limit 6. Up to 3 may be any combination of adult coho and chum. Release Chinook. |
|
Green River – Hwy. 18 Eastbound Bridge to the Auburn Black Diamond Rd. Bridge |
|
|
|
CLOSED WATERS |
|
Green River – Auburn-Black Diamond Road Bridge to the Tacoma Municipal boundary marker (1.3 miles downstream of Tacoma Headworks Dam). |
Nov. 1 – Dec. 31 |
12” |
6 |
Night closure and Anti-snagging rule. Daily limit 6. Up to 3 may be any combination of adult coho and chum. Release Chinook. Closed within 150’ of the mouth of Keta Creek. |
The permanent regulations will be released sometime in June, if you are interested in seasons taking place prior to June, they will be announced via emergency regulations
Emergency Fishing Regulations for Green River Salmon 2023
The above permanent regulations for the Green River 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.
How to fish for Chum Salmon on the Green River
Checkout one of my videos on this topic here:
