Marine Area 8 includes the waters of Deception Pass, Skagit Bay, Saratoga Passage, Port Susan, and the waters around Everett/Possession Sound.
Marine Area 8 is subdivided into 8-1 and 8-2. Additionally, there is the well-known Tulalip Bubble that sits as a special-rules area within 8-2.
Below is a map from WDFW’s Marine Area definitions to show you where Marine Area 8, 8-1, and 8-2 sit within the Strait/Puget Sound:
Marine Area 8, 8-1, and 8-2 Salmon Fishing 2025
There are two primary salmon seasons that get a lot of attention within Marine Area 8: Coho salmon fishing and the Tulalip Bubble chinook fishery.
Chinook salmon fishing hasn’t been allowed outside of the Tulalip Bubble fishery for some time, but coho fishing can be absolutely outstanding throughout Marine Area 8. We’ve experienced some incredible fishing near the Mukilteo Ferry, fishing for coho.
I’ve usually found myself fishing up in this area for the Salmon for Soldiers Day of Honor events that I will be a volunteer boat for. These events are incredibly well done, and if you are a veteran or active duty (thank you for your service!), you should definitely consider signing up for one of these.
Of course, in 2025, we will have a run of pink salmon as well. While 2025 is expected to be a great run of pinks for the Puget Sound overall, the numbers in North Sound rivers are supposed to be down, which may impact the pink fishing opportunities in Marine Area 8.
The primary salmon fishing technique in Marine Area 8 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:
You can also catch a lot of coho salmon with deep-six divers, which is something I’ve written about in my larger guide to catching Puget Sound Salmon here.
What is the forecast for Salmon in Marine Area 8 in 2025?
Marine Area 8, 8-1, and 8-2 are more out-of-the-way waters, meaning that most of the salmon encountered here will be headed to North Sound Rivers such as the Skagit, Stillaguamish, and Skykomish Rivers.
We will take a closer look at the forecast for this combination of rivers to hone in on what we can expect for these marine areas.
This section is to take a look at those run sizes based on what we know from the North of Falcon process in 2025.
Both the Tulalip Hatchery and the Skykomish River hatchery summer chinook are in this graph above. The Tulalip component is down slightly, as is the Skykomish summer chinook hatchery forecast.
Most of the fish being targeted in the bubble are headed to the Tulalip Hatchery, but a decent amount of Skykomish Chinook get caught in this fishery as well, so I included both in the above graph.
As you can see, there’s an expected reduction in pinks in 2025 compared to 2023. 1 Million is still a good number of pinks, so I would be surprised to see a marine non-retention rule, but there will likely not be a bonus pink limit.
Look for coho fishing to be as good as it’s been the last few years. I’m participating in Salmon for Soldiers again in 2025, so I’m hoping the catching will be at its peak in mid-September.
When is the best time to fish for Chinook Salmon in the Tulalip Bubble?
Take a look at the graph below, which is based on 6 years of recent chinook fishing dockside creel reports and posted on WDFW’s website:
I’ve always heard that the bubble is pretty hit or miss on most days, and this graph basically shows that. Fishing gets slightly better later in June, but it kind of looks like catching is fairly evenly distributed throughout the entire season it’s open.
When is the best time to fish for Pink Salmon in Marine Area 8-1?
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. You can see that catching really peaks in mid-August and tails off after that.
When is the best time to fish for Pink Salmon in Marine Area 8-2?
It’s hard to rely on creel graphs sometimes for pink salmon fishing timing because not everyone wants to keep pinks. You can see that catching is really good basically right away in August, but gets stupid by mid-late August and tails off into September as the salmon head up the rivers.
Recent Pink Salmon Fishing Reports from Marine Area 8-1
Recent Pink Salmon Fishing Reports from Marine Area 8-2
When is the best time to fish for Coho Salmon in Marine Area 8-1?
Take a look at the graph below, which is based on 6 years of recent coho fishing dockside creel reports and posted on WDFW’s website:
Marine Area 8-1 seems to hit an absolute peak late in September, but the fishing gets better all throughout the month.
When is the best time to fish for Coho Salmon in Marine Area 8-2?
Take a look at the graph below, which is based on 6 years of recent coho fishing dockside creel reports and posted on WDFW’s website:
There are some really good days in late August, but once we get into that 2nd week in September, it’s really lights out for coho salmon in Marine Area 8-2.
Recent Coho Salmon Fishing Reports from Marine Area 8-1
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.
Recent Coho Salmon Fishing Reports from Marine Area 8-2
Marine Areas 8, 8-1, and 8-2 Lingcod Fishing
Lingcod fishing can be decent in both 8-1 and 8-2, but according to the creel reports, anglers do better in Marine Area 8-1.
Here’s what the graphs are saying about when the peak catch is for lingcod in Marine Area 8-1:
Also, in 8-2:
Are people catching lingcod right now in Marine Area 8-1 or 8-2? Here’s what the creel survey says about that:
There are a few being caught. One lingcod for every 3 rods is a fairly typical average for many areas of Puget Sound.
There are a few being caught in 8-2, but not many.
Halibut fishing in Marine Areas 8, 8-1, and 8-2
All my graphs are empty for halibut, though it does appear to be open during halibut season in Puget Sound…
Staying safe while fishing out of Marine Area 8
One of the great advantages of fishing the waters of Marine Area 8 is that the surrounding land will blunt the impact of the wind on the water, limiting how large the wind waves can get.
Don’t get me wrong, any body of water of decent size with the wrong direction and high enough wind speed can create hazards, but places that have lots of land mass offering protection can usually get away with more difficult conditions than, say, the Strait, Ocean or the main section of Puget Sound.
There is at least one area of great significance you should be aware of, and that’s Deception Pass. Before you head out, you should read this incredibly well-done story of the absolutely terrifying and life-threatening convergence of wind, ebb tide, and a narrow funnel of water that section of water can create.
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 intending to plan a trip through Deception Pass.
Tides / Marine Forecast for Marine Area 8
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 Everett, and the Marine Forecast is for Northern Inland waters.
Marine Forecast for Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands as of 1 days and 2 hours ago
Forecast published on 06/12/2025 02:36:00 Synopsis: SYNOPSIS FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS...Surface high pressure centered offshore through the end of the week will move closer to the coastal waters over the weekend. A weakening front will reach the waters Monday night. Diurnal westerly pushes through Strait of Juan de Fuca are expected each evening.
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 |
| 20:13 | 11.56 ft | H | NA | NA |
06/13/2025 Fri
Daytime Marine Forecast: W wind 5 to 10 kt, becoming S in the afternoon. Waves around 2 ft or less.| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 01:22 | 7.78 ft | L | -3.78 | -0.73 |
| 05:25 | 9.42 ft | H | 1.64 | 0.40 |
| 13:01 | -1.98 ft | L | -11.4 | -1.50 |
| 20:51 | 11.62 ft | H | 13.6 | 1.74 |
06/14/2025 Sat
Daytime Marine Forecast: SW wind 5 to 10 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less.| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 02:11 | 7.62 ft | L | -4 | -0.75 |
| 06:03 | 9.04 ft | H | 1.42 | 0.37 |
| 13:40 | -1.69 ft | L | -10.73 | -1.41 |
| 21:26 | 11.60 ft | H | 13.29 | 1.71 |
06/15/2025 Sun
Daytime Marine Forecast: SW wind around 5 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less.| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 03:02 | 7.26 ft | L | -4.34 | -0.78 |
| 06:49 | 8.54 ft | H | 1.28 | 0.34 |
| 14:21 | -1.11 ft | L | -9.65 | -1.28 |
| 22:00 | 11.54 ft | H | 12.65 | 1.65 |
06/16/2025 Mon
Daytime Marine Forecast: S wind 5 to 10 kt. Waves around 2 ft or less.| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 03:55 | 6.61 ft | L | -4.93 | -0.83 |
| 07:50 | 7.92 ft | H | 1.31 | 0.33 |
| 15:03 | -0.20 ft | L | -8.12 | -1.13 |
| 22:33 | 11.45 ft | H | 11.65 | 1.55 |
06/17/2025 Tue
| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 04:49 | 5.62 ft | L | -5.83 | -0.93 |
| 09:08 | 7.31 ft | H | 1.69 | 0.39 |
| 15:49 | 1.06 ft | L | -6.25 | -0.94 |
| 23:04 | 11.35 ft | H | 10.29 | 1.42 |
06/18/2025 Wed
| Tide Time (24H) | Predicted (ft) | High-Low | Tide Delta | Avg ft / hour |
| 05:43 | 4.30 ft | L | -7.05 | -1.06 |
Looking for more tides? Checkout the NOAA Tide Prediction page for Everett here
Marine Area 8 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 8 regulations here.
Emergency Fishing Regulations for Marine Area 8
The above permanent regulations for Marine Area 8 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.
