Nooksack River Salmon Fishing 2022

The Nooksack River in Whatcom County is comprised of three forks (South, Middle and North) and the main river emerging from the North Cascades and eventually dumping into the north end of Bellingham Bay.

Returns of chinook and coho can be fantastic relative to the size of the river.

I always say it’s not the size of the salmon return, but the size relative to the river size. What do I mean by this? Take a look at this graph of the CFS of the Nooksack. It’s easier to target and catch salmon in rivers like the Nooksack when they have good returns, as there’s just less water to work with.

The Kendall Creek hatchery near Deming, WA is on the North fork of the river and is the destination of the hatchery returning chinook and coho, so you should concentrate fishing effort below that area, keeping in mind the fishing regulations posted below on where it’s legal to fish.

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

1. Automatically updating graph of the Escapement Report for the Nooksack River
2. Historical run timing graph providing a visual of when salmon normally return to the Nooksack River

Updated Status of returning hatchery fall chinook on the Nooksack River

These are actually reported as “spring chinook” in the escapement reports, but that may just be a limitation of how they are reporting things as there’s definitely a summer / fall run of chinook.

Historical Run Timing of hatchery fall chinook on the Nooksack River

While the regulations often allow you fish later in the year, the run of chinook is mostly into the hatchery by the end of September.

Updated Status of returning hatchery coho on the Nooksack River

This graph starts with January escapements, as coho were still piling into the hatchery at the beginning of the year for the 2021 year run.

Historical Run Timing of hatchery coho on the Nooksack River

One of the aspects of the Nooksack that’s attractive is how late the coho run is on this river and the regulations that allow you to target coho later in the year, both hatchery and wild. It looks like the above graph shows the Nooksack coho run peaks in late Nov – mid December.

Fishing Regulations for the Nooksack River 2022

NOOKSACK RIVER – WHATCOM CO.
from Lummi Indian Reservation boundary to yellow marker at the FFA high school barn in Deming CRC (794)
All species	Sat. before Memorial Day-Dec. 31	Anti-snagging rule. Night closure.
Trout	Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”.
Steelhead (hatchery)	Jan. 1-Jan. 31	Min. size 20”. Daily limit 2.
Sat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 30	Min. size 20”. Daily limit 2.
Oct. 1-Dec. 31	Closed.
Other game fish	Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit.
Salmon	Aug. 1-Sept. 30	Min. size 12”. Daily limit 4 of which up to 2 may be hatchery Chinook and up to 2 may be wild coho. Release wild Chinook and chum.
Oct. 1-Dec. 31	Daily limit 4 of which up to 2 may be Chinook and up to 2 may be wild coho. Release chum.
from yellow marker at the FFA high school barn in Deming to confluence of North and South forks CRC (794)
All species	Oct. 1-Dec. 31	Anti-snagging rule. Night closure.
Trout	Oct. 1-Jan. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”.
Steelhead (hatchery)	Jan. 1-Jan. 31	Min. size 20”. Daily limit 2.
Oct. 1-Dec. 31	Closed.
Other game fish	Oct. 1-Jan. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit.
Salmon	Oct. 1-Dec. 31	Min. size 12”. Daily limit 4 of which up to 2 may be wild coho. Release chum.

Emergency Fishing Regulations for Nooksack River 2022

Please refer to WDFW’s emergency rules page for a full list that are in effect until I can get the e-rules automation working fully again.

It’s your responsibility as the recreational angler to know ALL of these rules, not just what is discussed here on the blog.

Forecast for 2022 Nooksack river chinook salmon

2022 is expected to be an average year for hatchery chinook returning.

Forecast for 2022 Nooksack river coho salmon

I love to see that green circle up there on the Nooksack, meaning lots of Coho are expected to return relative to the 10 year average! Combine that with some great season catch limits, and it looks like you can fill the freezer and create some memories chasing coho on the Nooksack this year.

How to fish for Salmon on the Nooksack River

This isn’t a river I fish heavily, so I will simply refer you to our page on river fishing for salmon that provides you lots of insight on reading water, and targeting salmon in rivers like the Nooksack.