Happy New Year! I don’t know why I get so excited each year as the calendar turns over, but I do. Another year full of fishing, hunting, and foraging opportunities in 2025 is ahead of us, and this blog post will break it down.
Think of this list as inspiration and ideas, not necessarily as a reference since, as you know, seasons and opportunities are always in flux. It’s impressive when you put them all down on paper how much we get to do in this most beautiful corner of the planet!
What fishing, hunting, and foraging possibilities are there in January 2025?
The holidays are over; household budgets are recovering, and it’s game on for chasing elusive winter steelhead in the PNW! In Western Washington, we have many opportunities we haven’t had in the past few years. The coastal and Chehalis River tributaries have been providing hatchery steelhead harvest opportunities, and anglers are out there in droves trying to make it happen.
But that’s not all that January has to offer. I heard there had been some legit saltwater salmon fishing up in Canada on the other side of the Strait! With the weather insisting on remaining dry, really cold, and calm, perhaps shooting up there is on the agenda? Who wants to stand in a line of bank anglers fighting for elbow room to cast, right?
There is, of course, also the foraging opportunity for the elusive truffle mushroom. I’ve been working on training my special truffle dog, but we haven’t found a paydirt yet. I’ve gotta spend a bit more time at it, but I want to do it when I can combine it with a trip to the coast for Steelhead, which requires rain! I don’t think it will ever rain here ever again, so…
Speaking of calm, sunny, and cold weather. What about a nice toasty razor clam dig? There are better shows when the surf is calmer. A coastal dig might be just what you need to break you out of winter doldrums!
Lastly, hunting for most waterfowl wraps up in January. There are still the snow goose opportunities later on, but this is pretty much it. Many of the productive ponds are now frozen solid, so you might need to focus on bigger bodies of water like rivers or just stick to the fields where birds are feeding.
Is there anything to fish for in the PNW in February 2025 though?
Surely, February is when everything has basically died down and there’s nothing to do now right? Nope! Never! It’s true February is my slowest month for harvest recreation, but many of the January opportunities continue into February!
Steelhead? Yup. Razor clams? Yup. Canada fishing? Yup. Truffle hunting? Yup.
Okay, but what’s actually new in February? How do you feel about smelt? Because I love it! And WDFW has dialed up one whale of a smelting opportunity for us in 2025. I’m pretty excited about this. Now, not all of these dates will be good. The run can fluctuate with fits and starts. But with the new requirement to get a license and more enforcement and monitoring, perhaps things will be a little more spread out.
I also saw a note that starting in February, the Skagit/Sauk systems is supposed to open 7 days a week for catch and release on those big wild steelhead. Now that’s exciting!
March is when my fishing season is really going to take off in 2025
March, the end of winter, green shoots showing up everywhere, cherry blossoms. The smell of fish will be in the air! Can’t you just picture it?
Why is March so fishy? The second Saturday in March has historically been the ocean opener for rockfish and lingcod. Fishing is HIGHLY weather dependent, but man, if we get some days on the ocean, anything like this calmer stretch of weather…It could be a lot of fun!
I love fishing for those early in the season lingcod close on the shallow rock piles in 70 to 120 ft of water. Dropping jigs on these aggressive fish and just pounding out a boat limit in a few hours.
Then we have the peak of late arriving winter steelhead seasons. Of course, the Chehalis and coastal tribs will mostly all be closed on March 1st, but the Cowlitz is a big big producer of winter steelhead in March. Coupled with the Skagit/Sauk that might be on fire by then, there will be plenty of opportunity for steelhead fishing still.
Of course, we still have razor clams going on and smelt (hopefully!).
But when you get to the end of the month, it starts to get really exciting! Because that’s right, it’s time to load up your boat, all of your gear, and your insane buddies and spend 12 hours a day in the crappiest weather just grinding through herring for that cold crisp chrome spring chinook salmon from the Columbia River to inhale your bait! You gotta let them eat it! Don’t put that guy on the net! Ahh, man, stuff just happens, we will probably get another bite tomorrow, too!
What is wrong with us? I hear it might be a little better forecast this year. C’mon now, don’t wimp out and stay home, warm and toasty, when there’s a one-in-a-million chance you could catch a springer! I can’t wait!
Am I forgetting something? Oh yeah, Puget Sound Blackmouth makes a big comeback by mid-March in Marine Areas 10 and 11! The annual race to see how many sub-legals we can catch, and how many ignorant people will talk about lying to the fish checkers on public forums that WDFW and co-managers listen to. Trying to guess how long the season will go based on some highly dubious small sample-sized statistical projections always makes for a more exciting fishing season as well!
So how do you feel about fishing, hunting and foraging in April 2025?
If you thought March was exciting, wait until you see what April has in store. I need to pace myself because I’m already too excited and it’s only April!
Razor clams? Check. Steelhead? There are not quite as many opportunities, save for the first couple of weeks potentially.
Spring chinook will get marginally better on the Columbia River. In fact, a few boats might limit, WDFW will hear about it and immediately shut things down on April 2nd. Causing me to throw all my gear in the water and give up springer fishing for the rest of the year! Or many just in the Columbia River. Because by the end of April, the tributaries will start to get hot for Springers, and you don’t want to miss that. Bobber downs! Bait and diver slams. Fresh salmon of the highest quality on your grill and in your freezer.
Now, the ocean fishing really starts to pop off. Lingcod? Check. Rockfish? Check. But now we have halibut added to the mix in the eastern Straits and Puget Sound by the end of the month! Hopefully, by now, we’ve also got some nicer weather, and folks are really able to get out. Watch the weather on halibut openers, though; those are guaranteed to be 9 ft at 9 seconds without fail
I’m really looking forward to hitting Sekiu once their season opens up in April, with a blackmouth quota of about four fish for the entire month! But seriously, it’s worth a trip up there when you can also head over to Neah and catch the crap out of the lingcod/rockfish. The blackmouth season might even still be open in Puget Sound. I mean, stranger things have happened. Like that time, it didn’t rain for two straight weeks in January. That was crazy!
Okay, all that was a waste of words, the most important thing happening in April is turkey hunting season. Gobble gobble! I was out hunting for waterfowl in Central Washington a week ago, and as I approached the river in the early light, a bunch of geese took off, making their usual noises as they took off. As they made their noise, several turkeys in the nearby woods did their stupid gobbles. I mean, if that’s not a sign that 2025 is the year of the turkey, I don’t know what to say. If you’ve ever heard turkeys gobble in the woods, you know it immediately fills you with intense intent to put one of those on a dinner plate. It’s hard to explain, but there’s nothing I want to harvest more in 2025 than a turkey!
On the mushroom front, we are right in the middle of riparian morel season. I’m going to hopefully do a lot more of this in 2025 as I simply love mushroom foraging, and it’s hard to beat the fantastic flavor of morels.
What’s your favorite fishing opportunity in May 2025?
I know what mine is. And it’s not even close! Actually, it’s the only correct answer to this question and that’s Spot Shrimp. My entire month of May revolves around shrimping for these tasty critters from the waters of the Puget Sound, Hood Canal and San Juan Islands. You can be making plans now, finding all your friends who are allergic to shrimp and begging them to get a license and come help you stock your freezer for a day! I mean, you are giving them a nice boat ride…Is it wrong to ask them to contribute beer and gas money as well?
Of course, tributary Springers are still going strong, peaking in May. Turkey hunting has gotten harder, but is still a thing. Morels are now an even bigger factor as snow melts in the mountains, opening up new foraging opportunities.
The big saltwater fishing opportunity that you need to pay attention to is the ocean opener for halibut. This is usually the best opportunity to fill your freezer with meat you will likely forget about in the bottom of your freezer, overcook, and drench with butter until you can’t possibly taste it anymore. I mean, I love halibut, but some of y’all got issues with this fish. I ask for halibut recipes, and I get basically this response: First, you marinate it in butter, then coat it with mayonnaise, followed by wrapping it in bacon. Next, you gently braise it in heavy cream. I mean, what is the problem here? Perhaps just don’t cook it so long? I mean…
Speaking of jabronis that overcook their halibut while convincing themselves they have the perfect recipe, let’s talk about Puget Sound lingcod anglers…I bet you cannot wait to get out there with 100 other boats on Possession to catch a single medium-sized lingcod! I will do my lingcod fishing in places where I can keep 20″ fish and two of them, which is basically like one 40″ fish, so there.
June marks the beginning of summer, what can we do in June, 2025?
For some of you, this is like taking the boat out of storage month. It’s sad that I have to mention you at all, but that’s all you’re gonna get from me I hope you feel seen! And what better summer salmon opportunity to start with than fishing for those resident coho ho ho’s in Puget Sound? It’s like hitting off of a tee, right? Get the gear straightened out, remember how to use a downrigger, launch and retrieve your boat…
Seriously though, June is filled with opportunities. Ocean openers for salmon are usually here by mid-late June. Bottom fishing opportunities are non-stop. Spot Shrimp is prolific all month long.
Mushroom opportunities, especially for those burn area morels, are a big deal. Get a fire map of 2024 and have a fun family road trip to some high country to load up on these tasty mushrooms.
July 2025 is here, will you take the entire month off?
We’ve now entered the golden 4-month stretch that will make most of our years. Unfortunately, most of us still have to work and mow our lawns and do other crap. I mean, it’s kind of unfair if you think about it. When will get AI and robots to do all the jobs while we just go fishing every day in July?
Right off the jump, we will have Puget Sound crab usually open up. And if your crabbing spot is in a little harbor or bay, you better get out there and get your favorite crustaceans because, after opening weekend, it usually takes some time to bounce back. Don’t forget to drop your pots around ferry terminals and definitely use a floating line and add zero weight to your pots for maximum effectiveness! Actually, don’t do any of that. Bad crabber. Let’s be better in 2025, okay?
That mess of salmon we finally found in June out in the ocean has finally made their way into the Strait, and by mid-July, they are streaming through Admiralty Inlet, rampaging through schools of herring over Possession and steaming their way south and north throughout Puget Sound.
Here’s the thing, though: Most of the Marine Area 10 and 11 fishing doesn’t really heat up until the last week of July and into August. Many of those July fish are blackmouth. However, in 2024, Jeff Head was chock-full of big migrating chinook all July and even throughout June. Salmon kind of just do whatever they want, so good luck figuring them out year to year.
One thing I think you can count on in July is lots and lots of Pink salmon coming in behind the chinook.
August 2025 is in the competition for the best month of the year
July is overrated. My birthday is in August. The best weather is in August. The best fishing is in August. Football comes back in August (sort of). We find out the Mariners definitely suck by August. What’s not to like?
Crabbing is full go. Chinook fishing in the interior of Puget Sound is ridiculous. If you cannot catch a pink salmon on downrigger gear, you need to sell your boat and toss all your gear. I mean, you basically failed at life. Or just watch my video on how to use downriggers!
In some rivers, chinook are starting to make their way up into the river, leading to a decision no angler should have to make: Downrigger fishing or bobber downs in the river? Look, I’m not here to spare your feelings but to confront you with all the harsh realities of life in 2025.
And who can resist the temptation to go to the Puyallup River and floss the crap out of whatever species of fish is trying to swim up that mess of brown water? Pinks? Chinook? Coho? Sign me up! It’s like a surprise on every hook set, which happens on every cast if you didn’t know. Jerk or be one!
If you’re willing to leave the cheap gas expenditure realm of Puget Sound and start counting gas in the hundos, then you need to fish Westport for a few days in August. You will catch the biggest chinook of the year and fill your freezer quickly. Actually, don’t do this. Because if you fill your freezer in August, you will have no reason to keep fishing and things are just getting going!
I don’t even want to mention the Columbia River. But, the Buoy 10 fishery is like the super bowl of salmon fishing. It’s an absolute must to get on the Columbia River in August.
Oh crap, it’s September 2025 and I haven’t prepared to hunt big game yet.
Yup, that’s right, you just messed up big time buddy! Look, I understand, fishing can be quite intoxicating and keep you busy every month of the year. But if you end the year without any red meat in your freezer have you really won at life this year? I’m gonna go with no, no, you haven’t.
Time to take a break from all this crazy fishing to do a bit of scouting and prep for the big game hunting seasons and then come right back to an insane amount of fishing opportunities!
I haven’t even mentioned coho yet. I mean…Coho have now infiltrated the Puget Sound like covert agents trailing the pinks and chinook salmon. From the last week in August through most of September, you can count on lights out coho fishing in the Puget Sound. You still also still have some pinks and chinook out there. It’s fantastic fishing. I noted last year that towards the end of the season, bait will far outperform other methods, so have your helmet and cut plug game ready to go and grind on that big school of hungry fat coho until you fill the boat.
If we are talking rivers…I mean, I’m ready to toss my boat by this point. Who needs to fish the Sound for coho when you can fish the rivers every day for chinook? Have I mentioned the words “bobber down?” Yeah, I know, it gets me pretty excited too!
Don’t even get me started on mushroom foraging that will pop off on every shot of rain. Also, we definitely know the Mariners won’t make the playoffs by this point because, of course, they didn’t sign anyone significant in the offseason. At least we still have a 9 win Seahawks season to look forward to!
Also, on every rain will be big schools of coho charging up river! Have I mentioned the coastal river action in September? I don’t even know what to do with myself at this point. I cannot do it all, there’s only one of me! I’ve gotta go kill a deer somewhere and scout for elk cause I’m a muzzy hunter, so I’m pretty much in a bind all month long trying to figure out what to do.
Also, the grass keeps growing, and my college-attending son has left for school, which means I have to do that myself to avoid another HOA nastygram. What difficult lives we lead.
October 2025 is the best month of the year in the PNW for fishing, hunting and foraging.
We’ve made it finally to the Super Bowl of all PNW Months. I don’t care what you say, nothing tops October. Deer hunting. Elk Hunting. Bird Hunting. Duck camp, are you kidding me!?! Rivers on fire with chinook, coho, pinks, and chum!
Mushroom treasure hunts until we are lost in the woods!
Winter crabbing, razor clamming, and squid! I need 3-4 of me to do everything that’s possible. This is the month to seal the deal and finalize all the space in that freezer to make it through another tough winter.
I need to sell my house to get out from under the iron thumb of my HOA because I still haven’t mowed my lawn and then move into a van down by the river because I need more time to fish!
It’s November 2025 and we can let up on the gas a bit…
Okay, things have started to calm down just a bit. Hunting is still going strong. And if you learn how to forage for mushrooms, you can bring something edible back to your family even when you inevitably fail at hunting yet again…Don’t take it too hard though, Washington is basically the worst western state to big game hunt in, so this is expected.
Oh, you didn’t apply for an out-of-state hunt? You thought you would get it done in Washington, huh? I bet you believed in the Mariners all season too? Sorry, I might be projecting a little bit here…I’m definitely applying and hunting somewhere else in November, though.
If you still want to focus on fishing, November is a great month for late-season coho and prime time for those hard-fighting chums. I absolutely love chum fishing in November.
It’s also prime time for squidding in Puget Sound. I love to drop crab pots in Puget Sound while banging out a quick limit of squid. Combining a trip to the coast for mushrooms and razor clams is also a solid trip plan.
December 2025
And now we are back to where we started. Winter time. Early return steelhead is definitely in focus. Late season hunting. Late season foraging. Squid. Crab. Razor Clams.
Hopefully, you’ve already had a massively successful year, and you can get out whenever conditions line up and just enjoy the holidays with your family and raise a glass to another year of seeing beautiful places, spending time with wonderful people, and catching and harvesting delicious food.
When every meal has a story to tell, you know you are living the PNW Best Life!