Puyallup River Salmon Fishing 2023

Historically, the Puyallup is one of the best places to fish for pink salmon on odd years, and guess what, that means 2023 is a pink year! All aboard the humpy hype train! However, this year might turn out a little bit differently and this blog post will take you through what you can expect in 2023.

The Puyallup River emerges from the western flanks of Mount Rainier and is joined by key tributaries: Carbon and White Rivers within the Orting and Puyallup valleys respectively.

The forecast for salmon in 2023 differs by species and by location. Major hatcheries exist on the Carbon and White River, but only the Carbon is run by WDFW and feeds into the escapement graphs shown on this blog post.

The White River hatchery is run by the Puyallup Tribe. There is typically a season on both the Puyallup and the Carbon River, but not on the White.

Here’s the deal: This year, in 2023, runs of both hatchery and natural origin salmon are far greater on the White River, so fishing below the White on the Puyallup would be a far better strategy compared to targeting fish above the White on the Puyallup or on the Carbon.

Pink Salmon numbers in general are considerably lower on the Puyallup compared to prior years, which is unfortunate because this is a decent pink year for Puget Sound in general. Still, we are talking hundreds of thousands of Pinks so…

Enough preamble, take a look at the graphs and charts that will update prior to and during the season to help us understand what to expect.

Updated Status of returning Fall Chinook on the Puyallup River

These graphs will automatically update as fish start to return to the hatchery

Historical Run Timing of Fall Chinook on the Puyallup River

Updated Status of returning Coho on the Puyallup River

These graphs will automatically update as fish start to return to the hatchery

Historical Run Timing of Coho on the Puyallup River

Forecast for 2023 Puyallup River Fall Chinook

Escapement history just counts fish at the hatcheries that report escapement, total runsize combines escapement plus estimated catch of hatchery fish.

Forecasts are for total runsize, total return isn’t available until estimated catch has been calculated and released.

This is the return map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Puyallup 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 Puyallup River on the map and interpret the color.

Forecast for 2023 Puyallup River Pink

This is the forecast map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Puyallup River on the map and interpret the color.

Forecast for 2023 Puyallup River Coho

Escapement history just counts fish at the hatcheries that report escapement, total runsize combines escapement plus estimated catch of hatchery fish.

Forecasts are for total runsize, total return isn’t available until estimated catch has been calculated and released.

This is the return map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Puyallup 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 Puyallup River on the map and interpret the color.

Forecast for 2023 Puyallup River Chum

This is the return map published as part of North of Falcon, you need to look for Puyallup 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 Puyallup River on the map and interpret the color.

Fishing Regulations for Puyallup River Salmon 2023

These reflect what’s been made available electronically to the public regarding permanent fishing regulations on the Puyallup River

from the 11th St. Bridge to 400’ downstream of Clark’s Creek CRC (804)
All species	Aug. 16-Sept. 30	CLOSED Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Night closure. Anti-snagging rule. Barbless hooks required.
Trout	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
Other game fish	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit.
Salmon	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Min. size 12”. Daily limit 6. Up to 4 adults including no more than 2 Chinook or 2 coho or 1 of each may be retained. Release chum and wild Chinook.
from 400’ downstream to 400’ upstream of Clark’s Creek
All species		CLOSED WATERS.
from 400’ upstream of Clark’s Creek to East Main Bridge CRC (804)
All species	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Barbless hooks required. Night closure. Anti-snagging rule.
	Aug. 16-Sept. 30	CLOSED Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
Trout	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
Other game fish	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit.
Salmon	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Min. size 12”. Daily limit 6. Up to 4 adults including no more than 2 Chinook or 2 coho or 1 of each may be retained. Release chum and wild Chinook.
from East Main Bridge to Carbon River CRC (804)
All species	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Barbless hooks required. Anti-snagging rule. Night closure.
	Aug. 16-Sept. 30	CLOSED Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
Trout	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
Other game fish	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Statewide min. size/daily limit.
Salmon	Aug. 16-Oct. 31	Min. size 12”. Daily limit 6. Up to 4 adults including no more than 2 Chinook or 2 coho or 1 of each may be retained. Release chum and wild Chinook.
from Carbon River upstream CRC (804)
All species		Selective gear rules.
Trout	Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 15	Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
Other game fish	Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 15	Statewide min. size/daily limit.

Always make sure you fully understand the fishing regulations and check emergency regulations to avoid a costly ticket

Emergency Fishing Regulations for Puyallup River Salmon 2023

The above permanent regulations for the Puyallup 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 do I get started fishing the Puyallup River for salmon?

Believe me I get it. Just getting started fishing for salmon in the river can be pretty intimidating. You may have tried in the past and not had success, you may have grown up fishing, but never in the rivers for salmon.

Don’t worry, literally my entire website is here to help new people get started successfully in a variety of PNW outdoor harvest opportunities, but certainly salmon fishing in the rivers is well within the wheel house.

Don’t find what you’re looking for? Drop me an email at kyle@pnwbestlife.com and I will attempt to answer your question directly.

So let’s look at a few articles starting with a few guides to gear that may help you.

My guide to the best fishing rod for salmon will give you an idea how to get started AND why you should buy a given salmon fishing rod.

My guide to the best fishing reel for salmon goes with the fishing rod guide to help you complete your setup.

Next, let’s take a deeper look at river fishing for salmon in general. River fishing for salmon is one of the most complete references to salmon fishing the rivers you will find on the interweb (aol?).

Frequently asked questions about the Puyallup River

Why is the Puyallup River the color of a chocolate milkshake during the summer?

The primary source of summer time water in the Puyallup comes from melting glaciers on the slopes of Mount Rainier. While many rivers are sourced by freshwater springers, mountain lakes or some combination, the Puyallup is almost entirely coming from that glacier melt water during the summer in particular.

Melted glacier water includes extremely fine particulates called silt or glacial till. The water is not “dirty” as some would believe; it’s also going to be quite cold and thus dangerous if appropriate precautions are not taken.

Here’s an example of how this impacts your visit to the Puyallup River:

If you are new to rivers, you may not know how to read the surrounding landscape and what it says about the depth of the water. Most people are used “seeing the bottom” to determine the depth.

Well how do you do that if you can only see through about 1″ of water in the Puyallup? You had better have a plan if you are stopping off the side of the road and hopping into the river. The spot you could be stepping into could be 6″ or 6′ and mean the difference between a nice day of fishing vs life threatening situation.

Here’s a few ideas:

1. Hold on to something as you take that first step into the water
2. Grab a nearby stick and use it to find bottom
3. If the current is slow it’s more likely to be shallow (but not always!), if it’s fast and you cannot see bottom, don’t do it.
4. Look at the surrounding land, does it gently slope into the water or is the drop more vertical?
5. My favorite: watch someone go in first 🙂

Know that the low visibility will also drastically impact fishing. To get a river salmon to bite in 1″ of visibility you need scent, slow moving bait and to put it right at eye level.

What’s the best way to fish the Puyallup River?

You are going to want to use the drift fishing method because of what I wrote about the 1″ visibility. Drift fishing for salmon is covered in way more detail in the link here.

You might also try float fishing for salmon, but need slow enough current and need to get down to right in front of their face.

Why does everyone line up in the river and fish so close together?

The part of the river with the most fish per CFS of water are going to be the choke points. The choke points typically occur in the deep sections off of gravel bars. Gravel bars are also super easy to wade on due to their gradual slopes and wide bank areas.

These spots will attract the most bank anglers. Classic bars on the lower part of the river like the “Soccer fields” will be the busiest places on the whole river to fish. If you are looking for a little bit of privacy, you will need to find a place not so ideal to fish.

It all depends on what you are hoping to get out of the fishing experience.

Why do people use such long drift leaders on a river with like 1″ of visibility?

People like it when the fish bite, but they also hate it when the guy or gal next to them is hooking a fish every cast and they aren’t. The answer? Longer leaders such that if the fish doesn’t bite, there’s at least a better chance for the line to run through the mouth of an upstream traveling salmon. A technique called flossing, you can read a ton about here.

Wrapping up

If you think of another question I haven’t covered here, feel free to drop a comment below. I answer all comments, but they may not appear instantly as I have to approve your first comment due to spam protection reasons.

I will update this article as the regulations and the final seasons get published to provide a bit more clarity on what to expect in 2023 on the Puyallup River.