Other Fishing Resources

Numerous other resources are offered by public agencies that can be helpful to anglers. This page identifies many of those resources and how they can be used.

River Levels
Fishing success in rivers is often dependent on how high the river is, and whether it has recently had a freshet or not. A very good resource for river levels is the U.S. Geological Service real time website. This site allows you to look at river levels throughout the state in real time. Many experienced anglers will check this site before leaving home in the morning, sometimes saving themselves a wasted trip.

Wave Height Reports
The National Data Buoy Center has wave buoys throughout the northwest that can help you determine if it is safe enough for you to be on the water. You can look at the wind speed, wave height, and wave steepness.

Fish Counts
Many dams have fish counting facilities on them. Determining when to fish is a lot easier if you have a real count of the number of fish that are available. For the Columbia River system, its hard to beat the Fish Passage Center or the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers site. Some folks also like the University of Washington DART site. For Lake Washington sockeye check here: Lake Washington Sockeye Counts. Check here for information on fish returns and movements on the Cowlitz River.

Quota Updates
Marine Areas 1 - 4, and the Area 5/6 chinook selective fishery, are open until the quota is reached or the end of the published season. To check whether the quota has been reached or not, look at the following links:
Area 1 - 4: Ocean Sport Salmon Reports.
Area 5/6 Chinook Selective Fishery.

Species Web Pages
Would you like to know more about the biology and management of certain salmon species. You can become a better angler by understanding what salmon need to survive and how they use the environment around them. WDFW has two fantastic websites, one for chum salmon and one for sockeye salmon.

Selective Fishing Page
A selective salmon fishery in Washington is one where you are required to release wild fish, but may retain hatchery fish. An example of this is the selective coho fishery in Marine Areas 1 - 4. Many beginning anglers wonder how they should release the wild fish they catch. We have a page that shows how to use a dehooker to release fish without handling them. It even includes a video demonstration.

How to Videos
WDFW has put together a number of videos on salmon fishing techniques and locations to fish.

Columbia River Spring Chinook Fishing

• Wild About Washington - April 2002
• Wild About Washington - April 2004
• Wild About Washington - April 2005

Blackmouth Fishing

• Wild About Washington - March 2003
• Wild About Washington - January 2004
• Wild About Washington - January 2005

Ocean Salmon Fishing

• Wild About Washington - July 2003
• Wild About Washington - July 2004

Pink Salmon Fishing

• Wild About Washington - August 2003
• Wild About Washington - September 2003
• Wild About Washington - August 2005

Coho Salmon Fishing

• Wild About Washington - September 2004
• Wild About Washington - October 2004
• Wild About Washington - November 2005

Puget Sound Shore Fishing

• Wild About Washington - October 2003

Puget Sound Summer Salmon Fishing

• Wild About Washington - August 2004
• Wild About Washington - July 2005

Chum Salmon Fishing

• Wild About Washington - December 2004