Washington fishing reports
490 reports for Washington — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Record-low steelhead run keeps Eastern WA rivers quiet
Hatch Magazine reports this year's Columbia and Snake river steelhead run is shaping up as the smallest ever recorded, with just over 52,000 fish tallied above Bonneville Dam since counting began July 1. For Eastern Washington anglers working Yakima and Spokane-area steelhead water, that run-size signal points to fewer fish moving upstream through the system than in any prior recorded year.
Afternoon high tide sets the pace as Puget Sound eases into fall
Puget Sound's water read 50.9°F this morning at NOAA's CO-OPS station 9443090, in line with the seasonal slide from summer highs. Today's next high tide lands at 2:07 PM local, giving the early-afternoon hours the day's strongest current push.
Rolling Pacific ground swell frames a wide tide swing off Washington
Buoy 46041 measured a 6.9-foot swell this morning with water at 60°F, while buoy 46087 to the north showed a smaller 4.6-foot swell and cooler 53°F water, both under light wind near 2 m/s. That's a solid, well-organized ground swell running with calm air on top of it. Closer to shore, the NOAA CO-OPS station at Neah Bay reads a notably cooler 50.9°F, underscoring the temperature split between open coastal water and the entrance to the Strait this time of year. WDFW's statewide creel and catch survey program continues tracking angler effort and stocking activity across Washington waters through the fall.
Columbia steelhead run tracks toward a record low this fall
This year's Columbia and Snake river steelhead run is shaping up to be the smallest ever recorded, per Hatch Magazine, with just over 52,000 fish tallied above Bonneville Dam since counting began July 1. That puts the run well behind a typical fall pace. The full moon this week points toward early and late-day windows mattering more than midday effort. WDFW's statewide creel and stocking reports remain the go-to for current lake and river-specific numbers this time of year.
Full moon meets the fall turn on Olympic Peninsula steelhead water
Late September marks the seasonal handoff on Olympic Peninsula river systems, as summer conditions give way to the first pushes of the fall migration under this week's full moon. Hatch Magazine's dispatch on the 2026 Columbia and Snake steelhead count, the smallest ever recorded at Bonneville Dam, is worth watching for anyone tracking steelhead timing across Washington's river systems this fall, even though that watershed runs separately from the Peninsula's own coastal drainages.
Record-low steelhead run reshapes Eastern WA fall outlook
This year's Columbia and Snake river steelhead run is shaping up to be the smallest ever recorded, per Hatch Magazine, with counts at Bonneville Dam sitting just over 52,000 fish since tallies began July 1. That run reaches directly into the tributary water Eastern Washington anglers fish through fall. WDFW's statewide creel and catch reporting tracks exactly this kind of season-over-season shift, though no fresh Yakima or Spokane-area catch numbers have posted this cycle.
Full moon widens tidal swings as Puget Sound eases into fall
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 9443090 read 52°F this morning, tracking Puget Sound's steady slide toward fall temperatures. This week's full moon is driving a bigger tidal swing, with the next low expected around 7:09 a.m. and the next high near 1:14 p.m. local time — faster current exchange should hold for a few days before easing back toward average. Washington Sea Grant also flagged its SoundToxins program this week, marking 20 years of monitoring harmful algal blooms that affect shellfish safety in the Sound, worth checking before any harvest trip.
Tide swings frame the day as fall settles into Puget Sound
Puget Sound registered 55.6°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS station 9443090, marking the seasonal slide into fall temperatures across Washington's inside waters. The station's tide table puts today's low near 6:10am PDT with the next high building through midday around 12:29pm PDT, a swing worth planning a trip around. Washington Sea Grant's latest dispatches this week cover water-quality monitoring, with SoundToxins marking 20 years tracking harmful algal blooms across Puget Sound and the outer coast, alongside new Clean Marina certifications at Kettle Falls, Tacoma Yacht Club and Des Moines Marina.
Columbia River steelhead run tracks a historic low this fall
The biggest story on Washington's rivers this week isn't a bite report, it's a shortfall. Hatch Magazine reports that this year's Columbia and Snake River steelhead run is shaping up to be historically bad, with counts at Bonneville Dam (tracked since July 1) tallying just over 52,000 fish, making 2026 the smallest steelhead migration on record. For anglers planning trips to Columbia system tributaries, that scarcity is the defining condition of the season, more than any single day's weather or flow.
Olympic Peninsula rivers turn toward the fall push
Late September marks the seasonal turn for Olympic Peninsula river systems, as summer's low, stable flows begin shifting into the cooler, more turbulent conditions that typically arrive with fall. WDFW's fishing and stocking reports remain the go-to source for Peninsula-specific creel checks as the transition unfolds. Statewide, Hatch Magazine reported this month that the Columbia and Snake system's steelhead run is tracking as the smallest ever recorded through Bonneville Dam counts, a notable signal for anglers watching fall steelhead prospects across Washington, even though the Peninsula's independent river systems aren't part of that count.
Eastern WA anglers eye fall transition as Columbia steelhead run lags
The biggest story for Washington steelhead anglers this week isn't a local bite report, it's the run itself. Hatch Magazine reports the Columbia and Snake river steelhead run is shaping up as the smallest ever recorded, with just over 52,000 fish tallied above Bonneville Dam since counting began July 1. For Eastern Washington anglers who depend on that system feeding into tributary waters, it's the single data point worth planning a season around. Statewide, WDFW's creel and stocking program remains the backbone of local intel as the fall transition gets underway.
Puget Sound anglers eye big evening tide swing as fall settles in
NOAA's Seattle tide station (9443090) put water temperature at 58.5°F this evening, with the tide bottoming out around 5:46 p.m. Pacific before rebuilding toward a high near 11:27 p.m. — a solid overnight swing under this week's waxing gibbous moon. WDFW's Fishing and Stocking Reports remain the go-to source for water-specific creel numbers around the Sound and coast this week, and Washington Sea Grant notes its SoundToxins shellfish-safety monitoring program is marking 20 years of tracking harmful algal blooms, worth a check before keeping anything off the beach.