Flashes of silver will be on the mind of salmon anglers as we move into September, but those still holding out hope for a Chinook will still have viable options, too. Thousands upon thousands of migratory coho salmon—commonly referred to as silvers for their shiny silvery-colored body—started to arrive in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound late last month and are expected to peak throughout September.
Silvers are highly regarded for their leaping abilities and erratic zipping and zagging across the water’s surface, making them an exciting fish to catch. Silvers aren’t the largest in the salmon family and usually average 4 to 15 pounds, though some exceed the 20-plus pound mark.
Puget Sound coho returns have gradually made a strong comeback from a downtrend due to drought issues and low survival rates that dates back to 2015 and 2016. The combined 2024 Puget Sound hatchery and wild coho forecast is 722,134 compared to 760,029 in 2023; 666,317 in 2022; 614,948 in 2021; and 504,604 in 2020. A positive signal was a robust number of resident coho caught in Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton Area) from early June into early August. Some of these coho have grown since then and will link up with their larger migratory coho relatives during the fall marine fisheries.
Knowing when to target migrating coho is key, and my advice is to closely watch catch rates in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Marine Area 5 (Sekiu-Pillar Point) and Marine Area 6 (Port Angeles). The Marine Area 5 salmon fishery is open daily for hatchery-marked coho through September 26, release Chinook, chum, sockeye, and wild coho. Then the area is open daily for all coho from September 27 through October 15. The Marine Area 6 salmon fishery is open daily for hatchery-marked coho through September 26, release Chinook, chum, sockeye, and wild coho. Then the area is open daily for all coho from September 27 through October 15, release Chinook, chum, and sockeye.
The best coho fishing occurs well offshore in the shipping lanes of the Strait of Juan de Fuca as it is the main migration highway, usually about one to two miles out in 200 to 500 feet of water and sometimes even deeper off the edge of the main shipping channels. Keep an eye out for tide rips and current breaks where krill and baitfish tend to attract coho and look for schools of coho jumping on the surface. The Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) coho fishery is open daily from September 1–29. Look for coho flooding into the outer western side of the island chain—San Juan Island, Rosario Strait, and north side of Waldron and Orcas Islands.
There are plenty of coho fishing choices within sight of the Seattle and Tacoma city skylines including Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton Area) and Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island), which are both open daily for coho fishing through November 15. Try the deep-water shipping lanes off Jefferson Head to Kingston, Richmond Beach to Meadow Point near Shilshole Bay, Point Monroe, Shilshole Bay south to West Point, Elliott Bay, the Fauntleroy Ferry area southeast to Dolphin Point, both sides of Vashon Island, Redondo Beach to Dash Point, and the Tacoma area of Commencement Bay, and Point Defiance Park from the Slag Pile to the Clay Banks.
In Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet), you can find hatchery-marked coho fishing open daily through Sept. 23 and then it switches to all coho from September 24–30. Once again, focus your time in the unmarked shipping lanes and channels where tide rips are commonly found. Fishing in Marine Area 8–1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay) is open daily for all coho through October 13, and Marine Area 8–2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner) is open daily for all coho through September 24. Target coho along the southeast side of Whidbey Island from Possession Point north to the Clinton Ferry Terminal, the Langley/Sandy Point area, Browns Bay, from Picnic Point to Mukilteo, Hat Island, Camano Head, the entire west side of Camano Island, and outside of Oak Harbor. Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound) is open daily for hatchery-marked coho. Look for fish from the Narrows Bridge south to Anderson Island. The Squaxin Island area has become a popular area for those targeting coho. The 2024 Squaxin Island net pens coho forecast is 48,081 up from 45,417 in 2023.
Elsewhere around the state: The 50-mile, free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River in the Hanford Reach area should also offer some good fall Chinook fishing from September through mid-October. Many anglers give up on Buoy 10 at the mouth of the Columbia River once the Chinook have migrated through, but if you stick around in September, you’ll likely tie into a gaggle of hatchery coho.
