Drought and weak coho close many Washington coastal rivers to fishing Oct. 24

Much of Washington's coast is about to close to river fishing. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Oct. 21 that fishing for salmon and all game fish will close Saturday, Oct. 24, on many rivers and tributaries in its Coastal Region. The agency cited low water from the ongoing drought and coho returns that are coming in well under preseason forecasts.

The closures cover the Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor river systems, including the Chehalis, Humptulips, Willapa and Naselle rivers, as well as the Moclips and Copalis rivers. Marine Areas 2-1 and 2-2 also close Oct. 24, except for the Ocean Shores and Westport boat basins. They add to earlier closures on the Hoh, Quillayute and Clearwater rivers, and on the Snohomish and other North Puget Sound rivers earlier in October.

"Rivers across much of Western Washington are at near historic low flows," said Chad Herring, WDFW's Coastal Region Fish Program manager. He said the closures are meant to get enough fish to spawning areas and will stay in place until flows rise or monitoring shows salmon are moving upstream. Several tribal co-managers have also cut back or closed their fall fisheries.

One river is going the other way. The Dungeness River on the North Olympic Peninsula opens to salmon and game-fish angling on Oct. 23 as scheduled, but with the salmon limit cut to two hatchery coho. WDFW urges anglers to check its emergency rule page before every trip.

Photo: Aerial view of the Satsop River, a Chehalis River tributary. Photo by WDFW.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife — Fishing closures begin Oct. 24 in many Western Washington rivers (Oct. 21, 2026).