Skagit and Cascade coho fishing opens Oct. 1, with midmonth closure windows

Coho fishing is scheduled to open on portions of the Skagit and Cascade rivers Oct. 1–31, 2026. A FishingWA update posted Sept. 25, carrying the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife action, also tightens gear, sets a lower coho limit on the upper Skagit, and blocks two stretches of days for tribal fisheries. The species named are all species and coho.

On the Cascade, from the mouth to the Rockport-Cascade Road Bridge, the salmon daily limit is four coho, minimum 12 inches, and every other salmon has to go back. Bait is prohibited and salmon gear is single-point barbless hooks. That stretch is closed to all fishing on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.

The Skagit is split into three pieces, all with a two-coho daily limit, a 12-inch minimum, release of every salmon other than coho, no bait, and single-point barbless hooks for salmon. From the mouth to Gilligan Creek east of Sedro-Woolley, that rule runs the whole month. From Gilligan Creek to the Baker River it is the same on Oct. 1–4, Oct. 8–12, and Oct. 18–31, with all-species closures Oct. 5–7 and Oct. 13–17 so sport gear stays out of scheduled tribal fisheries. From the Baker River to the Marblemount Bridge on Cascade River Road, the two-coho rule holds for the full Oct. 1–31 window.

WDFW said Chinook encounter rates usually drop hard in October, which is why water that had been closed to protect Chinook can open for coho. The caution is real this year: the coho sport fishery has produced more Chinook catch than in any season since in-season fall monitoring started on the Skagit in 2021, and nearly two-thirds of the freshwater sport share of the allowed incidental Chinook catch is already used. Anglers are asked to stay out of water where Chinook are holding, and to identify the fish before they keep it. Size is not a reliable way to tell coho from Chinook or pinks; both of those have already shown up in this year’s catch misidentified as coho. Dolly Varden and bull trout stay closed to targeting and retention, and a night closure is in effect on the Skagit and Cascade during open periods. North Puget Sound Region: TeamMillCreek@dfw.wa.gov, 425-775-1311. Read the live rule and the pamphlet before you keep a fish.

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

Source: FishingWA — Skagit and Cascade River fishing updates (Sept. 25, 2026).