Look to deep South Puget Sound for end of summer/early fall coho fishing options
The nooks and crannies at Puget Sound’s southernmost end, Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound), produce lots of hatchery silvers catchable there and further north, and here’s how and where.
Story originally published in the Northwest Sportsman Magazine September issue
The coho salmon return to Puget Sound sparks a fishing frenzy in September and October, but there’s a location that remains somewhat untapped when it comes to finding some elbow room.
The pristine waters surrounding Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound) south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge may not be on the radar of many anglers, but those who venture to the area will likely find a good number of coho in late summer and early fall.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Squaxin Island Tribe raise around 2.6 million coho salmon at two net pen facilities located between Squaxin and Harstine Islands in Peale Passage.
Staff from WDFW’s Wallace River, Skookumchuck, and Marblemount hatcheries work together to incubate eggs, rear and then ship the juvenile coho toward their new home.
Barges then transport the young fish out to the floating net pens off Squaxin Island where the tribe manages the net pens. In spring or early summer, the young coho are released from the net pens.
Returning adult coho that migrate back to the net pen area — as three- and four-year-old fish — are prone to concentrate near Squaxin Island and the surrounding waterways. In 2025, the Squaxin Island net pen facility forecast is nearly 60,000 coho, up from more than 48,000 in 2024.
This cooperative work has led to a successful sustainable recreational and tribal fishery in deep South Sound waters. There are more than a dozen other salmon net pen projects in Puget Sound that are managed by WDFW, the tribes and private fishing organizations. All of these projects contribute to fisheries throughout Puget Sound.
Where to fish in Marine Area 13
There are numerous places to fish for coho in Marine Area 13, but several of the biggest challenges are figuring out when to go, where the fish are congregating and what type of fishing gear works best.
South-bound coho usually begin to arrive in late August and the run peaks by the third week of September, although in 2024, anglers were catching coho all the way into October.
The northernmost boundary of Marine Area 13 begins at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which the coho funnel through as they migrate south. The key to finding fish is to look for coho jumping and rolling in the water or by watching your fish-finder to see where the schools of fish are located.
In the northern parts of Marine Area 13, try around the Fox Island Fishing Pier, located on the eastern side of Fox Island; Hale Passage; Gibson Point on the southeast side of Fox Island; and the west and east sides of Anderson Island.
In deep South Sound, look for coho off Brisco Point, off the south side of Harstine Island in Dana Passage; Johnson Point north of Zittel’s Marina; the shoreline just outside of Big Fishtrap to Zangle Cove; Luhr’s Landing; Burfoot County Park, Squaxin Park, Gull Harbor and Priest Point Park in Boston Harbor (all have good shoreline access); the southern and northern tips of Squaxin Island; the shoreline off the eastern side of Harstine Island; and Dougall Point off the north side of Harstine Island.
Marine Area 13 is open daily for hatchery-marked coho through Sept. 30 with a two-salmon daily limit, plus two additional pink may be retained. Anglers must release chum, wild coho, and wild Chinook. Fishing in Marine Area 13 remains open daily beginning Oct. 1 with a two-salmon daily limit. Anglers must release chum, wild coho, and wild Chinook.
Not-so-deep-south coho hot spots
Just north of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is Marine Area 11 (Tacoma and Vashon Island Area), while the Seattle city skyline and peekaboo views of Mount Rainier are just a couple of the perks that come with fishing Marine Area 10 (Seattle and Bremerton Area).
Locations in Marine Areas 10 and 11 to look for coho include Jefferson Head; Richmond Beach to Shilshole Bay; West Point off Shilshole Bay; Dolphin Point and Point Robinson off the eastern side of Vashon Island; Redondo Beach to Dash Point State Park; Point Dalco off the south side of Vashon Island; the entrance to Gig Harbor; Browns Point outside of Commencement Bay; and off Point Defiance Park in Tacoma.
In Marine Area 10, coho fishing is open daily through Sept. 30 with a two-salmon daily limit, plus two additional pink may be retained. Anglers must release Chinook and chum. Fishing in Marine Area 10 is also open daily from Oct. 1 through Nov. 15 with a two-salmon daily limit. Anglers must release Chinook.
In Marine Area 11, coho fishing is open daily through Sept. 30 with a two-salmon daily limit, plus two additional pink may be retained. Anglers must release chum and Chinook. Fishing in Marine Area is also open daily from Oct. 1 through Nov. 15 with a two-salmon daily limit. Anglers must release Chinook.
Coho anglers fishing from the shoreline can also enjoy numerous public access points throughout Puget Sound. Time your outing for the incoming tide (about two to three hours leading up to high slack tide), as coho tend to get pushed closer to shore.
Shore access points include Point Wilson in Fort Worden State Park north of Port Townsend; the west and east sides of Whidbey Island; Possession Point; West Beach at Deception Pass State Park; Point No Point on the Kitsap Peninsula; Edmonds Marina Pier; Richmond Beach; Seacrest Pier in West Seattle; Lincoln Park in West Seattle; Dash Point State Park; and piers at Des Moines, Les Davis in Tacoma and Point Defiance Park Boathouse in Tacoma.
Other productive inner waterways for coho are Marine Areas 7 (San Juan Islands), 8–1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay), 8–2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner), and 9 (Admiralty Inlet).
For additional fishing rules, refer to WDFW’s Fish Washington® app mobile app and 2025–26 WDFW regulation pamphlet for details.
Coho fishing gear options
There are a variety of ways and gear to use when it comes to coho fishing, and from a boat the popular methods are trolling, mooching or jigging.
When trolling, make sure to go slightly faster than you would for Chinook, as coho like a swifter-moving presentation. Trolling from 2.5 to 3.5 or even 4 miles per hour is ideal. With downriggers, a 12- to 15-pound ball will put your presentation to the precise depth.
If you don’t have downriggers, troll a diver or a 3- to 8-ounce banana-style weight. You can also troll a bucktail-style fly right behind the prop wash of the boat for coho.
Watch your fish-finder for schools of coho and never stick to one location, as the fish are constantly moving around, especially when they’re chasing baitfish. Tidal fluctuations will also affect their movement patterns.
Oftentimes, the best fishing is found in Puget Sound’s deepwater shipping lanes around rip tides and along the edge of a current. Be on the lookout for silvers rolling and jumping on the surface. Birds feeding on krill and baitfish schools is another sign of hungry silvers swimming nearby.
Anglers need to be aware that fishing is legal in the ship traffic lanes as long as the lanes are kept clear for ships, according to the Board of Pilotage Commissioners of Washington. Shipping lanes should be cleared when ships are five minutes away (about 2 miles) to avoid impeding traffic and be aware of your surroundings and monitor vessel traffic on VHF radio channel 14. Lastly, anglers should stay out of ferry lanes when ferry boats are present.
The best coho fishing periods are early morning hours or just before sunset, when fish can be found right on the surface down 15 to 75 feet. As the day progresses, get your presentation as deep as 100 to 150 feet.
When you first get out on the water, set your gear at a variety of depths with a couple at 25 to 50 feet and others between 60 to 100 feet. Once you catch a fish adjust the other rods to the same depth and go right back over the area where you caught the fish.
Popular lures include spoons, an artificial plug-cut herring and plastic hoochies (two- to four-inch squid imitations).
When trolling, also attach an 11-inch dodger in front of your plastic squid, spoon or other lures. If you’re using a whole herring (orange- or red-label frozen herring), add a baitfish helmet to keep the bait from ripping off. Brining the bait ahead of time will also firm the herring up.
When drifting or motor-mooching, use a small cut-plug or whole herring or cast and retrieve a three- to six-ounce jig. Your leader length on a bait or jig should be six to eight feet.
From the shoreline, try casting and retrieving spoons, spinners and jigs. You can also cast out a sliding bobber or float attached to a leader with tandem barbless hooks attached to a small cut-plug herring. Make sure to add anise or herring scent to your bait, jig or lure.
When using a jig, you’ll need to make sure it is constantly moving and twitching. Cast out and let it sink about a foot per second. Once you feel the jig go slack reel up until you feel the rod pull down.
When it comes to using a jig remember most store-bought jigs come with a barbed treble hook, and they’re illegal for salmon in Marine Catch Areas 1 to 13. Only single-pointed barbless hooks and one line with up to two hooks may be used.
Conducting a simple alteration of your jig will make it more effective and legal to use. First, the two metal eyelets at the top and bottom of a jig should be bent inward so your leader can run freely through them. For leaders use a monofilament line of 40- to 50-pound test with a length of about four to five feet.
Attach a beaded swivel to your braided mainline and leader to alleviate tangles. I use a six-millimeter acrylic plastic green or red bead above the top eyelet of the jig, and small black rubber stoppers on the top and bottom of each eyelet to prevent the line from fraying.
As for hooks go smaller than you would for other salmon species like a 1/0 or 2/0 size. Tie the hooks tandem style, and much closer than you would when using them for bait. The gap between the hooks should be about one inch or less.
(Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Communications Manager, and longtime fishing and outdoor writer.)
