Salmon anglers at Brewster Pool on the Upper Columbia River try their luck at daybreak for sockeye in July 2024. The 2025 Columbia River spring and early-summer salmon forecasts reveal another possible decent sockeye return. (Photo by Mark Yuasa)

The Salmon Fishing Current blog: Winter 2024–25 edition

Washington salmon season setting is complex fishery management, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fishery managers work to inform the public during the annual process.

As part of the 2025–2026 salmon season setting process, WDFW has created the Salmon Fishing Current blog. This blog is a way to provide regular updates of the ongoing developments during the upcoming salmon season setting process, known as the North of Falcon, which refers to waters north of Oregon’s Cape Falcon and marks the southern border of management of the state’s salmon stocks, including Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Columbia River, and coastal areas.

This blog is also a way to keep anglers informed of any in-season fishing rule changes, emergency closures or other related developments in Puget Sound, the coast, and Columbia River.

WDFW will host more than a dozen in-person and hybrid North of Falcon meetings in spring 2025 to develop the annual salmon fishing seasons. A full timeline of the process will be announced in February, including a public meeting schedule with opportunities to participate and provide public feedback. For more information visit WDFW’s North of Falcon webpage.

WDFW listens closely to the input of anglers statewide, attempts to find solutions that best serve the wide array of interested participants, and favors transparency by keeping an open door when it comes to public expectations. WDFW also strives to meet conservation goals to aid the recovery of salmon and steelhead, including constraints under the federal Endangered Species Act.

WDFW works together with tribal co-managers to equitably divide the share of harvestable salmon, both during North of Falcon and ongoing management throughout the year.

Learn more about WDFW pre-season planning and in-season salmon management. Visit our WDFW North of Falcon FAQs and Glossary Information for helpful key terms and suggested resources.

Spring Chinook in the Columbia River are the first migratory salmon species to arrive in Washington waters. They are known to return as early as January and builds in late March with peak abundance as it approaches mid-May. (Photo by Steve Graves)

Dec. 12, 2024: 2025 Columbia River spring and early-summer salmon forecasts

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) this week released the 2025 Columbia River adult salmon forecasts. The forecasts reveal a mix of both promising and concerning early indicators for spring and early summer salmon in the river’s mainstem and tributaries.

Columbia River spring Chinook forecast

The 2025 forecast expects 217,500 wild and hatchery spring Chinook to return to the Columbia River’s mouth, an increase from the 2024 forecast of 205,600 and actual return of 189,559. The 2025 forecast for upriver spring Chinook is 122,500, similar to the 2024 forecast of 121,000 and actual return of 116,332.

The 2025 Snake River spring/summer Chinook forecast is 56,200, a decrease from both the 2024 forecast and actual return of 63,500 and 70,743, respectively.

Spring Chinook start migrating into the Columbia River in January and continue through June. The migration builds in late March and reaches peak abundance around mid-May. Anglers often catch the first spring Chinook as early as January or February in the Lower Columbia River mainstem below the Interstate 5 Bridge and areas like Multnomah Channel and Lower Willamette River.

The Columbia River spring Chinook fishery will open daily from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2025, from the mouth upstream to the Interstate-5 Bridge. Additional mainstem spring Chinook fisheries, including early April fishery in the lower river and the fishery from Bonneville Dam upstream to the Oregon/Washington border, will be determined during a Columbia River Compact hearing in February. The Snake River spring Chinook fishery, which typically follows a limited area-by-day rotation in late spring, will be announced through emergency rules.

Rules and regulations are subject to change and may vary by location. Anglers should check the current fishing regulations, including any emergency fishing rules, or the Fish Washington® mobile app before heading out. Anglers can be notified of any in-season rules changes as they are announced by signing up for WDFW regulation updates.

Drano Lake is one of three main tributaries above Bonneville Dam where anglers can catch spring Chinook. (Photo by Kristen Moore)

Columbia River tributaries spring Chinook forecast

The 2025 spring Chinook forecasts for Columbia River tributaries show overall positive trends both upstream and downstream of Bonneville Dam.

Washington tributaries downstream of Bonneville Dam:

• Cowlitz River: The forecast for 2025 is 13,700, an increase from the 2024 forecast of 4,700 and the actual return of 8,983. This forecast surpasses both the five-year average return of 5,300 and the 10-year average return of 9,800.
• Kalama River: The forecast for 2025 is 3,000, up from the 2024 forecast of 1,900 and the actual return of 2,474. This forecast is similar to the five- and 10-year average returns of 2,200 and 2,500, respectively.
• Lewis River: The forecast for 2025 is 3,200, consistent with the 2024 forecast of 3,400, but an increase over the actual return of 2,722. This forecast is close to the five-year average return of 3,700 and exceeds the 10-year average return of 2,600.

Washington tributaries upstream of Bonneville Dam:

• Wind River: The forecast for 2025 is 4,900, up from the 2024 forecast of 4,200 and actual return of 4,604. This forecast is higher than both the five-year average return of 4,100 and the 10-year average return of 4,000.
• Drano Lake: The forecast for 2025 is 7,600, an increase from the 2024 forecast of 5,300, though slightly lower than the actual return of 7,863. This forecast is similar to the five-year average return of 7,400, but below the 10-year average return of 8,100.
• Klickitat River: The 2025 forecast is 1,200, down slightly from the 2024 forecast of 1,300, but higher than the actual return of 491. This forecast is consistent with the five-year average return of 1,300, but below the 10-year average return of 1,500.

The Upper Columbia River sockeye return continues to trend upward, and the outlook is promising in 2025. (Photo by Mark Yuasa)

Columbia River sockeye forecast

The 2025 Columbia River sockeye forecast is 350,200, continuing a trend of impressive returns. In 2024, the actual return surpassed the forecast by over 350,000, reaching a record-breaking 761,682, the largest run since counts began at Bonneville Dam in 1938.

Columbia River summer Chinook forecast

The 2025 Columbia River summer Chinook forecast is 38,000, down from the 2024 forecast of 52,600 and actual return of 42,511. This follows returns of 54,722 in 2023 and 78,444 in 2022.

WDFW and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife plan to release preliminary 2025 Columbia River fall Chinook returns and provide a 2025 outlook by early January. This will be followed by the official 2025 fall Chinook forecast leading into the North of Falcon season-setting process.

For more information, visit the Columbia River reports, forecasts, returns, and fishery plans webpage.