FISHING GUIDE · PUGET SOUND, WASHINGTON

Puget Sound & Westport, Washington Fishing Guide

Puget Sound is a big inland sea where boats fish for salmon, halibut, lingcod and crab, and each marine area has its own dates and quotas. Westport, on the outer coast, runs charters for salmon, rockfish, lingcod, halibut and, in late summer, albacore tuna far offshore. Seasons are set each year and often close early when quotas are reached, so check WDFW emergency rules before every trip.

📍 Western Washington. Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca are Marine Areas 5 through 13 (Sekiu, Port Angeles, the San Juan Islands, Seattle-Bremerton, Tacoma-Vashon, Hood Canal and South Sound). Westport is Marine Area 2 (Westport-Ocean Shores) on the outer coast, with the Grays Harbor Control Zone next to it.

Map: spots, ramps and marinas

★ Fishing hot spot · ● Boat ramp · ● Marina · ▭ Protected area (solid red = no fishing, dashed = fishing with rules)

Open the full Oregon & Washington map →

Quick facts

Barbless hooks are required for all species in Marine Areas 5 through 13 (except forage fish jigs).
Washington halibut anglers may keep 1 fish a day with no minimum size, and 6 fish a year; catches go on a WDFW catch record card.
Rockfish may not be kept in Marine Areas 6 through 13, and bottomfish fishing there is limited to water shallower than 120 feet.
Charter boats out of Westport and Ilwaco target albacore tuna, usually 40 to 100 miles off the coast in summer and early fall.
Every Puget Sound crabber, at any age, needs a Puget Sound Crab Endorsement and a crab catch record card.

What you can catch

Chinook (king) salmon
Short, quota-based seasons in most Puget Sound areas; mostly hatchery fish only (22-inch minimum in Areas 5-7). In 2026 Area 10 was open only July 23-25.
Coho (silver) salmon
Main late-summer and fall salmon in Puget Sound, from August into fall; also caught off Westport in summer.
Chum salmon
Fall fish; in 2026 kept in Areas 10 and 11 from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15 and in Hood Canal from Oct. 16.
Pacific halibut
Spring season in Puget Sound plus a late-summer reopener; Westport has set days in spring and a late-summer opening.
Lingcod
Puget Sound: 1 a day, 26 to 36 inches (hook and line); none may be kept in Hood Canal (Area 12). Westport: 2 a day, no minimum size.
Rockfish (coast only)
Kept off Westport (7 a day within the bottomfish limit); closed in Puget Sound Areas 6-13. Yelloweye may not be kept anywhere.
Albacore tuna
Offshore from Westport, mostly August and September; sometimes into October.
Dungeness and red rock crab
Summer crab seasons in most of Puget Sound; Dungeness must be hard-shell males at least 6 1/4 inches.

Month by month

January	Marine Area 13 (South Sound) open for salmon. Bottomfish open in Puget Sound unless noted (rockfish closed).
February	Marine Area 13 salmon. Plan for spring halibut; check new-year rules.
March	Westport bottomfish (Areas 1-3) opened Mar 14 in 2026.
April	Puget Sound halibut opened Apr 2 in 2026, seven days a week. Westport halibut first day Apr 30.
May	Puget Sound lingcod usually opens May 1. Westport halibut on set days (Sun, Tue, Thu, Fri in May 2026).
June	Puget Sound halibut runs through Jun 30. Westport halibut on Sun, Tue and Thu in June 2026.
July	Summer crab opens in most of Puget Sound (Jul 2 in 2026). Short hatchery Chinook openings in several areas.
August	Coho start in many areas Aug 1. Westport halibut reopened Aug 8 and Puget Sound areas Aug 16 (2026). Albacore season offshore.
September	Coho peak. Halibut and Westport salmon end Sep 30 in 2026. Crab closes in most areas after Labor Day.
October	Crab catch record cards due Oct 1. Coho continue; chum open Oct 1 in Areas 10-11. Coast bottomfish closed after Oct 17 (2026).
November	Coho and chum in Areas 10 and 11 until Nov 15; Hood Canal chum until Nov 30.
December	Quiet month; Marine Area 13 salmon. Check winter crab and blackmouth rules on WDFW.

Tips

Download the Fish Washington app or check WDFW emergency rules before every trip; many salmon and halibut seasons close early once the quota is caught.
Use barbless hooks in Marine Areas 5-13 and carry your catch record card; record salmon and halibut right away.
In Puget Sound, fish for bottomfish in water shallower than 120 feet and release all rockfish.
Off Westport, stay out of the Deepwater Lingcod Closure Area unless it is a halibut day or another allowed date.
For albacore, book a long-range Westport charter in August or September and watch for warm blue water breaks.

Rules and license

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW); NOAA Fisheries and the IPHC for halibut · Official rules page ↗

Fishing license needed at 16 and older. A catch record card is required for salmon, halibut and Puget Sound Dungeness crab (also for anglers under 16).
Halibut 2026, Puget Sound (Areas 5-10): Apr 2 - Jun 30 and Aug 16 - Sep 30, 1 fish a day, no size limit, 6 a year; may close early on quota.
Halibut 2026, Westport (Area 2): Apr 30, set days in May and June, then Aug 8 - Sep 30 daily; 1 a day, 6 a year.
Salmon 2026 examples: Area 10 Chinook open only Jul 23-25; Area 11 hatchery Chinook through Sep 30; Area 2 Chinook closed from Aug 22, other salmon (no wild coho) through Sep 30.
Puget Sound lingcod: 1 a day, 26-36 inches with hook and line; no lingcod in Area 12 (Hood Canal). Rockfish closed in Areas 6-13; bottomfish only shallower than 120 feet.
Crab summer 2026: most areas Jul 2 - Sep 7, Thursday to Monday; Areas 10 and 11 Sundays and Mondays only; Area 13 and south Hood Canal closed. 5 male Dungeness a day, 6 1/4 inch minimum.
Westport: no yelloweye rockfish; Deepwater Lingcod Closure Area seaward of a line from 47°31.70'N 124°45.00'W to 46°38.17'N 124°30.00'W, except on halibut days, Jun 1-15 and Sep 1-30.
Marine preserves are set in WAC 220-302 (for example Admiralty Head, Colvos Passage, San Juan Islands, Z's Reef, Titlow Beach and Seattle city park preserves); check what is allowed before fishing there.

Rules change. Always check the official page before you fish.

Boat ramps and marinas

The map above shows 214 boat ramps and 41 marinas from OpenStreetMap. Tap any dot for directions.

12th Street Marina
14th Avenue Northwest Boat Ramp
32nd Avenue West Boat Launch
37th Street NW Boat Launch
AGC Marina
Adams Street Boat Ramp
Affinity Marina
Arcadia Point Boat Ramp
Atlantic City Boat Ramp
Ballard Mill Marina
Bell Street Marina
Boat Street Marina
Boat ramp near Kingfisher Cove
Boat ramp near Sitcum Waterway
Boat ramp near Slip 1
Boat ramp near Slip 3
Boat ramp near Slip 4
Boat ramp near Union Bay
Boston Harbor Boat Ramp
Breakwater Marina
Bremerton Marina
Canal Marina
Chambers Creek Marina
Dave Ullin Open Water Marina
Day Island Yacht Harbor
Des Moines Marina
Don Armeni Boat Ramp
Eagle Harbor Marina
Eddie Vine Boat Ramp
Elliott Bay Marina
Everett Marina
Evergreen Park Boat Ramp
Fair Harbor Marina Boat Ramp
Ferdinand Street Boat Launch
Fort Flagler Boat Launch
Foss Harbor Marina
Gas Works Park Marina
Harbor Island Marina
Herb Beck Marina
Hicks Shine Boat Ramp
Home Port Marina at Pleasant Harbor
Horse Head Bay Public Boat Launch
Huntley Boat Launch
Jarrell's Cove Marina
Liberty Bay Marina

Sources

Checked October 2026. BigJoe does not invent facts: every number on this page comes from the sources listed above.