Waterlands

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Chum salmonCatch & release

Bay · Washington

Dungeness Bay

48.16°N · 123.14°W · Bay · East Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca

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Best score today · 9 AM · Chum salmon

76/100Great
Now
3511 AM PDT
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.3 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score35Fair
Tide3.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind13 kn Wgusts 16 · easing
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 10 s
Air temp55°Cool
WeatherPartly cloudy30% cloud
Water54°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chum salmon

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Aug 16 to Sep 24, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 16
Other
Dungeness Bay is closed to salmon through Sept. 30. Some bays, piers and creek mouths have separate rules or closures. Check the pamphlet. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13. Season and limits as listed in WDFW's 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries. WDFW's adopted rule (WAC 220-313-060, WSR 26-13-052) sets the same rules for these dates.

From WDFW 2026-27 List of Agreed Fisheries (final), read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Chinook salmon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Coho salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
  • Lingcod Check regulations
  • Pacific halibut Retention open (1 per day)
  • Pink salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
  • Rockfish Closed (No retention)
  • Sockeye salmon Catch & release (No retention)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chum salmon is best here

Out of season for Chum salmon · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks

Chum salmon season by week of the year. Out of season for Chum salmon · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Chum salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Dungeness Bay

Depth
1-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonChum salmon

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Dungeness Bay

Dungeness Bay is a bay in East Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca, Washington. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are coho salmon, kelp greenling and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for coho salmon and Chinook salmon, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, cabezon, lingcod and surfperch. Coho salmon peak from July through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November. Chinook salmon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Chum salmon
Chum stage off stream mouths and hatchery beaches in late fall in Puget Sound and Hood Canal and in midsummer in Southeast Alaska. Fish from the beach or a skiff in 5 to 30 feet with a green or cerise jig under a float, a large fly or a spoon. They fight hard, so step up to 12 to 20 pound line.
Coho salmon
Coho feed in the top 30 to 50 feet along tide rips, kelp edges and bait schools, and often hit within a few feet of the surface. Troll faster than for Chinook, 2 to 4 mph, with a small flasher and hoochie, bucktail fly or herring, or cast spinners and flies from beaches near stream mouths as fish stage in late summer. The hour around a tide change is often the best window.
Kelp greenling
Kelp greenling are solitary bottom fish of rocky shores, jetties and kelp beds, usually in water shallower than 60 feet. Use a small number 4 to 6 hook with sand shrimp or marine worms, or a small lead-head grub, dropped to the bottom and reeled up slightly. Larger fish show in October and November when they spawn close to shore, and mornings tend to fish best.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Kulakala Point

    Cape · 4.4 mi

    77
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 77
    • Chinook salmon 76
    • Kelp greenling 73

    3 kt NNEH 3:30 PM · 7.5 ftL 9:22 PM · 4.3 ft

  • Gibson Spit

    Bar · 6.8 mi

    77
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 77
    • Chinook salmon 76
    • Kelp greenling 73

    3 kt NNEH 3:30 PM · 7.5 ftL 9:22 PM · 4.3 ft

  • Kiapot Point

    Cape · 7.3 mi

    77
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 77
    • Chinook salmon 76
    • Kelp greenling 73

    3 kt NNEH 3:30 PM · 7.5 ftL 9:22 PM · 4.3 ft

  • Dungeness Spit

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    69
    Top: Coho salmonPeak season
    • Coho salmon 69
    • Chinook salmon 68
    • Kelp greenling 66

    13 kt WH 3:15 PM · 7.2 ftL 8:51 PM · 4.1 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with WDFW before you keep a fish.