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Coho salmonRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 PM · Coho salmon
- Now
- 6412 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 AM-4 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding6.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Gig Harbor scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 12 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
74Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC
48Water temp: 57°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Coho salmon
Species seasonality
83Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Marine Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island)
Coho salmon(hatchery-marked)
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 salmon combined per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- No minimum size.
- Season
- Aug 15 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Nov 16
- Other
- Year-round piers (Des Moines, Les Davis, Point Defiance Boathouse Dock and Redondo) have separate rules. Barbless hooks required in Marine Areas 5 through 13.
From WDFW emergency rule: Marine Area 11 salmon fishery update (Aug. 12, 2026), read Sep 13
Other species here
- Chinook salmon Catch & release (No retention)
- Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
- Lingcod Check regulations
- Pacific halibut Closed (No retention)
- Pink salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
- Rockfish Closed (No retention)
- Sockeye salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
Source: WDFW · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Coho salmon is best here
Peak season for Coho salmon · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Gig Harbor
- Depth
- 15-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- Season
- Peak seasonCoho 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 Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor is a bay in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 15-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are coho salmon, kelp greenling and cabezon. 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. Cabezon peak from May through August.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Cabezon
- Cabezon sit in rock crevices, kelp beds and jetty boulders from the intertidal zone to about 100 feet and feed mostly on crabs and small fish. Fish a fish-finder rig with sand shrimp, squid or crab right on the bottom in the rocks, or drag a lead-head grub slowly through the kelp. Expect snags, and do not eat the roe, which is toxic.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Point Defiance69
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 69
- Chinook salmon 67
- Kelp greenling 57
6 kt SSWH 2:57 AM · 9.2 ftL 9:23 AM · 1.1 ft
- Dalco Passage66
Bay · 3.4 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 66
- Chinook salmon 63
- Lingcod 59
6 kt SSWH 2:57 AM · 9.2 ftL 9:23 AM · 1.1 ft
- The Narrows66
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 66
- Chinook salmon 64
- Kelp greenling 51
6 kt SSWH 3:21 AM · 9.7 ftL 9:41 AM · 1.1 ft
- Henderson Bay63
Bay · 4.1 mi
Top: Coho salmonPeak season- Coho salmon 63
- Chinook salmon 60
- Kelp greenling 60
5 kt SWH 3:15 AM · 10.2 ftL 9:58 AM · 1.1 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.