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Chinook salmonRetention open

Bay · Washington

Hogum Bay

47.11°N · 122.74°W · Bay · Puget Sound and Hood Canal

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Best score today · 7 PM · Coho salmon

76/100Great
Now
674 PM PDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding12.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score67Great
Tide12.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward W
Wind7 kn Wgusts 15 · steady
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherClear9% cloud
Water57°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)

IN EFFECT NOW

Chinook salmon(hatchery-marked)

Retention open
Daily limit
2 salmon combined per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in. Minimum length for Chinook. See the WDFW pamphlet for how to measure.
Season
Jul 1 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Check regulations from May 1
Other
Two-pole endorsement allowed. The Minter Creek mouth is closed and lower Budd Inlet has a closure zone through Oct. 31. 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

  • Chum salmon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Coho salmon Retention open (2 salmon combined per day)
  • 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Chinook salmon is best here

Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak

Chinook salmon season by week of the year. Peak season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Chinook salmon in Washington

Spot profile

Hogum Bay

Depth
4-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonChinook 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 Hogum Bay

Hogum Bay is a bay in Puget Sound and Hood Canal, Washington. Depth is 4-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Chinook salmon
Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
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

  • Nisqually Head

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    70
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 70
    • Coho salmon 67
    • Kelp greenling 67

    7 kt WH 4:50 PM · 12.7 ftL 10:58 PM · 5.8 ft

  • De Wolf Bight

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    67
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 67
    • Kelp greenling 66
    • Cabezon 65

    7 kt WH 4:50 PM · 12.7 ftL 10:58 PM · 5.8 ft

  • Butterball Cove

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 67
    • Kelp greenling 66
    • Cabezon 65

    7 kt WH 4:49 PM · 13.2 ftL 10:59 PM · 6.2 ft

  • Leschi Slough

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    66
    Top: Chinook salmonPeak season
    • Chinook salmon 66
    • Kelp greenling 66
    • Cabezon 64

    7 kt WH 4:50 PM · 12.7 ftL 10:58 PM · 5.8 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.