When it comes to fall salmon, anglers consider August to be part of the time of year when pumpkin spice lattes and crisp mornings are the norm. The eighth month of the year is technically still summer but anyone who has headed to the ocean this time of year can feel the chill of an early fall coming on. Fog and rainstorms are normal, along with high winds and rough seas but then there are the days of bright sunshine and hot temperatures that remind us it is still summertime, even if only for a few hours in the afternoon. Much like the weather, salmon fishing can change in an instant… Mostly in the form of regulations.
August ocean salmon fishing is all about the rules and emergency closures and openings. The fish are regulated by quotas and estimated returns to natural rivers so be sure to check the regulations and emergency rules daily and be ready to change your location to fish as often as you switch out your cut plug herring. Knowing the rules also means knowing where you are fishing.
Marine Area 1 is slated to be open for salmon fishing in August for both chinook and coho and this is where anglers will be targeting fish stacked up to enter the Columbia River. Known as Buoy 10, the famed August fishery at the mouth of the Columbia River continues out beyond this buoy marker but is considered Marine Area 1. Depending on sea conditions and bar crossing, fishing can be good out in the open ocean. Especially for coho as the chinook are mostly staging in the brackish water and rushing into the Columbia with each tide change. Coho will stay just offshore a bit longer as they prefer to enter the river in September and into late fall.
Keep an eye on the Buoy 10 rules and regulations as well as any emergency closures or adjustments. If you have the right boat and navigation skills to cross the deadly Columbia River bar, then Marine Area 1 could save your trip if they close or restrict the Buoy 10 fishery. The same goes for about every ocean area you need to know before you go.
Marine Area 2 gets a little more complex come fall. You can still hit the open ocean from the tiny town of Westport. Extremely popular in July when it first opens Westport becomes a mecca of salmon anglers come August. The complexity comes from the Marine Area itself which is broken down into three segments. Marine Area 2 is the open ocean and is slated to be open, but most likely for coho as the chinook quota gets eaten up quickly as the fish pass by heading to the Columbia or start to stage for Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay. This is where Marine Area 2 is broken down into sub-areas.
Marine Area 2-1 is Willapa Bay which has three separate zones known as zones 4, 5, and 6. Zones 4 and 5 are closed and zone 6 is most of the bay itself. A kelp and grass shallow water bay where salmon will stage for weeks before heading up the Willapa River and to hatcheries. Wild chinook must be released, and anglers can use two rods each with the endorsement. A dropper weight system is used since this is shallow water and the amount of eelgrass makes it hard to use downriggers. Watch your gear closely and change out baits often but it is hard to beat hooking a large chinook in shallow water which is why this fishery can be immensely popular.
Grays Harbor is Marine sub-Area 2 known as Area 2-2 with zones 1, 2, and 3. Zone 1, known as the Grays Harbor Control zone, closes in mid-August to salmon fishing, which allows fish to enter the harbor. Zone 2 is the Humptulips North Bay fishery zone and is limited to 1 fish, no wild fisher per day. The other zone known as the East Grays Harbor Zone 3 is mostly a coho fishery in front of the Johns River as all chinook must be released.
The Grays Harbor area is not exceedingly popular as you also compete with commercial and native fisheries but can be productive for those that try it. One of the most unique fisheries in the Grays Harbor area is the Westport boat basin fishery which is fishing in the marina where the fleets of charters and commercial boats are stored. Coho returns here thanks to a release effort with a recent addition of 50,000 late coho expected to return in October and November starting in 2026. For now, the fish arrive in late August and into September and can be caught right off the docks at Westport.
Marine Area 3 is known as LaPush and is very remote. With limited launches and extreme weather area 3 is mostly accessed on days with optimal ocean conditions. It is slated to be open in August for both chinook and coho, but this is one fishery that is often adjusted with an emergency rule. Chinook are prime and targeted in July which often means an August closure but coho here are making their way to the many rivers that have both robust hatchery returns and wild runs as well. Wild coho are not allowed to be kept keeping those runs going so be sure to only keep clipped silvers. This is also a staging area for chums and in the salt, they can be misidentified easily as their purple bars are light and sometimes even non-existent this time of year. Chums must be released so be sure to look at the fish closely and know what you have caught.
Marine Area 4, the last of the “ocean” areas had a rough start to the chinook fishing. As of July 11th, only 25% of the quota had been caught which normally that time of year the quota is getting close to being filled. I fished this area on July 12th and 13th, when the daily limit of chinook went to 2 per day and we did not hook a single adult chinook. The seas were rough and kept my little 18-foot boat limited to trolling along the kelp line and near shore but those that could make it further out did well. This indicated the chinook were here but out deeper than usual. Coho were being caught but not in respectable numbers which could indicate a later return this year which is great since area 5 to the east is slated to be open into October for coho. Come August the rules for chinook change in Marine Area 4 with it only being open west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. Coho is slated to remain open until mid-September in all Marine Area 4.
Regardless of where you decide to go, be sure to head out to the open ocean for some great fall salmon fishing. Of course, before you go be sure to check the emergency regulations as these fisheries are subject to quotas and can close quickly. They can also open or be extended as well and just maybe you will find a bonus opportunity out in the ocean. Either way, be ready for some cold, wet, and rough weather as well as bring sunscreen as afternoons are known to burn off the fog and remind us it is still summertime.
