75: Where Are All the Coho? How to Predict Salmon Timing in Washington Waters

**Where Are All the Coho? How to Predict Salmon Timing in Washington Waters** "Where's all the coho?" is the question filling up the Gold community right now, and it's a fair one. If you've been grinding August hours in Marine Area 7 without a legal fish to show for it, nothing is wrong with you or the run. This episode walks through the biology, the public data, and the regulations that explain coho timing, so by the end you can work out any species in any year for yourself instead of waiting for someone to tell you. **Episode Overview** - Why coho run on a rigid three-year clock while chinook can take anywhere from two to seven years, and why that makes coho far more predictable - What jacks are, why up to 30% of a wild return can be them, and what a pile of small early coho actually tells you about that year - The rain trigger most anglers miss: coho stack at stream mouths and wait for flow to rise - Real WDFW creel numbers from September 2024 in Area 7, and what they prove about September versus August - Why Marine Area 7 rules can be stricter than neighboring areas because of Canadian stocks and the Pacific Salmon Treaty - The three-step process to forecast your own season: read the wild coho forecast, check the regs, check the emergency rules **Timestamps** 00:00 - Where's all the coho? 01:00 - Women on the Water, September 17 04:00 - The coho three-year clock 06:00 - Jacks and genetic variation 07:00 - The rain trigger 08:00 - Where coho hold in Marine Area 7 09:00 - Creel data and the September spike 11:00 - 2026 Marine Area 7 salmon windows 12:00 - Mixed stock fishery and the Pacific Salmon Treaty 15:00 - Three steps to forecast any season **Key Takeaways** - The coho aren't missing in August, they just haven't shown up yet. - Coho are a September fish in Washington waters, and the creel data proves it. - Fish the exterior of the San Juan Islands, not the inside passages. - Watch the rain forecast as closely as the tide chart. - A run of small jacks is real information about that year, not bad luck. - Marine Area 7 rules that feel stricter are often protecting somebody else's fish. - Every date in this episode will be wrong next year, which is why you learn the process. **Resources & Links** - WDFW coho salmon species page: https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/oncorhynchus-kisutch - WDFW Puget Sound creel reports: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/reports/creel/puget - WDFW emergency fishing rules: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/emergency-rules - WDFW sport fishing regulations: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations - Fish Washington app: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington-fishing-app - NOAA Fisheries coho salmon: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/coho-salmon-protected - WDFW Wild Coho Forecast publication: https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/02698 - Women on the Water, Sept 17, Bellingham Yacht Club, 5-8pm, free: https://wkf.ms/467GOYu - North of Falcon episode: https://youtu.be/N\_QH0se7ZQU **About the Podcast** Fishing for a Reason is the Pacific Northwest saltwater fishing education podcast for new anglers and families who want to catch more salmon, halibut, lingcod, shrimp and crab in Washington waters. Hosted by Jamie & Scott Propst from Anglers Unlimited, each episode delivers practical techniques, local knowledge, and expert insights to help you get off the couch and into the fish. Perfect for relocated professionals, military families, and boaters who are just getting into fishing.