08-24 REELLIFE print digital - Flipbook - Page 9
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 subareas.
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
MARINE AREA 2-2 with
zones 1, 2, and 3. Zone 1,
known as the Grays Harbor
Control zone, closes in midAugust 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.
