The 2026 Ocean and Columbia River Salmon Seasons are now tentatively approved! Booking is open so grab your seat and let’s get ready to catch some salmon!
Astoria Ocean Salmon Seasons
For the Astoria area it looks like we will be starting ocean salmon on June 20th and going until the quota is hit or we move into the river. The limit will be the same as last year: 2 salmon, 1 of which can be Chinook (King), and Coho (Silver) must be marked. The run is looking good, especially for the Coho so I’m expecting a similar pace as last year’s absolutely bonker’s year.
Buoy 10 and Columbia River 2026 Summer/Fall Salmon Seasons
Buoy 10 will start on August 1st with King salmon staying open until September 2nd. Coho will run through the remainder of the year. Coho will need to be hatchery marked the whole time. Kings will have some non-mark select days where we can keep any that are big enough on August 1-9 and August 25th through September 2nd.
We also have a brief sockeye season set in the river from June 23rd through July 5th. I will likely be fishing in the ocean on those days but if someone is completely set on sockeye I think I can accommodate them.
A little bit upstream from the West end of Puget Island (near where I tend to fish for Springers) up to Warrior Rock by St. Helens, Kings will open August 1st and go through September 2nd, with no mark requirement. Depending on water temperature and what the ocean is doing, this may be an option. Water temperature is likely to be a big factor this year and during the early season I would opt for the ocean. Coho will also be open during that time but closed starting on September 3rd. Coho will re-open on October 1st with a non-mark select fishery during the first part of October. I expect to fish near Puget Island for this part since there will be fewer seals and we won’t need to release good fish. I’ll still fish the estuary for folks wanting combination coho and crab trips though!