BY ANDY WALGAMOTT, NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE
UPDATED WITH QUOTES AND MORE DETAILS FROM TONIGHT’S MEETING.
WDFW rolled out 2026-27 coastal wild winter steelhead forecasts and proposed fishing seasons ahead of tonight’s virtual town hall, where input from anglers was also heard.
Final decisions will be made and announced in the coming weeks after meetings with tribal comanagers and the Fish Committee of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, but a presentation posted to the agency’s website this afternoon provides a look at what could come to pass this year and how runs and fisheries have fared in the recent past.
Starting on the North Coast, WDFW is forecasting 8,096 wild winters back to the Quillayute system, which would meet the escapement goal and top the last two years – both of which were also overforecast.
State managers are proposing to run steelhead seasons on the Bogachiel, Calawah, Dickey, Quillayute and Sol Duc Rivers through March 31, with bait allowed through December on the Quillayute and lower ends of the Duc, Dickey, Bogey and Calawah to maximize hatchery steelhead harvest.
“We have a similar regulation as last year in the Quillayute system,” said WDFW district fisheries biologist Kathryn Sutton during this evening’s meeting.
When the subject of April steelheading here came up, regional manager Chad Herring said there wasn’t an agreement with local tribes on that front, and that opening that month would end up decreasing opportunity.
Forecast for the Hoh is 4,042, also above the escapement goal. Last year’s preseason prediction of 4,025 was missed by just 17 fish. The Hoh up to Morgan’s Crossing would be open through March 31, which the river above there as well as the South Fork would be open through February 28. The lower Hoh to Oxbow Campground would be open for bait in December.
“We are proposing the same season as last season,” stated Sutton.
The upper Quinault would see its largest return since at least 2005 if the preliminary forecast of 2,501 comes to pass, while the Queets and Clearwater are initially predicted to see 4,288 fish. The Quinault prediction is more than twice the escapement goal; the state and Quinault Nation have different escapement goals for the Queets system.
WDFW is proposing to open the Clearwater and upper Quinault above the lake through March 31, state-managed sections of the Salmon through February 28 pending final agreements with tribal and national park service managers, with bait allowed on all in December.
According to WDFW, the Chehalis system is forecast to see 7,094 wild steelhead, about 150 fewer fish than actually returned last year, the Humptulips 1,406, essentially par for the course. The Hump would be open through February 1, the Chehalis, Satsop, Skookumchuck and Wynoochee through February 14, the latter a function of the state steelhead management plan limiting under-escapement rivers to a 10 percent impact on wild fish. However, three dialed-in callers pointed to much lower mortalities than initially modeled seen through more robust recent creel sampling in the Chehalis as well as Quillayute systems, a benefit of funding fishery monitoring.
Bait would be allowed on the Chehalis rivers and Hump on all in December “to better access those hatchery fish,” said biologist Lyle Jennings.
And down on the South Coast, the Willapa Bay forecast of 5,670 is “strong,” according to biologist Erin Witkop, thanks to high recruits per spawner in a recent run. Per the presentation, that would be the largest run since the early 2000s and would easily exceed the escapement goal. Rivers would be open through March 31, with bait allowed on stretches of the Willapa and Naselle through January 31.
In all cases, single-point, barbless hook restrictions would be in effect. As always, wild steelhead must be released.
Even with the rosy picture on several systems, WDFW’s presentation notes that the predictions do call for a “continued precautionary approach” to season setting, which has become the status quo since a run crash early this decade.
“Environmental conditions have influenced fisheries during the fall season and may continue to impact winter fisheries,” add state managers, a reference to salmon runs that they have restricted angling on due to returns.
While the effect of that may have also produced large surpluses of early-timed hatchery coho at several coastal facilities, numbers of “natural” silvers are less than predicted in the preseason, and those are also used for integrated broodstock programs, clarified Herring, who expressed hope to “resume normal fall-winter fisheries” by December in time for steelhead season.
Preliminary info on 2025-26 runs show returns were up compared to 2024-25, “with most systems meeting escapement objectives,” WDFW’s presentation said.
Tonight’s town hall via Zoom began at 6 p.m. Preregistration was required. About 190 people were on the call.
