Salmon run question for PNW boaters

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tparrent

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My wife wants to see (and maybe but unlikely) fish the salmon run this autumn. Mostly, she and my four year old boy want to see the fish running up the rivers.

My questions are when does this happen and where are some good places accessible by car to see them?

Thanks!
 
There are different salmon runs at different times of the year. On odd number years (like this one), we have very large runs of pink salmon that probably offer the best catching/viewing opportunities (although not the best tasting of all the salmon). That run tends to peak in mid August and occurs on many local rivers. Later in Sept/Oct. is the peak of the coho run. After that we have chum salmon in Nov/Dec. Chinook come in about 3 waves in early spring (end of April/early May), summer (around June) and fall (around Aug/Sept).

For pure viewing and rapid catching in the rivers, I'd recommend the pink salmon runs. For best eating, I'd recommend the spring Chinook in the Columbia River.
 
The run of pinks will be HUGE this year so if you can get out in mid August, you can be guaranteed to both see and catch salmon.
 
A good place to see returning salmon up close is the fish ladder at the Hiram Chittendem Locks in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. The locks themselves are a facinating destination and visiting the complex is free. There is a charge for parking, except on Sunday when it too is free.
 
I would 2nd the locks, very interesting and will keep the 4 year old busy looking at so many different things besides the salmon run. You are also very close to fisherman's memorial and the fleet of fishing boats, might even get lucky and see a boat or 2 from the Deadliest catch series, but then again they may be in Alaska crabbing or being used as tenders for the salmon fleet.
 
If you are close to Bellingham there is usually a big run of salmon returning to Whatcom creek. You can see the bank fisherman hauling in salmon during September. Sometimes it is a bit of a zoo with all the fishermen but the salmon are usually plentiful. Great fun for a four year old.
 
The locks are good but the biggest run of salmon is typically the sockeye run which peaks around July 4. This year's run is pretty low. A bit later in the year you'll see some chinook and the occasional coho but it's not consistent. The viewing windows at the locks on Bonneville dam are more consistent and have a much wider variety of fish but it's a 3-4 hour drive from Seattle to there. Still, I think it worth it to also see the sturgeon they have in pools there.
 
If you wanted to stay closer to home New York state runs a hatchery in Altimar New York. The fish come up the Salmon river out of Lake Ontario and get gated to run right into the hatchery. My guess is late August to early September, kind of depends on the weather etc. The hatchery is a world class operation and has been quite a success. About twenty miles off RT. 81 near Pulaski New York near the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. About an hour south of the St. Lawrence seaway Alexandria Bay 1000 Islands area etc. A great cruising area just thinking.
D.D.
 
One really easy place to get into the salmon run is in Tacoma, Wash at the Browns Point Light house. There is public parking right next to the beach and Browns Point is where a massive number of Pink Salmon will head up the Puyallup River, which is visible from Browns Point. Bank fisherman, using either fly gear or spinning gear do really well fishing from the beach. The pinks run in about 15-20 ft of water and come through in large schools, often jumping out of the water at times. Also the public fishing piers at Des Moines and Tacoma are good places to fish from, but really crowded during the runs. To see a picture of salmon gear go to www.salmonuniversity.com Good luck, this year's run is supposed to be the best in decades! It should begin around August 15th in Tacoma, give or take a week.
 
to view salmon during the run any number of local river have hatcheries. I like to walk the rivers just down from the hatcheries to see salmon near the bank. pinks are great for this in the summer. In the fall chum are every where in the rivers and easy to find in large schools close to the banks. In October and November the skagit has a large run of chum that litter the banks and attract hundreds of eagle to the area. There are many guides in the marble mount area that offer tours just to see the fish and the eagle, some of them don't even take fishing rods just cameras.
 
It is hard to beat the Whatcom Creek chum run in downtown Bellingham right by the hatchery come around Thanksgiving. Peope fish it hard, and everytime I have been down there (to watch) when visiting my wife's grandparents, it has been a well-mannered zoo with wall to wall fish.

But if you really want to see returning fish in their natural habitat, the predicted run on the Kenai for red salmon is going to be around 2.5 million with lots of viewing platforms on neighboring clearwater creeks. They should be so thick you can almost walk across them. Man are they going to make a stinking mess come fall when they are spawned out and start to rot on the shore.......
 
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