Conditions described here were accurate only as of the date shown and may have changed. This is not a substitute for current official information from the agency with jurisdiction. See the full notice. Full notice.
Stillaguamish River Closes to All Fishing Friday Over Chinook Encounters
The mainstem shuts October 9 through November 1, a week after the neighboring Snohomish.
The mainstem Stillaguamish River closes to all fishing on Friday, October 9, through November 1, under an emergency rule the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife posted this afternoon. The closure runs from Marine Drive south of Stanwood upstream to the forks where the North and South Fork Stillaguamish meet near Arlington.
The reason is Chinook. Preliminary monitoring shows sport fisheries on the river have reached this year's allowable number of Chinook encounters. The department expects most Chinook to have left the system by November 2, when fishing resumes under the regular 2026–27 rules.
The forks are already shut. The lower North Fork from the mouth to the Highway 530 (Cicero) bridge was closed earlier, and the upper North Fork to North Fork Falls and the South Fork to the Mountain Loop Highway bridge above Granite Falls are closed until November 1 under the annual rules. That leaves no open water on the Stillaguamish system until November 2.
The neighboring Snohomish River has been closed to all fishing since October 3, also through November 1, over weak coho.
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