River Flows: Fishing and Floating Rivers

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officers used a thermal-imaging drone to record six people fishing for salmon after dark along the Salmon River during an October 3 operation, leading to nine tickets for after-hours fishing, with two anglers also cited for fishing without a license and for using treble hooks illegally, Wired2Fish reports. The tickets are allegations for the local court to decide. The fall run into Lake Ontario's tributaries draws anglers from across the country; check the DEC's special regulations for fishing hours and gear before you go.

The Stillaguamish River from Marine Drive to the forks near Arlington stays closed to all fishing through November 1 under the emergency rule Washington Fish and Wildlife issued October 7. Check the department's emergency rules page before fishing after that date, in case the closure is extended.

The September advisory about possible tribal citations on the Chehalis River near Oakville has been overtaken by a full closure: the Chehalis, with the rest of the Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay river systems, has been closed to salmon and all game fish since October 24 because of near-record low flows, Washington Fish and Wildlife says. The department may reopen rivers if flows rise.

Fishing for salmon and all game fish closes Saturday, October 24, on many rivers and streams in Washington's Coastal Region because of near-historic low flows and coho returns well below forecast, the Department of Fish and Wildlife said October 21.

Washington Fish and Wildlife is closing the Hoh and Quillayute river systems to all fishing starting Monday, October 19, until further notice. The rule covers the Quillayute River itself, which reopened with reduced limits only on October 6, and every major river feeding it: the Sol Duc, Bogachiel, Calawah including both forks, and Dickey, plus the Hoh and South Fork Hoh outside Olympic National Park, and tributaries including Bear, Beaver, Sitkum and Thunder creeks.

The section of the Naselle River at the Naselle Hatchery in Pacific County, Washington, opened to salmon retention on October 16, and the hatchery reopened to fishing access the same day, but it remains an active construction site through 2027, the Department of Fish and Wildlife says. Stay inside the posted pedestrian areas and out of all construction zones; the department warns that ignoring the boundaries could close public access. Boaters should take extreme care around the new diversion structures near the hatchery, where the layout of the river has changed. Restricted areas will shift during the season, so follow signs, barriers and hatchery staff.

The Clearwater River, the main tributary of the Queets on Washington's Olympic coast, is closed to all fishing from its mouth upstream starting October 16, until further notice, under an emergency rule from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Washington Fish and Wildlife has updated the Skagit River coho rules, effective immediately through October 31, and changed the dates of the closures for tribal fisheries that this paper reported on October 9.

The Minnesota DNR wants early input, through 4:30 p.m. November 19 on an online questionnaire, on fishing rule proposals. They include matching Wisconsin's bass catch-and-release seasons on the St. Croix River; adding Perch Lake to the St. Louis River boundary-water rules, with a bass catch-and-release season and new walleye size limits; closing Musky Bay on the Mississippi and waters near electric carp barriers; opening several Otter Tail County streams and the water below Locks and Dams 3 and 4; letting the DNR close Grand Marais harbor in fall when brook trout gather there; and aligning Saganaga Lake's walleye length rules with statewide rules.

Washington's latest Skagit River rule, in effect October 9 through 31, keeps the bait ban, the single-point barbless hook requirement for salmon, and a two-coho daily limit on the river from the mouth to the Marblemount Bridge. Coho must be at least 12 inches, and all other salmon must be released.

Washington Fish and Wildlife is taking comments through December 7 on a rule that would allow two-pole fishing year-round for all game fish, including walleye, bass, channel catfish and northern pikeminnow, in the Washington portion of the Snake River and on the Columbia from the Oregon border up to Chief Joseph Dam. It started as a petition for the Snake alone in July. Comment online, by email or by phone at 1-855-925-2801, project code 11057; a Zoom hearing with required pre-registration is set for 6 to 8 p.m. December 7.

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 Quillayute River on Washington's coast reopens to fishing today, October 6, under an emergency rule from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, until further notice. The rule covers the river from the Olympic National Park boundary upstream to where the Sol Duc and Bogachiel rivers meet.

Angling is closed on the lowest reach of Eagle Creek in Oregon's Clackamas basin, from the mouth upstream to the SE Dowty Road Bridge, as of October 2. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife closes this stretch when low water traps coho salmon in the lower creek, where they are easy targets for snagging.

The Snohomish River closes to all fishing on Saturday, October 3, under an emergency rule from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The closure runs through November 1 and covers the river from its mouth upstream to the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers. It applies to every species, salmon and game fish alike.

The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation have said they may cite non-tribal anglers who fish an approximately 10-mile section of the Chehalis River without a tribal permit, $500 for boat fishing or $45 for bank fishing, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said September 29. Gear or boats could be seized.

The restriction itself is simple: no fishing between 2 p.m. and midnight on listed water. What the rule is protecting against is thermal stress. Water above 66 to 73 degrees already stresses trout before anyone touches them, and 77 degrees is lethal. A fish hooked and played in that water is carrying a load it may not shed.

Michigan's Natural Resources Commission enacted changes to two fisheries orders effective September 10. One governs trout and salmon on inland lakes and clarifies possession limits to better match the fish actually present in those waters. The other aligns Michigan with Wisconsin on the catch-and-immediate-release lake sturgeon season on the Menominee River, across Dickinson, Iron and Menominee counties.

California's recreational ocean salmon season, the first complete one the state has had since 2022, opened April 11 and closes September 30 in most zones, with a handful running through October 15. A second run of fall openings began this month under a harvest guideline of 20,000 Chinook covering all open areas.

A cool end to August across western Montana dropped water temperatures below the threshold, and Fish, Wildlife and Parks has lifted or eased restrictions on a long list of rivers with more cool weather and precipitation forecast.

Nineteen bodies of water across Montana were under hoot-owl restriction as of this week, limiting fishing to the hours between midnight and 2 p.m. At the same point last year the figure was sixteen.

Daytime highs in the nineties with nights barely dropping to sixty have pushed western Montana rivers past the line. Hoot-owl restrictions now cover the Clark Fork in its entirety, the Bitterroot and East Fork Bitterroot, and the Blackfoot from Cedar Meadow down to the Clark Fork confluence.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks closed the Madison from Madison Dam to the footbridge at the NorthWestern Energy powerhouse to all fishing from Wednesday. Warm water leaving Ennis reservoir is preventing the stretch from cooling off overnight, and officials say sustained high temperatures are lethal to native fish.