Today's best fishing in Ilwaco: 7 AM to 10 AM
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Ilwaco.
The next 14 days in Ilwaco
Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCasterTwo weeks ahead
Most forecasts stop at the weekend. This one runs a full 14 days, so you can pick the day before you book the time off.
One number, out of 100
The best score anything in Ilwaco reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.
2,352 scores behind it
7 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.
Hour by hour today at Hump 1.1 km NW of Nemah Spit
All times PDTOne real spot
A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Hump 1.1 km NW of Nemah Spit, the most fished mark in Ilwaco, scored for Lingcod.
Six readings, one clock
Tide, current, wind, sea, air and sky, all lined up on the same hour, so you can see what is actually driving the score.
Currents, not just tides
Modelled flow for the water off Ilwaco, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.
The spots people actually fish in Ilwaco
1 more on the mapA year of catch reports
The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Ilwaco comes first.
Today's number too
Beside each name is the best score that spot reaches today, so you can weigh a proven mark against a good forecast.
Every mark has a page
Its own chart, its own species and its own rules, worked out the same way as everything above.
- 83Hump 1.1 km NW of Nemah SpitKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Early ebb · Chop · Rock reef
- 82Sunshine PointKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Mid flood · Chop · Rock reef
- 82Paradise PointKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Mid flood · Chop · Rock reef
- 80Hump at 46.32403, -124.21478Known markBest 9 AM–12 PM · Mid flood · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 78Hump 1.7 km SE of Entrance RangeKnown markBest 3 PM–6 PM · Mid ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
- 77Hump at 46.17894, -124.06318Known markBest 3 PM–6 PM · Early ebb · Lumpy · Rock reef
Every spot we score in Ilwaco
Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCanReal charted seabed
Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.
7 marks, all scored
Every spot we cover around Ilwaco, each one carrying its own number for today.
Point at any of them
The name, how busy a mark it is, and the tide, sea and seabed at its best hour.
Create custom spots
Our full model on your custom private spots.
- Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
- Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
- Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.
What you can keep in Ilwaco today
- HalibutKeep1 a dayOpen at all 6 spots we cover
- LingcodKeep3 a day · min 22"Open at all 7 spots we cover
- Chinook SalmonReleaseCatch and release at all 7 spots we cover
- Coho SalmonReleaseCatch and release at all 6 spots we cover
- Black RockfishClosedShut at all 4 spots we cover
Rules differ between marine areas and change in season. Check WDFW for the marine area you are fishing before you keep anything.
That was one day. Pro opens the next fourteen.
Every spot on this map, hour by hour, two weeks out, with alerts when your water crosses the score you set.
$0 today, then $33 USD a year, which is $2.75 a month. Card required, cancel any time.
When to fish Ilwaco
Each row is shaded against that species' own best month here, so a dark cell means a good month for that fish rather than a comparison between them.
| Species | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinook Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Coho Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Halibut | ||||||||||||
| Lingcod | ||||||||||||
| Black Rockfish |
Chinook Salmon: January none, February none, March fair, April excellent, May good, June peak, July peak, August peak, September excellent, October none, November none, December none. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May poor, June excellent, July peak, August peak, September peak, October poor, November none, December none. Halibut: January none, February poor, March excellent, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August excellent, September fair, October poor, November none, December none. Lingcod: January good, February excellent, March good, April good, May fair, June fair, July fair, August fair, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April good, May good, June excellent, July excellent, August good, September fair, October fair, November fair, December fair.
- Chinook Salmon. Ilwaco sits at the Columbia River mouth, so Chinook abundance builds through spring with early returning fish, then peaks strongly in August (weeks 31-33) as fall Chinook stage before entering the river. Late summer holds the dominant fall run, with abundance dropping sharply through September-October as fish move upriver and winter months stay near-absent offshore.
- Coho Salmon. Ilwaco coho are ocean-migratory fish absent from local waters in winter and spring; feeder/immature fish begin appearing offshore in early summer, building through July as they gain weight. The sharp peak spans mid-August through early September when mature coho stage off the Columbia mouth before their fall river entry, then abundance collapses through late September as fish move upriver and leave the ocean.
- Halibut. Pacific halibut off Ilwaco concentrate on nearshore feeding grounds in spring and early summer as they move up from deeper offshore wintering areas, peaking roughly late April through June when water warms and forage is abundant. Abundance tapers through late summer and fall as fish disperse and begin migrating back to deeper offshore waters, leaving relatively low but non-zero winter presence.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are resident year-round on Ilwaco's nearshore reefs and jetties, so abundance never hits zero. Peak occurs late winter through spring (Feb–May) when males guard nests in shallower rocky structure and fish concentrate on reachable reefs; a smaller autumn bump reflects feeding aggregation before winter, while mid-summer sees fish more dispersed and deeper.
- Black Rockfish. Black rockfish are resident, long-lived reef fish near Ilwaco's nearshore rocks and jetties, so they're present year-round with only modest seasonal swing. Abundance peaks in summer through early fall (roughly June–September) when calm seas allow fish to hold shallow and feed heavily, while winter storms and cooler water push them slightly deeper and disperse them, dampening nearshore presence.
Before you go
Water around Ilwaco falls into 2 areas, and the rules can differ between them. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife sets them.
- 2-1 2-1 — Willapa Bay
- Leadbetter Point to Cape Falcon
Saltwater fishing licence
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife · 2026-27
Annual, Resident, 16 to 69: $40.71
Puget Sound Dungeness crab $11.89, required to drop a pot in Puget Sound, on top of a shellfish licence.
A saltwater licence does not cover shellfish. The combination licence covers both and works out cheaper than buying them apart.
Fishing Ilwaco
Ilwaco sits at the mouth of the Columbia River on the southwest Washington coast, giving anglers ready access to the open Pacific and its offshore structure. Chinook Salmon lead the fishery here, peaking in April and again from June through September, with Coho Salmon running alongside them in the summer months and Lingcod holding strong through the January and February winter window. The seven spots in this area concentrate around offshore humps and rocky rises well off the entrance, along with a couple of nearer points closer to shore. Trolling is the primary approach for Chinook across these deeper, exposed grounds. The heart of the season falls in summer, when both salmon runs overlap, while the cold-water months carry the bottomfishing for Lingcod and rockfish.