Today's best fishing in Tacoma: 6 AM to 9 AM
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Tacoma.
The next 14 days in Tacoma
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 Tacoma reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.
4,032 scores behind it
12 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.
Hour by hour today at Point Defiance (Clay Banks)
All times PDTOne real spot
A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Point Defiance (Clay Banks), the most fished mark in Tacoma, scored for Chinook Salmon.
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 Tacoma, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.
The spots people actually fish in Tacoma
4 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 Tacoma 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.
- 83Point Defiance (Clay Banks)Best 6 AM–9 AM · Early flood · Flat · Mixed bottom
- 86Des Moines Bell BuoyBest 6 AM–9 AM · Mid flood · Flat · Mud bottom
- 86Dalco PassageBest 6 AM–9 AM · Mid flood · Flat · Mixed bottom
- 86Point DalcoBest 6 AM–9 AM · Mid flood · Flat · Mixed bottom
- 86Poverty BayBest 6 AM–9 AM · Early flood · Flat · Mud bottom
- 86Vashon Island East SideBest 6 AM–9 AM · Mid flood · Flat · Mud bottom
Every spot we score in Tacoma
Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCanReal charted seabed
Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.
10 of 12 marks scored
Every spot we cover around Tacoma, 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 Tacoma today
- Chinook SalmonKeep2 a day · min 22"Open at all 12 spots we cover
- Coho SalmonKeep2 a dayOpen at all 12 spots we cover
- Pink SalmonKeep2 a dayOpen at all 2 spots we cover
- CabezonKeep1 a day · min 18"Open at all 1 spot we cover
- Chum SalmonReleaseCatch and release at all 3 spots we cover
- LingcodReleaseCatch and release at all 3 spots we cover
- Rockfish (Aggregate)ClosedShut 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 Tacoma
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 | ||||||||||||
| Chum Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Pink Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Lingcod | ||||||||||||
| Cabezon | ||||||||||||
| Dungeness Crab | ||||||||||||
| Halibut | ||||||||||||
| Rockfish (Aggregate) |
Chinook Salmon: January poor, February poor, March good, April fair, May fair, June excellent, July peak, August peak, September good, October poor, November poor, December poor. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May none, June poor, July excellent, August peak, September peak, October peak, November none, December none. Chum Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May none, June none, July none, August none, September none, October peak, November peak, December fair. Pink Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May none, June none, July poor, August peak, September peak, October poor, November none, December none. Lingcod: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May excellent, June good, July fair, August fair, September fair, October fair, November fair, December fair. Cabezon: January good, February good, March fair, April fair, May fair, June fair, July good, August good, September fair, October fair, November good, December good. Dungeness Crab: January poor, February poor, March fair, April good, May excellent, June excellent, July good, August good, September excellent, October good, November fair, December fair. Halibut: January none, February none, March good, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August excellent, September poor, October none, November none, December none. Rockfish (Aggregate): January fair, February fair, March fair, April good, May good, June good, July good, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair.
- Chinook Salmon. Tacoma's South Puget Sound (MA 11/13) Chinook show a spring 'blackmouth' resident bump (Feb-Mar) plus the dominant summer peak as mature migratory kings stage from mid-July through August toward Puyallup and Nisqually river returns. Abundance tapers sharply through September as spawners enter freshwater, with resident feeder Chinook maintaining a modest baseline over winter.
- Coho Salmon. Coho are absent through winter and early spring; a minor resident/immature 'blackmouth-style' feeder coho presence builds through late spring and summer in South Puget Sound. The dominant adult fall run stages and floods Tacoma-area waters (Point Defiance, Commencement Bay) from late August, peaking mid-September through early October before rapidly tapering as fish push into the rivers by late October.
- Chum Salmon. Puget Sound chum are a fall run; South Sound (Tacoma) fish surge from mid-October through November as they stage before entering natal streams like the Nisqually and Chambers Creek, peaking in early-to-mid November. They are biologically absent the rest of the year as adults hold offshore in the North Pacific until their return migration.
- Pink Salmon. Pink salmon return to South Puget Sound waters off Tacoma only in odd-numbered years, staging and migrating through late July into September with a sharp peak in mid-to-late August (weeks 34-36) as they stage before entering the Puyallup River. They are biologically absent the rest of the year, and this curve represents a run year; even years would be near zero throughout.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are resident, non-migratory bottomfish in Puget Sound waters off Tacoma, so they're present year-round with only modest seasonal swings. Abundance peaks in late spring (April–May) when mature fish move onto shallow rocky reefs to spawn and males guard nests, with a smaller autumn uptick during cooler water; the mild winter dip reflects post-spawn dispersal into deeper, less accessible structure.
- Cabezon. Cabezon are year-round resident reef/structure dwellers in South Puget Sound near Tacoma, so the curve stays broadly flat near baseline. A modest summer peak (late June–August) reflects post-spawn nearshore feeding activity and warmer shallow-water concentration, while a slight winter dip corresponds to spawning males guarding nests in deeper rocky areas and being less broadly distributed.
- Dungeness Crab. Dungeness crab are resident in South Puget Sound year-round, so abundance never hits zero. Legal-size male abundance peaks mid-summer (July) after the spring molt hardens shells, with a secondary late-summer/early-fall bump; numbers dip late winter/early spring during molting when crabs are soft and less catchable.
- Halibut. Pacific Halibut in South Puget Sound near Tacoma are scarce year-round but show a clear spring/early-summer presence as fish move into inland waters from the coast, peaking roughly mid-April through early June. Numbers taper through summer as fish disperse or return seaward, with low residual presence in fall and winter — they don't fully vanish from deep Sound basins, but abundance is minimal.
- Rockfish (Aggregate). Rockfish (copper, quillback, brown, black, yelloweye) in South Puget Sound near Tacoma are highly resident demersal fish with extremely long lifespans and minimal seasonal migration. Biological abundance is essentially flat year-round, with only minor variation from spawning aggregations and juvenile recruitment that don't meaningfully change adult presence on the reefs.
Before you go
Water around Tacoma falls into 2 areas, and the rules can differ between them. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife sets them.
- 11 11 — Tacoma-Vashon Island
- 13 13 — South Puget Sound
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 Tacoma
Tacoma sits on the southern reaches of Puget Sound, where Commencement Bay opens onto a network of passages and points threading between the mainland and nearby islands. The city's 13 fishing spots span sheltered inside waters and current-swept headlands, giving anglers access to Chinook Salmon through their June to September peak, Coho Salmon from July into October, and Chum Salmon that build through the fall and hold into December. Chinook draw the most consistent effort, with trolling working the tide lines and drop-offs where these fish stage. Rockfish and Lingcod round out the mix along the rocky structure, with rockfish holding from April through September and lingcod concentrated in the spring months. The fishery runs strongest through summer and fall, when overlapping salmon runs keep the passages and bays productive.
Launch at Point Defiance and you are minutes from the good water. Work the Clay Banks and the edge of Dalco Passage on the last of the flood into the first of the ebb, mooching cut plug herring down 60 to 120 feet along the drop-off. Kings hold tight to the bottom there in midsummer. Coho run higher, so troll faster and shallower once the bay fills with bait. Watch the afternoon northerly in the Narrows. Wind against a big ebb stacks a short, ugly chop fast. Go early.
Common questions about Tacoma
›What is the best time of year to fish in Tacoma?
Summer is the high point for most anglers, with Chinook building through June and peaking in July and August as mature kings stage in Marine Area 11 on their way toward the Puyallup and Nisqually systems. Coho overlap from late July and hold strong through September and into early October, so late summer gives you two strong salmon options at once. Late October and November belong to chum, which stage before pushing into local streams. If you prefer bottomfish, spring is the standout, with lingcod strongest in May and rockfish and cabezon available across the calendar.
›Which salmon species run through Tacoma and where do they hold?
Chinook, coho, chum and pink all pass through Tacoma waters at different points in the year. Chinook are the summer headliner, with resident blackmouth providing a modest baseline the rest of the year and a smaller spring bump around February and March. Coho stage heavily in Commencement Bay and off Point Defiance from late August before moving into the Puyallup, while chum concentrate in October and November toward the Nisqually, Chambers Creek and Puyallup. Pink salmon are the odd year visitor, showing in July and stacking up in mid to late August before disappearing by late September.
›What techniques work best for salmon around Tacoma?
Trolling and mooching are the mainstays for Chinook and coho in Marine Areas 11 and 13, covering water while fish are staging and moving. Jigging, vertical jigging and drift jigging come into their own when salmon stack up in a tight area or when you want to work a specific depth. Live bait and drift fishing with bait are productive when fish are holding rather than travelling, particularly through the late summer staging period in Commencement Bay.
›What can I catch in Tacoma outside of salmon season?
Lingcod, rockfish and cabezon are resident, non migratory fish on the rocky structure around Point Defiance, the Tacoma Narrows and Dalco Passage, so there is no true off season for them. Lingcod fishing improves through March and April and is at its best in May, when mature fish move onto shallower reefs. Rockfish hold steady on reefs, pilings, riprap and deeper structure with a modest lift through summer and early fall when juvenile herring, sand lance and smelt concentrate. Dungeness crab are also present year round in the Sound, with the strongest showing from late spring through early fall.
›Can you fish from shore in Tacoma, or do you need a boat?
A boat opens up the most water, since trolling and mooching along Point Defiance, the Narrows and Dalco Passage are how most salmon are targeted here, and crab pots and ring nets are typically set from a vessel. That said, jigging and drift fishing with bait are shore friendly approaches wherever you can reach rocky structure, pilings or riprap, and those are exactly the places resident rockfish, cabezon and lingcod hold. Shore anglers also benefit from the late summer and fall staging period, when coho and chum push in close before entering the rivers.
›What conditions should I watch before heading out on Puget Sound near Tacoma?
Tidal movement is the main variable around the Narrows, Dalco Passage and Point Defiance, where current dictates when drift jigging and mooching present properly and when a small boat is best kept off the strongest water. Plan trips around the exchange rather than the clock and give yourself margin on the bigger swings. Rainfall matters too in autumn, since heavy rain triggers coho and chum to leave the salt for the rivers and can flatten a marine bite within days. Always check the current marine forecast before launching.