Baker River sockeye salmon season and counts

60,214 sockeye are forecasted to return to the Skagit River in 2025, headed for the Baker River and Baker Lake. This forecast is up 57% from the 10-year average and is slightly higher than the 2024 return of 56,750 sockeye. 

Skagit River sockeye fishery

A portion of the Skagit River opened for sockeye salmon retention June 16 and is now scheduled to remain open through July 31 with a four sockeye daily limit. 

Visit the emergency Fishing Rule Change or refer to the Fish Washington mobile app for detailed regulations, including any in-season updates.

In the Skagit River, selective gear rules remain in effect for game fish. If anglers are not following selective gear rules, all species other than sockeye must be released. Please refer to the Washington Sport Fishing Rules for game fish rules.

There will be periodic area closures to prevent conflicts during tribal fisheries. In-season closures will be announced as soon as possible. Harassment and interference of tribal fishers is unacceptable and will lead to additional closure times and areas.

The Baker River access area and boat launch will also be closed to the public during tribal fisheries.  

The area temporarily closed to sport fisheries is not the only area tribal fisheries are open. Recreational anglers may see tribal fishers in areas that remain open. Please practice respect. Interference and harassment of tribal fishers will lead to additional closure times and areas.

Baker Lake sockeye fishery 

Baker Lake will open July 12 and is scheduled to run through Aug. 31. Fishing opens July 12 regardless of the number of sockeye present in the lake. 

This regulation will be published in the 2025-26 Washington Sport Fishing Rules. Anglers are encouraged to check the Fish Washington mobile app or emergency rules webpage for updates before hitting the water. 

Minimum size is 12 inches. Daily limit six sockeye. Release all salmon other than sockeye. Each angler aboard a vessel may deploy salmon angling gear until the salmon limit for all anglers aboard has been achieved. Two-pole allowed with license endorsement.

Additional information

The fishery will be actively monitored by WDFW. Anglers are asked to cooperate with creel personnel collecting catch information. Monitoring and evaluation of fisheries is an important part of ensuring we are meeting our conservation goals for salmon. 

Tribal co-managers will conduct sockeye fisheries in the Skagit River and lower Baker River as well as nearby marine areas. For information on tribal fisheries, please see the List of Agreed Fisheries (LOAF). We ask recreational anglers to give tribal fishers space and respect if they encounter each other during these and other fisheries.

Puget Sound Energy employees operate and maintain facilities at the Baker River Project guided by WDFW and tribal co-managers. These facilities not only include the hatchery and spawning beaches, the upstream trap-and-haul facility, fish transport equipment, and floating surface collectors for out-migrating juvenile fish at Baker Lake and Lake Shannon.

Fish that return to the Baker trap are prioritized to first meet our hatchery broodstock needs. Once the hatchery goal is met for the week, all remaining fish are transferred to Baker lake for the recreational fishery and to meet natural spawning goals in the lake.

Adult Baker sockeye enter the fish trap on the lower Baker River near Concrete, Washington from June into October. Numbers of returning fish peak in mid-July. Sockeye spawning occurs from September through December, peaking from mid-September into November.

Please note the counts on this webpage indicate the number of fish captured at the fish trap on the Baker River. They do not include the entire run of sockeye or cover the overall annual return forecast, as many sockeye are caught in state and tribal fisheries in the Skagit River below the fish trap or in nearby marine areas.