Baker River sockeye salmon season and counts

The 2024 sockeye forecast for the Baker River is 56,750 fish and the state harvest split on sockeye for Baker Lake and the Skagit River is 75/25 percent respectively.

Skagit River Rules

The Skagit River from Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Bridge to the Dalles Bridge at Concrete opens for sockeye June 16 through July 15. Minimum size is 12 inches. Daily limit is four sockeye salmon. 

Night closure in effect. Selective gear rules are not in effect for salmon. 

There will be periodic closures to prevent gear conflicts during tribal fisheries. In-season closures will be announced as soon as possible.  Consider checking emergency Fishing Rule Changes, downloading the FishWA mobile app or signing up for fishery change notifications by email.

Baker Lake Rules

Baker Lake will open July 6 and is scheduled to run through Aug. 31. Fishing opens July 6 regardless of the number of sockeye present in the lake.

Consider checking emergency Fishing Rule Changes for updates or downloading the FishWA mobile app. Minimum size is 18 inches. Daily limit four 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. 

Baker Lake anglers, boaters, and kayakers should be aware that WDFW Police and Aquatic Invasive Species unit staff will be conducting mandatory invasive species checks on watercraft entering Baker Lake to help prevent introduction of quagga and zebra mussels that can impact infrastructure and potentially cause millions of dollars in damage. Please be respectful and cooperate during inspections to help get everyone on the lake as quickly as possible.

Additional information

Selective gear rules remain in effect for gamefish. If anglers are not following selective gear rules, all species other than sockeye must be released. Please see pamphlet for gamefish rules in these sections.

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.

There may be periodic closures to prevent conflicts during tribal fisheries. In-season closures will be announced as soon as possible. Consider downloading the Fish Washington app or signing up for fishery change notifications by email as well as checking our webpage where emergency Fishing Rule Changes are listed. 

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.

2023 Hatchery Broodstock collection (9,500) 

*Includes 1,000 AI increase (5,100 to 6,100) for Baker broodstock. 

Adult Baker sockeye enter the trap from mid-June to mid-October. Numbers of returning fish peak in mid-July. Spawning occurs from mid-September through December, peaking from late September to late November.

2024 daily counts

*Total includes trap mortality 

** Total includes trap harvest

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