In many respects, Carcassman is correct. You either have wild fish or hatchery fish, but not both.

But the Naselle River seems to be the exception.

Wild Chinook production on the Naselle can be quite substantial in some years, even though there is no retention for wild Chinook. It has one of the strongest wild coho populations anywhere in Washington State. In most years, you can take four adult coho, two of which can be wild. I don’t know any river in SW Washington where you can keep two wild coho. And all chum salmon on the Naselle are wild. In some years, you can’t keep the chum salmon off your eggs. But there is no retention of chum on the Naselle. I’ve caught dozens of chum before I can find something to keep (hatchery Chinook or coho).

All this even though the Naselle River hatchery releases lots of coho and fall Chinook. And it remains productive for both hatchery and wild fish with the heavy commercial harvest in Willapa Bay.

It’d be great if there were more rivers like this in Washington State.