NW Sportsman has an article out now about this disaster.
So “Navigable Waters “. State & Federal law. Of course in this state judges will knuckle under and give to the tribes. WA state DNR screwed up the whole deal to begin with.

DNR or WDFW???

9/30/2026

Went to Aberdeen just to watch NT lay nets out. 2 NT boats above 101 bridge, 1 below, that I could see. Have no idea how many were in the 28th Street area.

What amazed me was the amount of sport boat AND guide boats around the 101 bridge and then the amount of bankies casting from shore.

I'm not sure how many licensed NT are still doing???? Think there are some that don't fish, just keep license for a "tax write off"

WDFW should just shut the Chehalis NT off, set time limit to sell Chehalis license, let them ply their trade in Willapa, not much Bay sport fishing going on, if any.

Watched 2 Gill net passes, only saw 1 fish come in.....no seals or lions were in river, while I was there.

Used to be that in order to keep your commercial GN license you had to make at least one landing each year. You can't totally sit on it. Should be bought back like previous buybacks.

If QIN gets rights to Willapa there will be no need for NI down there. Might even take out the Columbia GNs along with it.

If the NI side wants to continue commercial salmon fishing they should join together in a few traps. Great release survival, more selective than any other fishery, too.

Well back I see oh what the hell. Anyhow I am trying to get the NT catch numbers from Region 6 but Lyle is gone so I will try another way to see if they can get the numbers up.

10/05/2026

Watched QIN yesterday, about a half hour.....3 fish in net right above the bridge, South side. No gill net boats above the 101 bridge but could see 2 netter boats below the bridge.

No seals or sea lions, in the time I was there.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/commercial/gillnet#grays-harbor

NT harvest numbers are posted up. Modeled was 1255 Coho and 7 Chinook and a few Chum. They got 16 Chinook 548 Coho and 51 Chum.

So again the early Coho movement benefitted Rec fishers as fishing was good. The fact we had to release Coho adults early under the BS thinking to protect Chinook is just that BS.

Now the tribe is in and backed bt the NT it is going to be wall to wall nets so things are going to be tight fishing. With the front part of the run up the numbers of fish moving upstream will be down even before tribal and NT netting 4 and 5 days a week.

Going to be a long Oct. inriver........ bay looks much better!

Little Edit: Watched a tribal drifter lay two full U drifts from below Lakeside to the 101 Bridge. Zero fish caught and about says it all!

Well I will update what I know on Chehalis fishing. NT's were well below anticipated harvest and the QIN are not exactly loading totes by the hour. That early movement back in Sept. was rather large but since that time not so much. Rather like the same pattern for the last few years, Coho come in early then just trickle in. For sure that is what QIN nets show and this weather pattern is not exactly helping. It is wait for time or weather to bring in Coho in numbers. The other side of the coin is Chum are around in numbers rather early the nets show. The Chum forecast for Grays Harbor was 93,000 and change so it sorta looks like that is headed the right direction. FW fishers have noticed a lot of small Coho early on and the other side of the coin is QIN catch looks little on the lite side but not dinks. So we have the same pattern for Coho and Chinook as in recent years with Chum being the exception.

Specific commercial ex-vessel (dockside) buy prices for Chum salmon caught in Grays Harbor, Washington for the fall 2026 season are not yet formally published, as the coastal gillnet fisheries are currently active and final data requires processors to submit their Commercial Operator Annual Reports.

However, broader Pacific Northwest and Pacific Coast commercial data indicates a significant upward shift in market pricing for the 2026 season:

• Regional Dockside Benchmarks: Due to a roughly 45% drop in total salmon harvests across key northern Pacific grounds, base ex-vessel prices have skyrocketed. Major Washington-based buyers (such as Circle Seafoods) established baseline commercial prices for Chum salmon at $1.07 per pound, with general dock talk and smaller regional purveyors floating above the $1.00 to $1.15 per pound range. This reflects a steady 15–20% increase over previous years.

• Local Variables: Prices paid directly at Grays Harbor entry docks (like Westport) generally command a slight premium or adjust dynamically based on daily volume updates and fuel surcharges passed on by regional wholesale.

COHO:
• Retail & Seafood Market Prices: Whole, fresh wild-caught Washington Coho salmon is retailing between $10.99 and $14.99 per pound. Fresh Coho fillets are selling for $16.99 to $18.00 per pound at local seafood counters.

• Regional Commercial Trends: Broadly across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, low overall salmon availability has driven commercial dockside (ex-vessel) prices significantly higher for all species this season.

Final thing looking at NOAA river flows the Chehalis Basin is just above record lows with Doty gauge and Satsop really close to record lows. Porter has the Chehalis at 322 CFS which is just plain ugly!

Thought on return timing. I know entry and movement is tied to flows. But, since return timing is inherited to some extent the old idea that if you don't kill them they will spawn enters in. The coho fishery is pretty intense and not many of those who enter and move then spawn. So, over the generations the return time shifts. I do know that in Puget Sound, especially South Sound with the intense harvest directed at hatchery coho, that good numbers enter streams in January and even a tad later.

Another little bit about flows. The fish are definitely getting smaller. They need less water. Not to say the current flows aren't, as Rivrguy says, ugly, but imagine how many more coho would be piling up 30 years ago.