Washington Best Fishing Times Today
Solunar major and minor periods, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and the moon phase for every Washington county, today and for the next 7 days.
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All 39 counties in Washington are in the list. Choose one and the times below switch to that county, in its own local clock time.
Today’s solunar periods, sunrise, sunset and the moon for Thurston County, Washington load here.
Washington times are worked out in your browser with SunCalc for each county’s internal point in the Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer, shown in that county’s local time. Check any Washington day against the US Naval Observatory sun and moon tables.
What the Washington fishing times mean
The idea behind these Washington times goes back to John Alden Knight’s solunar tables of 1926. A major period runs about 2 hours around the moment the moon crosses overhead or passes underfoot, and a minor period about 1 hour around moonrise or moonset. Treat them as a traditional guide rather than a promise; on Washington water a cold front or muddy runoff matters more.
Over Washington, moon times shift about 50 minutes later each day, so a major period that falls at dawn this week lands mid-morning next week. The 7-day row shows when one lines up with sunrise or sunset, the hours many Washington anglers already favour.
Traditional tables give their best ratings to days near a new or full moon, so each Washington card also carries the phase and how much of the moon is lit.
All 39 counties keep Pacific time. On the June solstice the first Washington sunrise comes in Pend Oreille County at 4:48 a.m. and the last in Pacific County at 5:23 a.m., a 35 minute spread on the clock.
In Thurston County, the county around Olympia, the longest day of the year is 15 hours 53 minutes and the shortest 8 hours 31 minutes. From Whatcom County in the north to Clark County in the south the county centres are 3.1 degrees of latitude apart; on June 21 that is 16 hours 11 minutes of daylight against 15 hours 43 minutes.
Washington sunrise, sunset and day lengths above are computed for the 39 Census 2023 Gazetteer county internal points with the same SunCalc formulas the widget uses.
Washington fish to plan around today's times
Each Washington species page carries the limits, the season and the waters that hold it.
- Albacore Tuna
- American Shad
- Arrowtooth Flounder
- Atlantic Salmon
- Beardslee Rainbow Trout
- Big Skate
- Black Bullhead
- Black Crappie
- Black Rockfish
- Blue Catfish
- Blue Rockfish
- Blue Shark
- Bluegill
- Bocaccio
- Bridgelip Sucker
- Brook Trout
- Brown Bullhead
- Brown Rockfish
- Brown Trout
- Bull Trout
- Burbot
- Cabezon
- Canary Rockfish
- Channel Catfish
- China Rockfish
- Chinook Salmon
- Chum Salmon
- Coastal Cutthroat Trout
- Coho Salmon
- Common Carp
- Copper Rockfish
- Deacon Rockfish
- Dolly Varden
- Dolphinfish
- Flathead Catfish
- Golden Trout
- Grass Carp
- Great Sculpin
- Green Sunfish
- Greenstripe Rockfish
- Jack Mackerel
- Kelp Greenling
- Kokanee
- Lahontan Cutthroat Trout
- Lake Trout
- Lake Whitefish
- Largemouth Bass
- Largescale Sucker
- Lingcod
- Mountain Whitefish
- North Pacific Spiny Dogfish
- Northern Pike
- Northern Pikeminnow
- Opah
- Pacific Bluefin Tuna
- Pacific Cod
- Pacific Hake
- Pacific Halibut
- Pacific Pomfret
- Pacific Sanddab
- Pacific Staghorn Sculpin
- Peamouth
- Petrale Sole
- Pile Surfperch
- Pink Salmon
- Pumpkinseed
- Quillback Rockfish
- Rainbow Trout
- Red Irish Lord
- Redbanded Rockfish
- Redtail Surfperch
- Rock Bass
- Rock Sole
- Sablefish
- Sand Sole
- Silvergray Rockfish
- Smallmouth Bass
- Sockeye Salmon
- Spotted Ratfish
- Starry Flounder
- Steelhead
- Striped Marlin
- Striped Surfperch
- Tiger Muskie
- Tiger Rockfish
- Tiger Trout
- Tope Shark
- Vermilion Rockfish
- Walleye
- Warmouth
- Westslope Cutthroat Trout
- White Catfish
- White Crappie
- White Sturgeon
- Whitespotted Greenling
- Yellow Bullhead
- Yellow Perch
- Yellowtail Jack
- Yellowtail Rockfish
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Washington lake pages carry ramps, species, records and live levels where a gauge exists; each one links back here.
- Alder Lake
- American Lake
- Baker Lake
- Banks Lake
- Bead Lake
- Billy Clapp Lake
- Black Lake (Thurston County)
- Boundary Reservoir
- Box Canyon Reservoir
- Bumping Lake
- Cle Elum Lake
- Coldwater Lake
- Curlew Lake
- Deer Lake (Stevens County)
- Diablo Lake
- Diamond Lake
- Eloika Lake
- Kachess Lake
- Lake Chelan
- Lake Roosevelt
- Lake Samish
- Lake Stevens
- Lake Whatcom
- Moses Lake
Questions on Washington fishing times
What are the best fishing times today in Washington?
In Washington, the major periods: about 2 hours around the moon overhead and underfoot, then the minor periods around moonrise and moonset. Pick your county above; the list starts on Thurston County.
How many Washington counties does the list cover?
All 39 Washington counties, each with its Census 2023 Gazetteer internal point and its own time zone.
Does Washington have more than one time zone?
No. All 39 counties keep Pacific time. The widget still uses each county centre, so Washington times shift a few minutes from east to west.
How much does sunrise differ across Washington?
On June 21 the earliest sunrise is 4:48 a.m. in Pend Oreille County and the latest 5:23 a.m. in Pacific County, a 35 minute spread.
How long is the longest day around Olympia?
15 hours 53 minutes on the June solstice in Thurston County; the December solstice gives 8 hours 31 minutes.
Is a major period better than a minor one in Washington?
For Washington anglers, solunar theory rates major periods (moon overhead or underfoot, about 2 hours) above minor ones (about 1 hour at moonrise and moonset). It is a traditional guide; Washington weather and water conditions matter as much.
Why is there no major period on some Washington days?
Over Washington the moon passes overhead or underfoot about 50 minutes later each day, so roughly once a month one of the two falls just past midnight and that county day card shows a single major period.
Do solunar times change Washington fishing rules?
No. Seasons, limits and hours come from the Washington regulations; see the license and regulations page for Washington.
Can I check the Washington times against an official source?
Yes. The US Naval Observatory publishes sun and moon rise, set and transit times for any place and date; enter the county centre coordinates for a Washington day.