Species at Wauna, Carr Inlet
Chinook salmon
Fall stock stages in bays, bites the incoming on tide change
Coho salmon
Silvers school the bay mouth on a moving tide, dawn best
Lingcod
Spring spawners move shallow to rocks, bite the first of the incoming
Black rockfish
Schools on the jetty year-round; moving water turns them on
Redtail surfperch
Pre-spawn fish stack in bays, feed the hour before high
Kelp greenling
Holds tight to kelp and rock; moving water brings the bite
White sturgeon
Stack in deep estuary holes; bite hardest on a strong moving tide
Striped bass
Spring pre-spawn and fall fish feed tidewater on moving water
Sea-run cutthroat trout
Late-summer harvest trout chase fry in low light on a moving tide
Starry flounder
Winter-spring spawners feed the estuary bottom, peak February
Pile perch
Works pilings and rock structure, moving water feeds them
Cabezon
Rocky-reef ambusher; takes bait on the bottom in moving water
Sand sole
Sandy bay-mouth flatfish; feeds the incoming over sand
Dungeness crab
Post-molt fall crab forage and walk on the slack, high best
What's biting at Wauna, Carr Inlet, month by month
| January | Starry flounder |
|---|---|
| February | Starry flounder |
| March | Lingcod, Starry flounder, Cabezon |
| April | Lingcod, Black rockfish, Redtail surfperch, Kelp greenling, White sturgeon, Striped bass, Starry flounder, Cabezon |
| May | Lingcod, Black rockfish, Redtail surfperch, Kelp greenling, White sturgeon, Striped bass, Pile perch, Cabezon, Sand sole |
| June | Lingcod, Black rockfish, Redtail surfperch, Kelp greenling, White sturgeon, Striped bass, Pile perch, Cabezon, Sand sole |
| July | Black rockfish, Redtail surfperch, Kelp greenling, White sturgeon, Sea-run cutthroat trout, Pile perch, Cabezon, Sand sole |
| August | Chinook salmon, Black rockfish, Kelp greenling, Sea-run cutthroat trout, Pile perch, Cabezon, Sand sole |
| September | Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Black rockfish, Kelp greenling, Striped bass, Sea-run cutthroat trout, Pile perch, Cabezon, Sand sole, Dungeness crab |
| October | Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Black rockfish, Kelp greenling, Striped bass, Sea-run cutthroat trout, Cabezon, Dungeness crab |
| November | Coho salmon, Dungeness crab |
| December | Starry flounder, Dungeness crab |
Typical seasons for this stretch of coast — a warm or late year shifts them by a few weeks. The live forecast scores today's actual conditions.
How Wauna, Carr Inlet fishes
Open water lies to the west of Wauna, Carr Inlet. A wind out of the west is onshore here — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes stirred-up water inshore, while an east wind flattens the surface and tends to clean it up.
Tide is the clock: moving water pulls bait through the mouth, and the turns around slack are when most of the roster feeds hardest.
Tides here are read from NOAA station 9446291 at 47.3783, -122.6340 — see it on NOAA CO-OPS.
Shops & partners near Wauna, Carr Inlet
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Common questions about Wauna, Carr Inlet
- What fish can you catch at Wauna, Carr Inlet?
- Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Lingcod, Black rockfish, Redtail surfperch, Kelp greenling, White sturgeon, Striped bass, Sea-run cutthroat trout, Starry flounder, Pile perch, Cabezon and 2 more. Each has its own season, preferred tide and water-temperature window at Wauna, Carr Inlet.
- When is the best time to fish Wauna, Carr Inlet?
- September has the most species in season (10 of 14) — Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Black rockfish, Kelp greenling, Striped bass, Sea-run cutthroat trout, Pile perch, Cabezon. Seasons shift by a few weeks in a warm or late year.
- What tide is best for fishing Wauna, Carr Inlet?
- 8 of the 14 species here feed best on moving water. Moving water is what pulls bait through the mouth, so the hours either side of a tide change usually beat dead slack.
- Which wind is bad for Wauna, Carr Inlet?
- Open water lies to the west, so a west wind is onshore — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes dirty water inshore. An east wind flattens and cleans it up.
- Where are the tides for Wauna, Carr Inlet measured?
- NOAA CO-OPS station 9446291, at 47.3783, -122.6340. What Inlet? scores the live tide, current, solunar and weather for that station.
Inlets near Wauna, Carr Inlet
- Gig Harbor
- Horsehead Bay, Carr Inlet
- Vaughn, Case Inlet
- Allyn, Case Inlet
- Home, Von Geldern Cove, Carr Inlet
- Harper, Yukon Harbor
- Bremerton, Sinclair Inlet, Port Orchard
- Lynch Cove Dock
Fishing a different inlet today? Every one has its own species roster and bite pattern.
Browse every inlet in Washington, or the full inlet directory.