Nisqually River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Regulated stretches: see the pamphlet rules below
Pierce/Thurston County · River · WA
The rules for this water, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from WA's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.
- All speciesAnti-snagging rule. Barbless hooks required. Night closure.
- TroutJuly 1-Nov. 15Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
- Other game fishJuly 1-Nov. 15Statewide min. size/daily limit.
- SalmonJuly 1-Nov. 15Min. size 12". Daily limit 6 including no more than 2 adults. Release wild Chinook, wild coho, and chum.
- All speciesAug. 2-Sept. 30 (out of season today)CLOSED to all fishing Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
- All speciesOct. 1-Nov. 15 (out of season today)CLOSED to all fishing Sundays and Mondays.
- All speciesNight closure. Anti-snagging rule. Barbless hooks required.
- All speciesOct. 26-Nov. 15 (out of season today)CLOSED to all fishing Sundays and Mondays.
- TroutOct. 26-Nov. 15 (out of season today)Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
- Other game fishOct. 26-Nov. 15 (out of season today)Statewide min. size/daily limit.
- SalmonOct. 26-Nov. 15 (out of season today)Min. size 12". Daily limit 6 including no more than 2 adults. Release wild Chinook, wild coho, and chum.
- All speciesSelective gear rules.
- TroutJuly 1-July 31Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
- Other game fishJuly 1-July 31Statewide min. size/daily limit.
- All speciesSelective gear rules.
- TroutJuly 1-Oct. 31Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: release cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout.
- Other game fishJuly 1-Oct. 31Statewide min. size/daily limit.
Statewide base layerParsed
These defaults apply where the rules above do not modify them.
- Season
- Saturday before Memorial Day through Oct. 31Statewide
- Gear
- One line, up to 3 hooks; barbed or barbless; single, double, or treble hooks allowedStatewide
- Bait
- Allowed. Chumming prohibited unless a water's special rules permit itStatewide
- Poles
- 1 pole. A two-pole endorsement covers lakes and ponds only.Statewide
Where the verbatim rules above name a species, season, or limit, they replace the rows below. Each row is tagged with the layer it comes from.
| Species | Daily limit | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
Trout | 2 | min. 8" | Statewide |
Steelhead Release all wild steelhead. | 2 | min. 20" | Statewide |
Whitefish | 15 | - | Statewide |
Bass (largemouth and smallmouth) No size restriction or daily limit in rivers, streams, and beaver ponds. | No limit | - | Statewide |
Walleye No size restriction in rivers and streams. | No limit | - | Statewide |
Channel catfish No min. size in rivers and streams. | No limit | - | Statewide |
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
- This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
- Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.
Where this stretch begins and ends
The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.
- the mouth(mouth terminus (adjacent named water))
- Clear Creek(tributary: not found near line)
- Kalama Creek(tributary: not found near line)
- 400' below LaGrande Powerhouse(no geocodable landmark class)
0 of 4 stretch boundaries resolved to points on the line (failed). Landmark pins are approximate where the law names a landmark; confirm posted boundaries at the water. Unresolved ends stay open rather than guessed.
Season at a glanceDerived
Next change: closes Nov. 16, 2026.
Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.
At the water nowContext
Streamflow: 483 cfs at nisqually river near national, wa (2026-07-29 00:00)
Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.
What are you fishing for here?Advice
Pick from the species named in Nisqually River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.
You also need (Washington)
- Fishing license. Everyone age 16 and older needs a fishing license. Under 16 fishes license-free.
- Catch record card. Required for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and halibut, at every age including under 16. Electronic catch record cards are available in the MyWDFW and Fish Washington apps. Where a water's pamphlet entry shows a CRC code, record your catch against it.
- Two-pole endorsement. Lets you fish a second pole on most lakes, but only where the water's rules honor it. Lake Washington, for example, does not.
- Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement. Required for salmon and steelhead fishing on listed Columbia basin waters (ages 15 and older). The pamphlet entry says so where it applies, for example the lower Yakima River.
- On this water: record salmon and steelhead on your catch record card under code 786.
Checked against WDFW fishing licenses and catch record cards on July 2, 2026.
Receipts
Local services near Nisqually River
Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.
Run a shop or guide service on Nisqually River? Get listed.