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Samish River

Type
Freestone river, Washington (West)
Designation
Special-regulation trout water
USGS gauges
1 live
Guides
None listed
Shops
None listed

Today on the Samish River

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The Samish River is a freestone river in Washington, listed as Special-regulation trout water by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife / Fish and Wildlife Commission (WAC 220-312).

More about the Samish River

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow.

Updated · Sources: Selective gear rules waters, USGS Water Data

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

Samish River is a freestone river in Washington.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Check any river's flow

Follow Samish River for flow alerts

Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.

Follow this water

Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Washington water access sites

Samish River on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Samish River: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of Samish River with 1 USGS gauge.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Samish River

Restrooms near Samish River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Samish River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

Map of 2 restrooms near Samish River

Skip the map; every place is in the list below

Map of 2 restrooms near Samish River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

  1. Burlington / Anacortes KOA

    0.5 mi away in a straight line

    At a campground

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

  2. Restroom

    1.3 mi away in a straight line

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near Samish River

  • The Methow River near Pateros at sunsetSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Skagit River
    Photo credit

    The Methow River near Pateros, Washington, at sunset. Photo: Thayne Tuason, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Skagit River.

    Skagit River

    Washington · about 6 mi

  • The Columbia River running between dry hills in WashingtonFly-fishing onlyRepresentative photo · not South Fork Nooksack River
    Photo credit

    The Columbia River in Washington. Photo: Belle Unruh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not South Fork Nooksack River.

    South Fork Nooksack River

    Washington · about 13 mi

  • Lake Billy Chinook filling a basalt canyon, with layered rimrock cliffs along the waterCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Pass Lake
    Photo credit

    Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon. Photo: icetsarina, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Pass Lake.

    Pass Lake

    Washington · about 16 mi

  • Ennis Lake partly iced over in early spring, with the snow-covered Madison Range across the waterFly-fishing onlyRepresentative photo · not Squalicum Lake
    Photo credit

    Ennis Lake, Montana, in March, with the Madison Range beyond. Photo: Gloria Cabada-Leman, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr Not Squalicum Lake.

    Squalicum Lake

    Washington · about 17 mi

  • Aerial view of Eagle Lake beyond the dry bed of Horse LakeCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Vogler Lake
    Photo credit

    Eagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Vogler Lake.

    Vogler Lake

    Washington · about 26 mi

  • The wide Columbia River running east through its gorge between steep forested walls, seen from Crown PointFly-fishing onlyRepresentative photo · not North Fork Stillaguamish River
    Photo credit

    The Columbia River Gorge looking east from Crown Point, Oregon. Photo: Hux, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not North Fork Stillaguamish River.

    North Fork Stillaguamish River

    Washington · about 31 mi

Sources Washington water access sitesOverture Maps places (guide map points)

Where the map point comes from

Position: the USGS gauge SAMISH RIVER NEAR BURLINGTON, WA.

The map shows USGS gauges (tap one for its flow reading), and shops and guides within 40 miles that publish a street address on their own website. Everyone else is in the lists below.

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

Official designation: Special-regulation trout water

Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
28.3 mi (26.6 in WA)
Drains
103 sq mi
Drop
320 ft · 11.3 ft/mi
Watershed
Strait of Georgia

Stocking records

About this

From the agency’s own records (WDFW-Fish Plants, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), via data.wa.gov, read 2026-11-04), listed as SAMISH R 03.0005 (Skagit County). Check the agency for this season.

Past stockings, not a schedule

  • 2025: Chinook Salmon in May (3 stockings, 1,633,413 fish).

  • 2024: Chinook Salmon in May (1 stocking, 427,311 fish).

Agency records

Guides and shops near Samish River

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

No guide within 40 miles yet.

All Washington guides

Shops nearby

No shop nearby yet.

All Washington shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

The hatch and season chart for this water's region.

When the bugs come off

Regional hatch months: Pacific Northwest
About this chart

1 hatch charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.

  1. January: no charted hatch
  2. February: no charted hatch
  3. March: no charted hatch
  4. April: no charted hatch
  5. May: 1 charted hatch
  6. June: no charted hatch
  7. July: no charted hatch
  8. August: no charted hatch
  9. September: no charted hatch
  10. October: no charted hatch
  11. November: no charted hatch
  12. December: no charted hatch

Salmonfly (May)

Plan a trip here

About this

None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.

No hub within 40 miles

Plan a trip here

Gear checklist

About this

A wade-fishing checklist for big western trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.

A woman in waders and a sun hat wades a broad river and casts, bluffs on the far bank

Big western rivers (wade fishing)

9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Samish River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 12 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge SAMISH RIVER NEAR BURLINGTON, WA. Water type is our own classification.