In Kitsap County this fall, tens of thousands of Pacific salmon, chum and coho among them, have started their annual run up local streams to spawn.^[1] The best weeks are still ahead. The chum and coho migration in Kitsap County peaks in late November.^[2] The toursThe county marked the run with a free day on the creeks. Kitsap Salmon Tours ran on Saturday, Nov. 7.^[3] The 2026 tours were set for the first Saturday of November.^[4] The Washington State University Kitsap Water Stewardship program hosted it.^[5] The tours used eight stream sites across Kitsap County.^[6] WSU Extension coordinated the sites.^[7] Biologists taught visitors about the salmon life cycle and migration.^[8] The event was free and open to the public.^[9] Several groups shared the work. Multiple partner organizations hosted stops.^[10] Great Peninsula Conservancy staff worked two of the locations.^[11] One was the Clear Creek Ridgetop Pavilion.^[12] The other was the Chico Estuary.^[13] Salmon docents trained ahead of the tours. The 2026 Salmon Docent Program training ran Oct. 18 through Oct. 22.^[14] Chico CreekChico Creek is the stream to know. It is a productive wild salmon system on the Kitsap Peninsula.^[15] A project to remove a fish barrier on Chico Creek finished in November 2024.^[16] This is the second fall run since that work was done. On the islandBainbridge has a different run. Island streams hold more coho than chum.^[17] Public places to watch salmon on the island are limited.^[18] The season so farThe early count is mixed. Return data for 2026 varies from one stream system to the next.^[19] The fish face poor water quality, barriers to passage and changing ocean conditions.^[20] Still, the fish are coming back to these waters, as they do each fall.^[21] For anyone who missed the tour day, the run itself does not end with it. The late November peak is the time to stand on a creek bank and watch.^[2]