July is a tough month but there are fish around. Tough because of the water temps and potentially dour fish. Statistically though most of the fish are in the rivers so the potential is high if you play the game right. Focus the fishing time in the first and last hours of the day, don't ignore riffly faster water and use mid-day for casting and lessons over an iced espresso
There are three major regions and other lesser visited to think about:
1) Cascade / Puget Sound
2) Olympic Peninsula
3) Columbia tribs
Depending on the time you plan to spend, you should consider visiting them all
Popular and productive rivers in area 1 include:
Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Stilly
OP:
Elwha, Sol Duc, Hoh
Columbia:
Cowlitz, Kalama, Lewis, Washougal, Wind
From the latter you can hop over the Oregon to fish the Sandy, Deschutes, etc.
The more convenient the access to populated areas, the more competition you will face for hooking fish but if quality time on the water is as important as hooking up you'll be glad to hear there are countless streams to try with the potential of a summer run grab.
I would try to hook up with members from the area who as recently discussed are generous with face to face sharing but not likely to post details on public bulletin boards.
I only wish I still lived there, I'd definitely be taking you to a few honey holes. Afterall, you would eventually go back to Chicago so any secrets would be safe! :devil: