The Wilson gets a run of hatchery summer steelhead. There are fish throughout the fishery (up to South Fork), but numbers appear to be low this year, and fishing has been slow. For summer steelhead, fish early in the morning and cover lots of water including deep holes, pocket water, and drifts with some chop to them. Light line, subtle terminal presentations like beads, jigs, or small natural baits and hardware like spinners and spoons should all produce fish. There are no spring Chinook releases on the Wilson.

The Wilson tends to be a little slower for coastal cutthroat trout than some of the neighboring basins, but there are resident and sea-run trout throughout the fishery and lots of public access off Hwy 6.