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Wet Puget Sound Fishing Forecast: Chinook, Coho, and Flatfish in Low Light Conditions
Published 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report.
We’re sitting under another wet Pacific blast, with the National Weather Service and local outlets talking about an atmospheric river and flooding in parts of western Washington. Expect **steady rain, low 50s, breezy south wind**, and dirty water in the rivers pushing more fish into the salt and closer to shore. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, back‑to‑back systems are sliding over the Sound right now, so plan on fast‑changing barometer and plenty of runoff.
Sunrise is right around **7:45 a.m.** with sunset about **4:15 p.m.**, so your prime windows are the first two hours of daylight and the last hour and a half before dark. On these short gray days, that low light really helps the bite.
Tides in central Puget Sound today are running **moderate**: a decent morning flood, a midday high, then a draining afternoon ebb. That afternoon outgoing around the points and rips has been money for feeding bait and staging salmon.
Out on the water, anglers this past week have been picking at **resident coho (“blackmouth-sized silvers”) and winter chinook**, plus plenty of **flounder and sand dabs** for the kids. A few diehards are still finding **late chum** along the eastern shoreline and in the lower tidewater stretches. Reports from local tackle shops and dock talk around Shilshole and Narrows marinas say the numbers aren’t wild, but the **average chinook size is solid**, with a good mix of legal and unders.
Best producers right now:
- **Trolling gear:** 11‑inch green or chartreuse flasher with a 24–36" leader to a **3–3.5" spoon** in Irish Cream, Herring Aid, or Cop Car.
- **Hoochies:** White, glow, or green spatter‑back squid with a small strip of herring or herring scent.
- **Mooched bait:** Plug‑cut **herring** on a slow, staggered drop in 80–140 feet over structure when the wind allows.
- For shore folks chasing late coho or cutts, small **metal jigs, Buzz Bombs, and 3" paddle‑tails** in pearl or candlefish colors have been steady.
A couple of hot spots to circle on the chart:
- **Point No Point / Foulweather Bluff:** Classic winter chinook water. Work 120–180 feet on the edges of bait balls, especially on the afternoon ebb when that current starts to dig.
- **Tacoma Narrows / Point Evans area:** Heavy tide, but when it softens you’ll see chinook pinning bait on the ledges. Keep your gear tight to bottom and be ready to lose a few to the rocks.
Closer to town, the west side of **Alki down toward Restoration Point** is worth a troll on the morning flood, and **Possession Bar** continues to give up a mix of shakers and keepers if you grind.
With all the river color, don’t be shy about **glow, UV, and scent**. Shorten your leaders a bit in the chop to keep things under control, and run your downrigger balls just off bottom; these winter kings are belly‑to‑mud.
That’s your Puget Sound check‑in from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
We’re sitting under another wet Pacific blast, with the National Weather Service and local outlets talking about an atmospheric river and flooding in parts of western Washington. Expect **steady rain, low 50s, breezy south wind**, and dirty water in the rivers pushing more fish into the salt and closer to shore. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, back‑to‑back systems are sliding over the Sound right now, so plan on fast‑changing barometer and plenty of runoff.
Sunrise is right around **7:45 a.m.** with sunset about **4:15 p.m.**, so your prime windows are the first two hours of daylight and the last hour and a half before dark. On these short gray days, that low light really helps the bite.
Tides in central Puget Sound today are running **moderate**: a decent morning flood, a midday high, then a draining afternoon ebb. That afternoon outgoing around the points and rips has been money for feeding bait and staging salmon.
Out on the water, anglers this past week have been picking at **resident coho (“blackmouth-sized silvers”) and winter chinook**, plus plenty of **flounder and sand dabs** for the kids. A few diehards are still finding **late chum** along the eastern shoreline and in the lower tidewater stretches. Reports from local tackle shops and dock talk around Shilshole and Narrows marinas say the numbers aren’t wild, but the **average chinook size is solid**, with a good mix of legal and unders.
Best producers right now:
- **Trolling gear:** 11‑inch green or chartreuse flasher with a 24–36" leader to a **3–3.5" spoon** in Irish Cream, Herring Aid, or Cop Car.
- **Hoochies:** White, glow, or green spatter‑back squid with a small strip of herring or herring scent.
- **Mooched bait:** Plug‑cut **herring** on a slow, staggered drop in 80–140 feet over structure when the wind allows.
- For shore folks chasing late coho or cutts, small **metal jigs, Buzz Bombs, and 3" paddle‑tails** in pearl or candlefish colors have been steady.
A couple of hot spots to circle on the chart:
- **Point No Point / Foulweather Bluff:** Classic winter chinook water. Work 120–180 feet on the edges of bait balls, especially on the afternoon ebb when that current starts to dig.
- **Tacoma Narrows / Point Evans area:** Heavy tide, but when it softens you’ll see chinook pinning bait on the ledges. Keep your gear tight to bottom and be ready to lose a few to the rocks.
Closer to town, the west side of **Alki down toward Restoration Point** is worth a troll on the morning flood, and **Possession Bar** continues to give up a mix of shakers and keepers if you grind.
With all the river color, don’t be shy about **glow, UV, and scent**. Shorten your leaders a bit in the chop to keep things under control, and run your downrigger balls just off bottom; these winter kings are belly‑to‑mud.
That’s your Puget Sound check‑in from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI