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Puget Sound Fishing Report: Blackmouth, Flounder, and Chinook Bite Steady Amidst Winter Weather
Published 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report.
We’re sitting in a mild, damp pattern over the Sound. The National Weather Service marine forecast for Puget Sound and Hood Canal calls for light **south winds 5–10 knots** and waves around **2 feet or less**, with on‑and‑off light rain and plenty of overcast. That’s classic winter “steelhead gray” and good for keeping boat traffic down.
According to NOAA tide predictions for Seattle, we’ve got a **strong morning flood** topping out mid‑morning, a decent afternoon ebb, then another push in the evening. Think moving water windows rather than camping all day: first light through the late‑morning high, then the first couple hours of the afternoon ebb.
Daylight is still short. Local tide tables and almanacs put **sunrise around 7:55 a.m. and sunset near 4:30 p.m.** You don’t have much margin, so plan your launches and crossings accordingly.
Winter fish activity has been better than the gray skies suggest. Local charter reports out of Shilshole and Elliott Bay have been seeing **keeper blackmouth (resident chinook) in the 5–9 lb range**, plus plenty of shakers. Inner Sound moochers are also picking up **mixed flounder and the odd sand dab** around the flats. Out toward Kingston and Jeff Head, trollers running deep are reporting **steady legal chinook with a few pushing low teens** on the bigger tides.
Best producers right now:
- **Lures for blackmouth:**
- 3–3.5" **white or green glow hoochies** behind an 11" Pro‑Troll or Hot Spot flasher.
- Small **spatterback needlefish and Coho Killer spoons** in green/glow or Irish cream, 32–140 feet on the rigger, just off bottom on the humps.
- **Bait:**
- **Herring strips or whole green label herring** in a helmet, slow‑trolled.
- For shore guys, **sand shrimp or small herring chunks** on a high‑low rig for flounder and the odd dogfish.
A few piers and bank spots have coughed up **resident coho and sub‑legal chinook** on **1/2–3/4 oz metal jigs and 3" soft plastics** fished on the drop. Keep those hooks barbless where required and mind the area closures.
Couple of hot spots for you:
- **Jeff Head / West Point line:** Classic winter blackmouth turf. Work the 100–140 foot contour on the flood, trolling with the current, spoons or hoochies a few feet off bottom. When the bait stacks on the sonar, stay on that line and grind—this is where most of the recent keeper reports are coming from.
- **Manchester / Yukon Harbor side:** A little more sheltered in a south breeze. Fish the edges of the drop‑off for blackmouth and flounder, running gear tight to bottom and watching for those bait balls sliding along the structure.
Closer in, **Elliott Bay** has kicked out some legal blackmouth on the flats outside the marina and off Duwamish Head, especially right on the tide change. Run smaller spoons there and shorten your leaders a bit when the current’s ripping.
Water temps and the recent wet weather mean fish are hugging structure and bait. If you’re not marking bait, you’re just boating. Watch your sounder, adjust depth often, and don’t be afraid to shorten up the troll and pound a productive contour.
This is Artificial Lure reminding you to fish within the regulations, check the WDFW emergency rules before you go, and pack the rain gear—you’ll probably need it.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a 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 in a mild, damp pattern over the Sound. The National Weather Service marine forecast for Puget Sound and Hood Canal calls for light **south winds 5–10 knots** and waves around **2 feet or less**, with on‑and‑off light rain and plenty of overcast. That’s classic winter “steelhead gray” and good for keeping boat traffic down.
According to NOAA tide predictions for Seattle, we’ve got a **strong morning flood** topping out mid‑morning, a decent afternoon ebb, then another push in the evening. Think moving water windows rather than camping all day: first light through the late‑morning high, then the first couple hours of the afternoon ebb.
Daylight is still short. Local tide tables and almanacs put **sunrise around 7:55 a.m. and sunset near 4:30 p.m.** You don’t have much margin, so plan your launches and crossings accordingly.
Winter fish activity has been better than the gray skies suggest. Local charter reports out of Shilshole and Elliott Bay have been seeing **keeper blackmouth (resident chinook) in the 5–9 lb range**, plus plenty of shakers. Inner Sound moochers are also picking up **mixed flounder and the odd sand dab** around the flats. Out toward Kingston and Jeff Head, trollers running deep are reporting **steady legal chinook with a few pushing low teens** on the bigger tides.
Best producers right now:
- **Lures for blackmouth:**
- 3–3.5" **white or green glow hoochies** behind an 11" Pro‑Troll or Hot Spot flasher.
- Small **spatterback needlefish and Coho Killer spoons** in green/glow or Irish cream, 32–140 feet on the rigger, just off bottom on the humps.
- **Bait:**
- **Herring strips or whole green label herring** in a helmet, slow‑trolled.
- For shore guys, **sand shrimp or small herring chunks** on a high‑low rig for flounder and the odd dogfish.
A few piers and bank spots have coughed up **resident coho and sub‑legal chinook** on **1/2–3/4 oz metal jigs and 3" soft plastics** fished on the drop. Keep those hooks barbless where required and mind the area closures.
Couple of hot spots for you:
- **Jeff Head / West Point line:** Classic winter blackmouth turf. Work the 100–140 foot contour on the flood, trolling with the current, spoons or hoochies a few feet off bottom. When the bait stacks on the sonar, stay on that line and grind—this is where most of the recent keeper reports are coming from.
- **Manchester / Yukon Harbor side:** A little more sheltered in a south breeze. Fish the edges of the drop‑off for blackmouth and flounder, running gear tight to bottom and watching for those bait balls sliding along the structure.
Closer in, **Elliott Bay** has kicked out some legal blackmouth on the flats outside the marina and off Duwamish Head, especially right on the tide change. Run smaller spoons there and shorten your leaders a bit when the current’s ripping.
Water temps and the recent wet weather mean fish are hugging structure and bait. If you’re not marking bait, you’re just boating. Watch your sounder, adjust depth often, and don’t be afraid to shorten up the troll and pound a productive contour.
This is Artificial Lure reminding you to fish within the regulations, check the WDFW emergency rules before you go, and pack the rain gear—you’ll probably need it.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a 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