December Puget Sound Fishing Forecast: Sea-Runs, Coho, and Early Steelhead

For December 13, 2024, in the Puget Sound area around Seattle, here’s what you can expect for your fishing trip: First, let's look at the tides. According to the tide predictions, today you'll have a high tide at 4:05 AM with a height of 11.2 feet, and another high tide at 13:57 with a height of 12.3 feet. The low tides are at 8:50 AM with 7.6 feet and 21:16 with -2.8 feet[5]. The weather is expected to be partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-40s, typical for this time of year. Sunrise is at 7:49 AM, and sunset will be at 4:20 PM. Fishing in the Puget Sound has been decent lately. For sea-run cutthroat, the fishing has been improving, especially with the chum fry migration approaching. You can expect to catch some quality fish, though the numbers might be lower than in the peak summer months. For the best results, use fly patterns that mimic small crustaceans like sculpin, euphausiid, and krill. Small suggestive patterns mimicking copepods, amphipods, and other small crustacean larvae are also effective[1]. If you're targeting coho or resident coho, slow down your retrieves and focus on krill and euphausiid patterns. Baitfish patterns like a Foul Free Herring or a Mini Deceiver can also be useful if you see fish working on bait[1]. For winter steelhead, early-returning hatchery fish are starting to show up in rivers like the Snoqualmie and Skykomish. However, the peak of the wild steelhead run is typically in January and February[4]. Hot spots to consider include the beaches around Seattle, particularly those with moving water and early morning outgoing tides. The South Puget Sound, especially areas around Tacoma and Olympia, have also been producing some good catches of sea-run cutthroat and coho. Remember, the best times to fish are usually during the running tides, when the water is moving from high to low or vice versa. This tends to activate the fish and make them more likely to bite[3]. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.