Early June Puget Sound: Coho, Cutthroat, and Bottom Fish on the Bite

What this episode covers

This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report for the Seattle area. We’re riding a typical early‑June pattern: cool mornings, mild afternoons, and a mix of clouds and sun over the central Sound. Local marine forecasts are calling for light to moderate southwest winds with surface temps hovering in the low 50s and decent barometric stability most of the day. Sunrise is right around 5:10 a.m., with sunset near 9:10 p.m., so you’ve got a long fishing window to work the tides. Tides in the central Sound today are running a good morning flood pushing up into midday, then an afternoon ebb that really starts moving water through the narrows, passes, and point structure. Fish activity has been best on those first and last two hours of moving water. Midday slack has been on the slower side unless you’re dropping bait right on their noses. Out on the salt, resident coho and blackmouth have been showing in scattered pods. Most reports from local anglers over the last few days mention a handful of shakers for every keeper, with better numbers off deeper breaks in 80–140 feet. Troll small 2–3 inch spoons and hoochies behind an 11‑inch flasher, green/black, UV, or glow patterns. Herring‑aid, Irish cream, and green splatterback have been consistent producers. Run your gear 20–40 feet off bottom, 2.3–3.0 knots on the GPS. Marine Areas around Seattle have also given up good bottomfish bites where open: kelp greenling, flounder, and a few decent lingcod before the sun gets too high. Jigs tipped with a strip of herring, white or motor‑oil curly‑tail grubs, and small metal jigs hopped along rocky contour lines have been the ticket. If you’re chasing piling‑oriented fish, a simple dropper rig with a chunk of herring or squid will still get bit. Inshore, the cutthroat fishery has been classic early summer. Anglers working the beaches and creek mouths have reported solid action on 12–16 inch sea‑run cutthroat, with a few larger fish mixed in. Strip small olive or white baitfish patterns on a fly rod, or throw 1/8–1/4 oz spoons and soft‑plastic minnows in natural sand‑lance or smelt colors. Focus on current seams, points with tidal rips, and the first drop just off the beach. On the bait side, it’s hard to beat fresh or properly brined herring for salmon—green or blue label for trolling, smaller anchovy‑sized baits if you can find them. For bottomfish, squid strips and herring chunks work very well. Shore anglers should pack sand shrimp, nightcrawlers, or clam necks if they’re targeting surfperch and misc. bottom dwellers around the piers. A couple of hot spots to circle on your mental chart: • West Point, off Magnolia: classic Seattle salmon water. Work the outer edge of the bar on the flood and slide up onto the top on the ebb. Good for resident coho, blackmouth, and the odd ling on jigs. • Lincoln Park to Point Williams line: productive stretch for sea‑run cutthroat and the occasional coho cruising in tight. Hit it at first light with small spoons or clousers, especially when that flood tide nudges bait right up on the beach. If you’re launching local, keep an eye on the current tables for the Tacoma Narrows and Deception Pass if you roam north or south—those spots have turned on hard when the afternoon ebb starts ripping, with jigging spoons and mooched herring taking fish right on the breaks. That’s it from Artificial Lure—thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a tide. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

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