Early Summer Salmon and Bottomfish: Point No Point and Tacoma Narrows Heat Up

This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report. We’ve got a classic early‑summer pattern setting up around the Sound. A weak onshore flow is keeping things cool and cloudy in the morning with partial clearing and mild temps later in the day. Light winds under 10 knots for most of the central Sound, a bit friskier in the Strait and Admiralty Inlet. Marine layer early, burn‑off late. Sunrise was just after 5 a.m., sunset will be a little after 9 p.m., giving you a long fishing window. Tides today are running moderate: a decent morning flood, a mid‑day high, then a softer afternoon ebb. That morning push and the first part of the afternoon drop should be your prime bite windows, especially on current edges, points, and rips. Salmon-wise, we’re in that in‑between zone, but resident coho and lingering blackmouth have been showing in the central and northern Sound. Anglers off Possession Bar and Point No Point have reported scattered coho and legal‑sized blackmouth on smaller spoons and hootchies run 25–90 feet down. Productive patterns have been 3–3.5 inch spoons in green‑glow, Irish cream, or UV white, fished behind an 11‑inch flasher. Herring or anchovy in a helmet is still king if you’re willing to work slower—especially around first light. Bottomfish action has been solid. Lingcod reports from the Tacoma Narrows and the edges of Point Defiance have included plenty of undersized fish and some keeper‑class lings for folks working structure. Swimbaits in white or root beer, 4–6 inches, on 1–2 oz jig heads are getting chewed, especially when tipped with a small strip of herring. Kelp greenling and rockfish (where open) are coming on bits of squid and sand shrimp on two‑hook dropper rigs along rocky edges and pilings. Sea‑run cutthroat fishing has been quietly good on the East Side beaches and South Sound. Fly anglers swinging small baitfish patterns—olive/white clousers, sparse epoxy minnows—on intermediate lines have been finding fish during the softer parts of the tide. Gear anglers throwing 1/8–1/4 oz metal or small soft plastics in candlefish colors are doing well on long, slow retrieves. Remember to handle those cutts gently and release them quickly. For bait, herring remains your best all‑around option: plug‑cut or whole for salmon, strip baits for lings and bottomfish. Sand shrimp and squid pieces are the go‑tos for piling perch, flounder, and dogfish on the flats. If you’re running artificials, think natural forage: candlefish, herring, and sand lance colors with a bit of UV or glow for the deeper sets. A couple of hot spots to consider: • Point No Point: Work the east and southeast edges on the morning flood for coho and the odd blackmouth. Run your gear just off bottom on the inside, then up in the top half of the water column as the sun gets higher. Tide changes here can flip the switch fast. • Point Defiance/Tacoma Narrows: Fish the Owen Beach to Clay Banks stretch for feeder chinook and resident coho early, then slide into the Narrows for lings on the harder part of the ebb. Watch your drift and keep your gear tight to structure; that’s where the big ones live—and where you’ll lose some tackle. Overall fish activity is best at first light, again around the main tide turns, and during those brief periods when the wind and current line up to make nice defined rips. If you see bait dimpling, birds picking, or tide lines stacking up, get in there—don’t just troll past on autopilot. That’s your Puget Sound rundown 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