Early Summer Salmon and Cutthroat: Puget Sound's Prime Season is Here

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Puget Sound fishing report around Seattle. We’re lining up on a mild early‑summer pattern. Around Seattle, the nearshore water has warmed just enough to wake things up without pushing fish deep. Winds are generally light in the morning with a typical onshore breeze building late morning into the afternoon. Clouds and a little marine layer early, then brightening skies and comfortable temps—good conditions for working the water from first light through late morning. Sunrise is right around the early‑5 a.m. hour, with sunset pushing into the late‑9 p.m. range, so you’ve got long windows to play those low‑light bites. Focus on the first two hours after sunrise and the last two before dark; that’s when most of the activity has been happening lately. Tides are running a standard mixed‑semidiurnal pattern in central Puget Sound: a decent morning flood, a softer mid‑day exchange, then another good push in the evening. Plan your main effort on the first half of the flood and the top of the tide—bait stacks up on the edges, and the predators have been right behind it. Salmon-wise, resident coho and blackmouth have been the main story in the open areas. Most fish have been cookie‑cutter feeders, but a few better fish are showing. Anglers trolling off Jeff Head and West Point have reported steady action when they stay on the bait balls in 80–140 feet of water, running gear 40–80 feet down. Best producers: small 3–3.5 inch spoons in green glow, Irish cream, or herring‑aid patterns behind an 11‑inch flasher, plus white or UV hoochies with a short leader. If you’re mooching, rig cut‑plug herring and work a slow drop with little lifts; the lighter morning wind makes that easier. Nearshore, the sea‑run cutthroat bite has been solid along the beaches from Lincoln Park down toward Brace Point and up around Golden Gardens and Shilshole. Fly anglers stripping baitfish patterns—clousers in olive/white or gray/white—have been doing well on an incoming tide. Gear guys are scoring with small 1/4–3/8 oz casting spoons and soft‑plastic jerkbaits in smelt or sand lance colors. Keep your retrieves snappy and cover water. Bottomfish action remains a good bet for bending rods. Pile perch and shiner perch are around most public piers—Seattle waterfront, Edmonds, and Seacrest—taking small bits of shrimp or clam on dropper‑loop rigs. For flounder, a small piece of worm or gulp sandworm on a Carolina rig dragged slowly across the sand will keep younger anglers busy. Lingcod season and specific salmon openings depend on the exact marine area, so always double‑check current WDFW regulations and emergency rules before you launch or cast from the beach. Couple of hotspots worth your gas today: – Jeff Head: Target salmon on the flood; concentrate where the bait marks are thick, running spoons or hoochies 40–80 feet down. – West Point and Shilshole area: Good mix of resident salmon off the dropoffs and sea‑run cutthroat along the beaches on the incoming tide. Natural baits: herring for salmon, shrimp for perch, and sandworms or gulp imitations for flounder are your top bets. Artificial lures: small glow spoons, UV hoochies, and baitfish‑pattern flies or plastics will carry you all day. That’s the word from the water. 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