Lingcod Season in Puget Sound: The Pacific Northwest Sea Dragon Fights Back

Hey there, anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Puget Sound fishing report for this beautiful Saturday morning, May 3rd, 2025. We're right in the sweet spot of lingcod season, folks! The season opened just two days ago on May 1st and will run through June 15th, giving us a solid 45-day window to target these aggressive predators. Today's your perfect chance to get out there since it's the first weekend of the season. Lingcod fishing has been strong across Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Remember, you're allowed one lingcod between 26-36 inches per day. These "Pacific Northwest Sea Dragons" are ambush predators with those distinctive bucket-like mouths full of sharp teeth – they'll put up a fantastic fight! For those targeting lingcod, live bait has been producing well, though it requires patience. Let the fish turn with the bait before setting the hook, then be ready for a strength battle as these powerful fish try to head back to the rocky structure. Keep in mind you're limited to waters less than 120 feet deep per regulations. Salmon fishing in most of Puget Sound is currently closed as we're between seasons. The winter Chinook fishery in Marine Areas 10 and 11 closed at the end of April. However, there's tremendous buzz about this year's pink salmon forecast – WDFW is projecting a massive 7.76 million pink salmon run for 2025, one of the largest on record! We'll be seeing those fish later in summer. For hot spots, I'd recommend trying the artificial reef structures near Seattle for lingcod, or heading up to the northern edges of the San Juan Islands where the lings have been particularly aggressive. Just be sure to have your descending device aboard and ready to deploy – it's required for bottomfish fishing. Gear-wise, heavy jigs and swimbaits in the 6-10 oz range work great for lingcod in our deeper waters. If you're using live bait, greenling or small cabezon are prime choices when you can get them. Don't forget that Hood Canal remains closed to lingcod fishing this year, so plan accordingly. For you shellfish folks, WDFW has published their 2025 best clam and oyster harvest tides chart featuring Puget Sound area tides with favorable harvest results – might be worth checking out for a backup plan. That's all for today's report! This is Artificial Lure reminding you to check those regulations before heading out, make sure your fishing license is current, and as we always say here in the Sound: tight lines and stay fishy! This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.