Puget Sound Early Summer: Resident Coho and Sea-Run Cutthroat in the Flood Tide

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Puget Sound fishing report. We’re sitting on a mild early‑summer pattern around the Sound: cool mornings in the low to mid‑50s, afternoon highs pushing into the low 60s along the water, light onshore breeze 5–10 knots, and mostly cloudy with a few sunbreaks. NOAA’s marine forecast is calling for relatively calm seas, so it’s a good window for small boats and kayaks if you watch the wind bumps in the afternoon. Sunrise is right around 5:15 a.m., with sunset near 9 p.m., so you’ve got long low‑light windows to work with at both ends of the day. First and last light have been the most productive. Tides are running on moderate swings right now. Around the central Sound you’re looking at an early morning ebb, a midday low, then a decent afternoon flood. That flood has been the ticket for moving bait and turning fish on, especially around current seams and points. Inshore, the main action has been resident coho and sea‑run cutthroat. Folks working the west side of Whidbey and Possession Bar have been into good numbers of cookie‑cutter resident coho, mostly 14–18 inches, with an occasional larger fish in the low 20s. Most are coming 30–70 feet down over 90–150 feet of water. Productive setups have been small white or chartreuse hoochies behind a 10–11 inch flasher, or 3‑inch spoons in green‑glow, cop car, or Irish cream patterns. Sea‑run cutthroat fishing in the South Sound has been solid on the softer tide phases. Beach anglers are reporting several fish per session, with a few to 17–18 inches. Olive‑over‑white baitfish patterns, small Clouser‑style flies, and 2–3 inch soft plastics on light jig heads have been consistent. Work the drop‑offs, current edges, and the shade lines from overhanging trees. Lingcod is tapering but still worth a shot where it’s open; most keepers have been coming off rocky structure and reef markers in 40–80 feet. Heavy metal jigs in candlefish patterns, white curly‑tail grubs on 2–4 oz leadheads, and live or fresh herring have been producing. Rockfish opportunities are limited by regulation in much of Puget Sound, so double‑check the regs before you drop gear. For bait, herring is still king offshore: plug‑cut behind a flasher for coho or fished on a mooching rig on the drift. On the beaches, natural baits are less common due to dogfish—stick to artificials: small spoons, spinners, and sand‑lance‑profile flies. Couple of local hot spots to put on your list: – **Possession Bar**: Work the edges of the bar on the flooding tide for resident coho and the odd chinook, 30–90 feet on the rigger with spoons or hoochies. Watch your depth; that structure comes up quick. – **Point No Point**: Classic north‑end beach and boat spot. Early morning casting from the beach with 1/4–1/2 oz metal, or trolling small hoochies just off the point on the flood has been turning coho and cutts. Honorable mentions: South Sound shorelines around Fox Island for sea‑runs, and the east side of Vashon Island for mixed bag trolling when the tide starts to move. Gear it down a bit for these resident fish—10–12 lb mainline, 15–20 lb leaders—and keep your hooks sharp. Fish have been snapping best on that first push of current after slack, especially under the overcast. 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