Puget Sound Fishing Report: Coho Crush, Chum Chase, and More for Anglers in Seattle's Backyard

Artificial Lure here with your Puget Sound Fishing Report for Sunday, October 12th, 2025, serving up today’s fresh scoop for Seattle and the surrounding waters. Let’s get right to what matters for your fall angling. The tides are looking textbook for a productive day. At Whidbey Island, we’re running a strong morning high tide peaking just after 8 a.m., which will back off going into midday and start building again later, perfect for chasing salmon and bottom fish as the bait gets funneled through the rips and rocky outcrops. Sunrise cracked at 7:23, and sunset comes early tonight at 6:29 – so make those daylight hours count, especially with the bite best at dawn and dusk according to Fishingreminder. Weather’s holding true to classic Sound fall—overcast skies and a light south breeze, with temps nudging into the lower 50s. No real rain threat during the windows you want to fish, making it comfortable if you’re working the beach or drift fishing from a skiff. The fall bite is officially on across the Sound. Coho are still absolutely the headliner – schooling along point structure and current seams at first light and taking twitching jigs, copper and green spoons, or a well-worked pink hoochie. Silver numbers have been robust this week, with limits common around Edmonds and Mukilteo, and quite a few good fish (5–8 lbs) running near the Shipwreck and Possession Bar. For chinook, most retention spots are closed, but there’ve been bonus blackmouth showing up for catch-and-release, especially around Point Defiance and south Bainbridge where anglers drifting cut-plug herring have found action during the tidal swing, according to Spreaker’s local report. If you’re working from shore, now’s the time to focus on estuary mouths. Rain pulses have started showing some early chums moving in—the first decent pods have been seen staging at Chico Creek and the Nisqually. Best bets there are darker marabou jigs or chartreuse/cerise yarn flies fished under a float. Don’t forget about that fall smorgasbord: Lingcod and cabezon are closed, but you can work pilings and rocky edges for solid numbers of flounder and perch. A 3-hook drop-shot rig baited with pieces of sand shrimp or squid is the local’s pick for a fun, action-packed couple hours, just off the piers at Shilshole or Des Moines. And for those after a crustacean treat, Dungeness crab pots are doing well off Alki and Camano flats—mackerel slabs and chicken remain the top baits. Hot spots to put on your list: - The Edmonds Oil Dock and rip lines off Possession Bar for coho at daybreak. - Point Defiance Clay Banks for that mid-morning push with herring. - Chico Bay for chum hunters on the incoming tide. - For easy-access mixed bag, try Seacrest Park or Des Moines Marina piers. This weekend saw cleaner water move in, so focus on high-contrast baits—think black and purple jigs or anything with chartreuse flash after the recent freshet, just like your old-timer neighbor tells you. Salmon runs are histo This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.