Puget Sound Winter Fishing Report: Blackmouth, Flounder, and Crab Opportunities

This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report. Let’s start on the water. The NOAA marine forecast for Puget Sound and Hood Canal is calling for **southerlies 5–10 knots with waves 2 feet or less**, building slightly this afternoon with a chance of rain. That’s classic winter Sound weather: chilly, damp, and totally fishable if you’ve got decent gear and a thermos. According to NOAA tide predictions for Seattle, we’re working with **big winter exchanges**, with a deep low and a solid high mid‑day. Think strong current on the ebb and early flood. Plan your sets around those softer edges—about an hour on either side of slack—for the most comfortable trolling and jigging. Sunrise and sunset for the central Sound are roughly **7:5x a.m. and 4:3x p.m.** Short window, so the prime bite is that gray‑light first hour and the first push of afternoon flood before dark. Fish activity has been typical mid‑winter: - Resident **blackmouth (immature Chinook)** are the main show. Reports from local anglers around Kingston and Jeff Head say a **steady pick of 4–8 lb fish**, with a few over 10. - **Flounder and sand dab** are thick on the flats off Alki and Elliott Bay for anyone bouncing bait on bottom. - **Crab** is quieter now in many inner‑Sound areas, but folks still soaking pots deeper (80–120 ft) are scratching out legal Dungeness where seasons remain open—always confirm WDFW regs before you drop gear. Best producers for blackmouth right now: - **Hardware:** 3–3.5" spoons in **green/white, Irish Cream, and Herring Aide** behind an 11" flasher in **green/glow or purple haze**. - **Hoochies:** small **green splatterback or UV white** hoochies, 32–40" leaders, trolled 1.8–2.3 knots just off bottom in 80–140 feet. - **Bait:** If you’re a bait die‑hard, **plug‑cut herring** or **anchovies** in a helmet are still money—just remember dogfish can be an issue on softer tide periods. For bottom fish: - A **2–4 oz jighead with a 4–5" curly‑tail grub** in white or chartreuse does work on flounder. Tip it with a little strip of herring or squid if you want more scent. - Simple **high‑low rigs** with small bits of clam, shrimp, or herring will keep rods bending for kids. Couple of local hot spots to think about: - **Jeff Head:** Classic winter blackmouth ground. Work the 120–160 ft contour on the west and south sides, keep your cannonballs ticking bottom, and follow the bait balls. - **Possession Bar:** A little more run, but worth it. Focus on the west side on the ebb and the east edge on the flood, 120–180 ft. Watch your speed and stay tight to bottom—most of the bigger fish this week have come right in the dirt. - Close‑in option: **Meadow Point to West Point** has been giving up a few keepers for folks who don’t want to burn the fuel. Same program: small spoons, deep. If you’re shore‑bound, the piers at **Edmonds and Seacrest** are slower on salmon now, but still good for flounder, the odd winter bullhead, and some light‑lin This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.