Spring Transition Bite Heats Up: Lingcod Leading the Way on Puget Sound

This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report. We’re sitting on a nice spring transition pattern right now. A cool marine layer and light showers are sliding through early, with clouds breaking a bit by midday. Expect mid‑50s to low‑60s for air temps, light south to southwest wind in most of the central Sound, 5–10 knots, and a bit more breeze funneling up Admiralty and around Point No Point by afternoon. The barometer is easing down, which usually perks up the bite ahead of these weak fronts. Tides today are fairly lively. Around Seattle and central Puget Sound you’ll see a decent morning flood pushing in through mid‑morning, topping out late morning, then a solid afternoon ebb. Up north toward Everett and Possession, that ebb will rip harder, so plan your drifts and expect standing rip lines off points and humps. Down south around Tacoma Narrows, current is even more pronounced; fish the edges, not the middle, unless you like donating gear. Sunrise came early, just after 5:20 a.m., with sunset lining up a little after 8:45 p.m. That gives you prime low‑light windows at dawn and again in the last 90 minutes of light. Those bookend periods have been out‑producing the bright midday hours, especially on the clearer days we’ve had in between systems. Lingcod remains the star of the show. Anglers working the rock piles and ledges from Possession Bar down to Point Defiance have been putting some legal fish in the boat, with plenty of shorts to keep things busy. Most reports mention 60–120 feet as the sweet spot. Large white or motor‑oil 5–6 inch swimbaits on 2–4 ounce jigheads are getting chomped. A lot of locals are still loyal to mooching rigged herring or whole squid near bottom; just be ready to sort through cabezon and a few big kelp greenling. Blackmouth and resident coho remain scattered but present. Out around Jeff Head and east Possession, trollers running 3‑inch spoons in nickel/green or cop‑car behind an 11‑inch flasher are picking a mix of shakers and the occasional keeper. The better fish are hugging 90–130 feet on the wire over 160–200 feet of water. If you’re seeing bait on the sounder and not getting touched, swap to a smaller spoon or hoochie—krill‑sized offerings have been the ticket. Inshore, the sea‑run cutthroat bite has been quietly solid for the beach and small‑boat crowd. South Sound shorelines, especially those with a good mix of cobble and eelgrass, are giving up fish to both fly and spin anglers. Clouser‑style flies in olive/white or chartreuse/white, and small 1/4‑ounce olive minnow jigs or 3‑inch paddle tails, worked on a steady twitch‑pause retrieve, have been producing. Watch for nervous water along current seams and cast just up‑current of the activity. Best baits right now: fresh or brined herring for salmon and ling, live or butterfly‑cut sand dab or perch where legal for lingcod, and strip bait or squid for those fishing deeper structure. If you’re going artificial only, keep it simple: white, glow, and herring‑pattern plastics and spoons are out‑fishing the fancy stuff. A couple of hot spots to circle: First, Possession Bar. Work the west and south ends on the tail of the flood into the early ebb. Start on top in 60–80 feet for lingcod around rock and scattered boulders, then slide off the edge into 120–160 for salmon. Watch your chartplotter for small humps and fingers; those little changes in contour have been where the better fish come from. Second, Point Defiance and the Tacoma Narrows area. The “Clay Banks” and the shelf edges just north and south of the point are holding lings and the odd blackmouth. Hit it on a softer current window—either side of slack—dropping jigs straight down and staying in touch with bottom. When the Narrows starts to rip, move inshore and cast along the shoreline for cutthroat instead of fighting the big water. Overall activity has been “good if you work for it.” The folks moving around, matching depth to the meter and swapping colors when the bite slows are filling tags. Those who set it and forget it are coming back with lighter coolers. That’s the 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 Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn