Puget Sound Fishing Report: Blackmouth, Bottomfish, and Tidal Windows cover art

Puget Sound Fishing Report: Blackmouth, Bottomfish, and Tidal Windows

Puget Sound Fishing Report: Blackmouth, Bottomfish, and Tidal Windows

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 This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report.

We’re in that classic mid‑winter groove on the Sound: chilly, gray, and plenty fishable if you pick your windows and fish slow. Light northerlies and small waves are forecast for Puget Sound and Hood Canal according to the National Weather Service marine forecast, so inside waters look manageable, but keep an eye on updates if you’re crossing big fetch.

Tides are running moderate today. Seattle tide tables show a pre‑dawn low, a strong mid‑morning high around 12 feet, then an afternoon drop to about 7–8 feet, followed by an evening high. Those mid‑morning and dusk pushes are your best bet to see bait and predators slide up onto structure.

Sunrise is right around 7:45 a.m. with sunset about 4:35 p.m. That gives you a pretty tight daylight window, and when you stack that with solunar tables calling for a solid major bite early this morning and another one around sunset, plan to be on your spot, lines in, when the current starts to move.

Fishing activity has been decent for January. Marine Area 10 and 11 moochers and trollers have been picking up legal resident blackmouth, mostly cookie‑cutter 4–6 pound fish with a few bigger keepers mixed in. Most of the reports this week mention scattered fish rather than big concentrations, so cover water. South Sound has also given up some eater‑size ling off deeper rock and wrecks where seasons allow, and there’s been steady action on flounder and sole for folks drifting sand flats. Crabbing’s wrapped in many places, but the folks with leftover gear checks in legal areas are still finding a few late Dungeness and plenty of reds.

For lures, this is a match‑the‑bait week. Most blackmouth are spitting up 3–4 inch herring and candlefish. Run a 3–3.5 inch glow or green‑splatter hoochie behind an 11‑inch flasher, or a small Kingfisher‑style spoon in Irish Cream, Herring Aid, or Green Glow 32–40 inches behind the flasher. Keep it tight to the bottom—10–15 feet off the deck—and troll 2.0–2.5 knots on the GPS. If you’re mooching, frozen herring or strip baits, slow, wide circles, and lots of patience. For shore anglers, 1/2‑ounce metal like dart‑style jigs or small epoxy jigs in pearl, candlefish, or herring patterns work well around rips and drop‑offs; add a bit of squid or shrimp if you’re soaking bait for flounder.

Best bait this week: plug‑cut herring, anchovy‑pattern baits, and strips for salmon; scented sand shrimp or clam necks on small hooks for bottomfish. If you’re prospecting near eelgrass or shell beds on a slower tide, a simple high‑low rig with chunks of herring will keep you busy with flounder and the occasional surprise.

Couple of hot spots to circle on your chart:
– Jeff Head and the east side humps have been quietly giving up legal blackmouth for trollers working 120–180 feet with small spoons near the bottom.
– Point Defiance to the Clay Banks in Area 11 has produced consistent winter chinook plus some decent bottomfish for those grinding the ledges on the tide turns.

Inside waters like Port Madison and Kingston have also held bait and smaller feeder chinook; they’re great backup plans if the main Sound gets lumpy.

That’s the run‑down: winter pattern, pick your tides, fish small bait profiles near the bottom, and be on your best structure when that morning or evening current starts to build.

Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.

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