UTERJanuary
Winter blackmouth in the Sound; Olympic Peninsula steelhead
Mooch or troll a spoon near bottom for resident kings in the open marine areas; coast rivers for winter steelhead.
Columbia mouth to Neah Bay and Puget Sound
Washington Coast and Puget Sound fishing
What's biting in Washington Coast and Puget Sound in October: Coho (silver) salmon and rockfish at their peak, with chum (dog) salmon, albacore and lingcod around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 12 fish here month by month, from Ilwaco to Everett.
Coho at the river mouths; Hood Canal chums arrive
An exposed outer coast (Westport, La Push, Neah Bay), the Columbia mouth and Willapa Bay at the south end, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound and Hood Canal — deep, cold fjords with points, kelp and steep shelves.
IlwacoWestportLa PushNeah BaySekiuSeattleEverett
Updated
Now · October
Coho at the river mouths; Hood Canal chums arrive
Buzz bombs off the Snohomish and Skagit mouths; chums at Hoodsport on corky and yarn.
Coho (silver) salmonChum (dog) salmonChinook (king) salmonLingcod
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakPeakArrivingLeavingLeavingLeavingAroundAroundAroundAround
Coho (silver) salmon
Coho in the river mouths and estuaries — Snohomish, Skagit and Hood Canal points; casting buzz bombs from the beach.
Rockfish
Chum (dog) salmon
Hood Canal chums arrive at Hoodsport — big, mean fish on a chartreuse corky and yarn off the beach.
Albacore (longfin tuna)
Done.
Lingcod
Season winding down.
Cabezon
Chinook (king) salmon
Blackmouth come back into the inner Sound as fall areas open.
Steelhead
Surfperch
White sturgeon
The water
The tide here
Mixed semidiurnal, 7–14 ft
Mixed semidiurnal — two highs and two lows a day, one pair much bigger than the other. Ranges grow toward the south Sound — 11 ft at Seattle, 14+ at Olympia. Salmon stack on the points on the change; halibut and lings only fish at slack on the big tides.
Structure that matters
Artificial reefLedge / hard bottomBeach / surfPass / inletChannel edgeFishing pierDock / pilingsMarker / buoyRiver
After a cold front
Winter storms close the coast bars and bring the steelhead; the Sound stays fishable for blackmouth. Summer upwelling and fog on the coast; afternoon westerlies in the Strait.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Peak wild steelhead; blackmouth on the bait
Hoh, Queets and Bogachiel lower drifts (check wild-fish rules); blackmouth off Point No Point and the San Juans when open.
March
Late steelhead; blackmouth winding down
Coast lingcod opens in spring — check WDFW.
April
Lingcod and black rockfish open on the coast; Sound halibut
Neah Bay and La Push reefs; eastern Puget Sound halibut usually opens in April; redtail perch on the beaches.
May
Halibut opens on the coast; reefs on fire
Neah Bay, La Push and Westport halibut days (quota-driven); Willapa and Columbia estuary sturgeon.
June
Coast salmon opens; halibut, lings, rockfish
Kings on the troll out of Westport and Neah Bay; halibut at Swiftsure and the Blue Dot.
July
Kings and coho on the coast; odd-year pinks arrive
Sekiu and Neah Bay kings; in odd years, the first pinks; albacore 40–60+ miles off Westport.
August
Puget Sound kings; Buoy 10; pinks in odd years
'Prime time' for Sound kings from Sekiu to Kingston; Buoy 10 from August 1; odd years, pink buzz bombs off every beach.
September
Coho month in the Sound
Coho off Point No Point, Edmonds and Tulalip; Buoy 10 hatchery coho; late halibut days if quota's left.
October · now
Coho at the river mouths; Hood Canal chums arrive
Buzz bombs off the Snohomish and Skagit mouths; chums at Hoodsport on corky and yarn.
November
South Sound chums; blackmouth back
Kennedy Creek, Minter and Chico Creek mouths; blackmouth as the winter areas open.
December
Late chums, blackmouth, first winter steelhead
South Sound inlets for chums; coast rivers for hatchery winter steelhead.
Fish guides for Washington Coast and Puget Sound
When, where and what to use, fish by fishAlbacore (longfin tuna)CabezonChinook (king) salmonChum (dog) salmonCoho (silver) salmonLingcodPacific halibutPink (humpy) salmonRockfishSteelheadSurfperchWhite sturgeon
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