Early June Flood Bite: Salmon and Lings On the Edge
This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report.
We’re sitting on a classic early‑June pattern: cool mornings, mild afternoons, and mostly light onshore breeze. Offshore marine forecasts from NOAA are calling for morning cloud cover burning off to filtered sun, with winds generally under 15 knots and only a light chop inside the Sound. Air temps are hanging in the mid‑50s at first light, pushing into the 60s later in the day.
Tides today are in a good fishy rhythm, with a solid morning flood pushing bait up onto the points and into the rips, then easing into a mid‑day slack before a softer afternoon ebb. Local tide tables for Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett all show enough swing to move water but not so much that you’re fighting screaming currents. That’s prime structure fishing for both bottomfish and salmon where it’s open.
Sunrise came early, just after 5 a.m., and sunset will land around 9 p.m., giving a long window of low‑light feeding. That first hour after dawn and the last hour before dark are your best bets, especially around the turn of the tide.
Recent chatter from local anglers and shops around Shilshole, Narrows Marina, and Everett indicates decent mixed‑bag action. Folks are picking up resident coho and a few early migratory fish on the edges of rips and current seams, plus steady lingcod and cabezon on hard structure where seasons allow. Pile perch, rockfish where open, and flounder are keeping bottom rods busy, with the odd kelp greenling in tight to the rocks. Crabbing prep is in full swing even where the opener hasn’t hit yet, so expect more pots in the water soon.
For gear, keep it simple and local. For salmon, 3‑ to 4‑inch silver or green‑glow hoochies and small spoons in Irish cream, cop car, or herring‑aid patterns behind a green or purple UV flasher are getting bit. Trolled 20–80 feet down, depending on bait marks, will cover most of the Sound this time of year. If you’re running bait, a cut‑plug herring or anchovy in a slow, tight roll is still king.
Bottomfish are chewing on 4‑ to 6‑inch swimbaits in motor oil, root beer, and white, pinned on 2‑ to 4‑ounce lead heads. Add a strip of herring or squid if the bite is picky. Traditionalists working bait are doing fine with sand shrimp, clam necks, and herring strips on simple hi‑low rigs bounced just off the sand.
A couple of hot spots to consider:
• Possession Bar: Classic early‑season salmon structure. Work the edges of the bar on the flood, especially where you mark bait stacked on the drop‑offs. Keep your gear just above the marks and don’t be afraid to make tight, repeated passes.
• Point Defiance / Tacoma Narrows: Strong current, tons of structure, and a consistent lingcod bite in season. Fish the slack edges and back‑eddies along the clay banks and humps, and keep your jig close to the bottom but moving—those lings want a chase.
Closer to town, West Point off Magnolia and Jeff Head continue to put out fish when the bait shows. Watch for birds dipping and quick surface boils; that’s your cue to swing through with spoons or small plugs.
Water temps are still cool enough that fish are comfortable up in the water column during low light, then dropping deeper as the sun climbs. Plan to start shallow with brighter, flashier gear, then go a bit deeper and more natural as the day wears on.
That’s your Puget Sound update from Artificial Lure—tight lines out there, and be safe around the rips and shipping lanes.
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