Puget Sound Fishing Report: Tides and Temps Set Up Ideal Conditions for Salmon, Lingcod, and Trout

Artificial Lure here with your Puget Sound fishing report for Saturday, May 17, 2025. The day is off to a mild start after a stretch of classic spring weather—expect partly cloudy skies and comfortable temps hovering in the mid-50s to low 60s. Sunrise came at 5:24 a.m. and sunset will be around 8:44 p.m., giving us plenty of daylight to hit the water.

Tides are especially key right now. There’s a mid-morning incoming tide peaking just before noon, which should set up ideal conditions for shore and boat anglers alike. Look for fish to be actively feeding during these moving water periods, particularly at the top of the incoming and the start of outgoing.

Fish activity in the Sound is heating up. Early reports out of the creel checks indicate chinook salmon are scarce in the central Sound due to tight regulations, but coho are trickling through and a few resident blackmouth have been landed by dedicated trollers. Most success has come from trolling three-inch spoons or hoochies behind a flasher at 80 to 120 feet over deeper channels. The best colors lately have been green/glow and blue/silver.

Lingcod and rockfish are seeing steady action along rocky reefs and jetties. Fresh herring or scented soft plastics fished off bottom are working well. Try white or root beer colored swimbaits for lingcod. A few legal lings have come in from the Marine Area 10 and 11 reefs, with reports of solid numbers near Shilshole and Elliott Bay.

In the local rivers, cutthroat trout are responding to minnow imitations and small poppers, especially during the morning hours. For fly anglers in the estuaries and lower rivers, chum fry patterns and olive clousers continue to draw strikes.

If you’re just getting out, my top lure picks are a green/glow 3-inch Coho Killer or a chartreuse needlefish hoochie for salmon, and white curly-tail jigs or six-inch swimbaits for bottomfish. Natural baits like fresh herring or sand shrimp are prime for lingcod.

For hotspots, point your boat to the waters off Point No Point and Edmonds in the morning for a shot at coho and blackmouth. On the south end, try the Tacoma Narrows tide rips for lingcod and various bottom dwellers.

Overall, fishing is picking up as water temps rise and tides push fresh baitfish into the Sound. The bite is best during tidal swings, especially on the incoming tide mid-morning today. Good luck, keep those lines tight, and I’ll see you on the water.