Puget Sound Fishing Report: Lingcod Bonanza, Pink Salmon Forecast, and More

Hey there, fellow anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Puget Sound fishing report for Friday, May 9, 2025.

We're a week into the Lingcod season and reports are coming in hot! Lingcod fishing has been absolutely on fire since the season opened on May 1st[2]. Anglers throughout Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands are having great success targeting these bucket-mouthed predators. Remember, you can keep one Lingcod between 26-36 inches daily, and you must fish in waters less than 120 feet[2].

Weather today is looking decent with partly cloudy skies and light winds from the northwest around 5-10 knots. Sunrise was at 5:42 AM and sunset will be at 8:31 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get those lines wet.

For today's tides, we've got a high tide at 10:23 AM followed by a low at 4:47 PM. This morning's outgoing tide should provide some good action for those targeting Lingcod along the rocky structure.

Pink salmon forecasts are looking fantastic this year with 7.76 million expected to return - that's 70% above the 10-year average and potentially the third largest return on record[5]. The Green and Nisqually rivers are projected to have especially strong pink returns[5]. While it's still early for the main salmon runs, some early arrivals have been spotted.

For Lingcod, I've been hearing great reports from Possession Bar, Point No Point, and around the artificial reefs off Edmonds. Live herring or large white jigs with curly tail grubs have been the ticket. Don't forget your descending device - it's required onboard and ready to deploy[2].

Hot spots this weekend: Try the south end of Whidbey Island and the eastern side of Possession Bar for Lingcod. For those wanting to target resident Coho, the Kingston area has been producing some nice catches on green/white Coyote spoons trolled behind a flasher.

The San Juan Islands are also heating up for bottomfish action. Several anglers reported limits of Lingcod using large herring or salmon bellies fished near rocky structure.

Remember folks, when fishing for bottomfish, you're allowed an aggregate limit of 15 per person[2]. The WDFW creel reports are showing steady catch rates throughout Puget Sound areas[1].

For those fly fishing enthusiasts, reports indicate the dry fly action is picking up nicely in our regional waters[4].

Get out there and enjoy the fantastic May fishing we've got right now. This is Artificial Lure saying tight lines and see you on the water!