Fishing this morning around Puget Sound is off to a calm and classic fall start—overcast skies, crisp air, and just enough drizzle to remind you you’re not in California. Sunrise hit at 7:27 a.m. and sunset will be rolling in at 6:18 p.m., giving us a good window of daylight to chase those autumn fish. Seattle’s tides saw a low at about 3:35 a.m., building to high at 10:14 a.m., with another low expected early in the evening. Tidal swing is moderate today, which means you’ll need to hunt around for moving water—find those tide rips near points and creek mouths for the best action, but leave the heavy gear at home because currents are mild, and waves are no more than a light two-foot chop in the main sound, as reported this morning by the National Weather Service Marine Forecast.

Let’s talk fish: the real headline is the sockeye comeback up north on the Baker River, with nearly 92,000 sockeye returning this season, according to the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. While most of those are miles from Seattle, it’s big news for the entire sound—run timing is trickling later, and even though the Baker sockeye are mostly upriver now, their cousins could be staging near river mouths or working deeper channels.

Silvers (coho) are still being caught—though most are scattered, there are good reports from Edmonds down to Lincoln Park. Morning ebb and the last bit of flood seem to be the ticket. Resident blackmouth (immature chinook) action has picked up in deeper water off Jeff Head and Southworth. And if you’re itching for something different, the usual mixed bag of flounder, perch, and even the odd spotted ratfish are turning up near bottom structure—scientists at the University of Washington just discovered real teeth on the heads of these weird little chimaeras, making them the stuff of local legend and late-night fish tales.

As for what’s been biting this week: boats working the rips off Point No Point have reported half-limits of hatchery coho, mostly running 4-6 pounds, with a few short chinook still in the mix. Shore anglers at Alki and Lincoln Park flipped buzz bombs and twitching jigs for a solid handful of late coho, especially during first light and late dusk. Lingcod and rockfish are slow, but juvenile cabezon have been showing closer to shore rocks.

If you’re rigging up, best lures today remain the classics—try a green or white hoochie behind an 11-inch flasher for salmon if you’re trolling, or cast pink-patterned buzz bombs and curly-tail jigs from shore. For bait, nothing beats a plug-cut herring, but if you’re fishing from the beach, sand shrimp and nightcrawlers are catching the usual fall surf perch and flounder. Don’t forget prospecting with small swimbaits for searun cutthroat around creek mouths—they’re starting to stage and looking for an easy meal before heading upstream.

Local hot spots to check out:
- Jeff Head is producing the steadiest blackmouth numbers for boaters working 90-130 feet with spoons or hoochies.
- Lincoln Park shoreline is kicking out bankable coho on pink jigs, especially during those prime dawn and dusk bites.

Inland, Lake Washington is cooling quickly, but still coughs up cutthroat to slow-trolled wedding rings tipped with worm near drop-offs, per Gone Fishing Northwest. If you’re after weirdness or just want a guaranteed fish, spotted ratfish are abundant near Friday Harbor and around the ferry lanes—patience and a chunk of herring near bottom may land you one of these prehistoric oddities.

Thanks for tuning in to this morning’s Puget Sound fishing report with Artificial Lure. Remember to subscribe so you’re first to hear what’s biting next. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.

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