Pink Pandemonium: Puget Sound's Massive 2025 Pink Salmon Run

This is Artificial Lure with your Puget Sound fishing report for Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

Let’s start with the conditions. The weather in the Seattle area today is classic late spring, with mostly cloudy skies and mild temps hovering around the upper 50s to low 60s. Winds are variable but manageable for small watercraft and shoreline casting. Sunrise hit at 5:22 AM and sunset will be around 8:46 PM, giving us more than enough daylight for morning and evening action.

The tides are favorable today, with an early morning outgoing that should spark some good bite windows, especially at dawn and again around mid-afternoon as the water moves.

Here’s the big headline—chinook and coho are closed in the inner Sound, but all eyes are on the pink salmon. The forecast is for a massive pink run this year, with almost 7.8 million pinks expected, nearly double the usual numbers. Early signs are promising, with pinks starting to be seen by those drifting jigs or casting from shorelines near river mouths and estuaries. Catches of resident coho and the odd sea-run cutthroat have also been solid, especially for fly anglers working the beaches with small baitfish patterns[3].

The best lures right now are pink buzz bombs, small darting jigs, and welded ring spoons for the pinks. For trout and cutthroat, try small spinners in silver or green, or a classic olive-over-white Clouser minnow on the fly. Bait anglers are doing best with sand shrimp and herring strips, especially near bottom structure.

Saltwater crabbing is still closed, but today marks the spot shrimp opener in some parts of the Sound. Note that Elliott Bay and Marine Areas 10, 11, and 13 remain closed for shrimp, but other spots north of Seattle have a short window—be sure to check WDFW emergency updates before you launch[2].

Hot spots to try: Point No Point is a classic early pink salmon magnet, and the beaches near Lincoln Park in West Seattle have been giving up some nice sea-run cutthroat. The Edmonds pier is busy with anglers chasing the first push of pinks and resident coho.

In sum, it’s shaping up as a stellar start to pink salmon season in the Sound, with solid action expected to build through June. Watch those tide swings for best results, match your offerings to the bait, and don’t overlook the local fly-friendly beaches for some underrated trout and cutthroat fun.

Tight lines and see you on the water!