Puget Sound Fishing Report: Halibut, Salmon, and More on the Sound

Artificial Lure's Puget Sound Fishing Report
May 25, 2025

Good morning, anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Sunday morning fishing report for the beautiful Puget Sound waters around Seattle.

The sun rose at 5:17 AM today and will set at 8:53 PM, giving us plenty of daylight hours to hit the water. We've got partly cloudy skies with temperatures expected to reach the mid-60s – perfect fishing weather if you ask me! Light westerly winds around 5-10 knots are forecasted, making for calm waters throughout most of the Sound.

As for tides, we're looking at a high tide of 11.2 feet at 9:23 AM followed by a low tide of 2.1 feet at 3:47 PM. That morning incoming tide should create some excellent opportunities, especially for halibut hunters.

Speaking of halibut, the 2025 season has been productive since opening back in April. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife allocated 79,772 pounds for Puget Sound this year, and anglers have been making good use of it. Recent creel reports show decent success rates, with several nice-sized fish in the 30-40 pound range being brought in near Possession Bar and Point No Point.

For those targeting halibut, try bouncing a large white or glow-in-the-dark jig tipped with herring or squid right along the bottom in 120-180 feet of water. I've had my best luck with slow, deliberate retrieves – these flatties aren't exactly speedsters!

Salmon fishing has been steady but not spectacular. We're still a bit early for the big summer runs, but some nice blackmouth have been taken near Kingston and Jefferson Head. Trolling with flashers and spoons at depths of 60-90 feet seems to be the ticket. Green/white and blue/silver combos have been hot lately.

The Edmonds Pier has been producing some decent lingcod action, with several fish in the 5-8 pound range reported last week. Curly-tailed jigs in the 4-6 ounce range are working well, especially in white or motor oil colors.

For bank anglers, Shilshole Bay and Golden Gardens have been giving up some nice flounder and the occasional sea-run cutthroat. Sand shrimp or small Kastmaster spoons will get you into the action there.

Hot spots for this week include the Possession Bar drift for halibut (watch those currents), the west side of Whidbey Island for lingcod, and the jetty at the Edmonds Marina for a mixed bag of bottomfish.

Don't forget that WDFW conducts random sampling interviews throughout the season, so be ready to share your catch info if approached. This helps with those all-important future management decisions.

That's all for today, folks. This is Artificial Lure saying tight lines and bent rods to all you Puget Sound anglers. I'll see you on the water!