Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Puget Sound fishing report from right here in the Seattle salt.

Let’s start with conditions. NOAA’s Seattle marine forecast is calling for a stiff one today: gale warning on Puget Sound and Hood Canal with northerlies cranking up and choppy wind waves. That’s small‑boat‑killer stuff, so if you’re in a skiff, this is a stay‑close‑to‑the‑ramp kind of day. According to NOAA tide predictions for Seattle, we’re on a winter mixed tide cycle with a decent morning flood pushing toward midday, then a dropping afternoon tide. Sunrise is around 8 a.m., sunset about 4:20 p.m., so your prime light windows are short and sweet.

Cold, dark, moving water means one thing: **blackmouth**. Local winter Chinook in the central Sound have been putting a few keepers in the box for folks grinding it out from Jeff Head down to Kingston. Nothing wild, but steady: think ones and twos per boat, plus the usual shakers. Recent chatter around the marinas has Edmonds and Possession Bar putting out legal fish for boats that stick to the bottom and keep gear clean.

Best setups right now:
- For blackmouth, run a **11″ flasher** in green/glow or blue/chrome with a 30–40″ leader to a 3.5 spoon in Irish Cream, Herring Aid, or Cookies ’n Cream.
- If you’re a bait person, a tight‑rolling **herring or anchovy** in a helmet, 6–8 feet behind a flasher, just kissing bottom in 90–140 feet.
- Keep bumping that downrigger; if you’re not hanging bottom once in a while, you’re too high.

Resident coho are starting to snoop around inside too, especially north Sound. Smaller fish, but fun. Scale down to a 3.0 spoon or a mini hoochie behind a flasher, 40–60 feet down over 100–200 feet of water.

On the bottom side, winter **flounder and sand dabs** in Elliott Bay, off Alki, and along the ferry lanes are a solid backup plan. A simple high‑low rig with bits of herring, clam, or squid will keep the rod bending and the kids happy. Lingcod is closed, so if you hook one, admire and let it go.

Crabbing’s wrapped up in most marine areas, and WDFW is busy tweaking 2026 shellfish seasons on a bunch of Sound beaches, so double‑check regs before you start digging clams or dropping pots.

Couple of hot spots to put on your whiteboard:

- **Jeff Head:** Classic winter Chinook ground. Work the east side contour, 90–140 feet, trolling with the tide. Expect bait, birds, and sealions if the fish are in.
- **Possession Bar:** When the wind lets you, run the west and south edges in 120–180 feet. Long, smooth troll passes on the flood can mean heavy blackmouth.
- Close‑to‑town option: **Elliott Bay/Alki** for flounder and the odd resident coho, especially when that gale makes the outer Sound ugly.

Given the gale warning, fish smart: check the latest marine forecast, keep an eye on that northerly, and don’t be shy about turning around early. The Sound will be here tomorrow.

That’s your report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next rundown.

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