Puget Sound is a regular salmon Mecca and a top-rated fishing destination for both local and out-of-state anglers from all over the country.
Its many fisheries offer excellent angling opportunities and more than a fair chance of landing a trophy fish.
No matter if you’re after big chinooks, blackmouths, coho, pink, chum, or sockeye, or want to target lingcod and halibut, the Sound has something for every angler out there!
And the best thing is that Puget Sound can practically be fished year-round, making it a super popular destination for salmon anglers when the rivers are closed.
But to know where the fish are currently biting, how many are being caught, when the coho’s winter bite is on, at what depths the blackmouth chinooks are, or if the Mid Channel Bank is currently worth targeting, you need to consult reliable fishing reports.
And that’s where this article comes in! I have researched the internet and checked every possible Puget Sound fishing report so that you can get all the vital information you need for your next Puget Sound fishing adventure!
The article’s five fishing reports are all very detailed, helpful, and 100% trustworthy.
Let’s check them out right now!
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Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Most US fish and wildlife state departments publish detailed fishing reports regularly, and the WDFW is no exception here.
What sticks out is that the Washington Department’s Puget Sound Creel Reports are updated daily instead of once every week or two weeks.
That’s an incredible source of information that will help you decide when to head out to the Sound!
Furthermore, the WDFW’s fishing report for the Puget Sound includes the following information:
- ramp sites
- catch areas (more than 20 are listed)
- number of anglers
- number of caught salmon (all five Pacific types)
- number of caught lingcod and halibut
You can check any day out of the last 60 days, which gives you a pretty good indication of how many fish are being caught during which days or weeks.
Regarding updating frequency and amount of caught fish in any given catch area, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is definitely the number one source for Puget Sound fishing reports!
Rating: 5/5 rods
Riptidefish.com
The guys from Riptidefish.com really know their game, as they live and fish a lot in the Pacific Northwest.
To help anglers get a better picture of what’s going down in Puget Sound, they release a super detailed monthly fishing report for the entire state of Washington.
A big part of each update covers saltwater fishing in the various areas of Puget Sound.
The Riptidefish.com fishing reports commonly include:
- tips for the currently best fishing spots
- detailed salmon catch reports
- plenty of great catch and location images
- tips for baits, lures, and gear
- guide and charter tips
- tips and catch reports for other species (tuna, rockfish, lingcod, halibut)
They also seem to have a vast network of local anglers, researchers, coast guards, and fishing charters adding even more detail and value to their excellent fishing reports.
All in all, a great source that includes a ton of really helpful intel!
Rating: 4.5/5 rods
FishingBooker.com
The guys from FishingBooker can always be counted on. They put a lot of work into their site and content!
They cover many popular fishing destinations and use their immense network of guides and charters to get fresh local fishing reports onto their site.
So whenever a local charter has something to share, they will do so by posting a short fishing report on FishingBooker.com.
It’s a clever way of getting trustworthy and up-to-date information directly from the source.
Additionally, the FishingBooker Puget Sound fishing reports also include:
- plenty of recent catch images
- weather forecasts for the next day
- contact information of the charters
The only two disadvantages of these reports are that they are usually relatively short and aren’t updated frequently.
Rating: 3.5/5 rods
WashingtonFishReports.com
Washington Fish Reports doesn’t publish classic fishing reports. Instead, this source focuses on posting frequent updates from guides and charters.
And while they are often not very long or detailed, they give the reader a pretty good picture of what is currently being caught (and thereby possible to catch) in the Puget Sound area.
Additionally, the guide and charters postings often include:
- catch images
- tips for baits, lures, fishing depths, and areas
- current weather and wave conditions
The guide and charter businesses commonly also add their contact information to their posts, which means you can contact them for more tips or detailed information.
All this makes the Washington Fish Reports a fairly basic but reliable source of information that’s coming directly from where the action happens!
Rating: 3/5 rods
Bonus: Salmon University
The fifth and last spot goes to the Salmon University. Again, this isn’t an actual fishing report, but this source has, nonetheless, immense value!
They have put together two gigantic regional guides over the entire Puget Sound area.
One is called Puget Sound South, and the other Puget Sound North.
What’s so great and valuable about them is that they include detailed information about practically every catch area and major fishing spot of the Sound. It’s really something!
So if you are reading one of the regular fishing reports and start to wonder about a specific catch area, you can check the Salmon University’s fantastic Puget Sound guide, and you’re good to go!
Other great information these two regional guides include are:
- detailed tips for how and when to fish each area
- closest ramp locations
- nearest tackle stores
- gear and tackle tips
- and to top it all off: a depth map with troll and jig and mooch areas for each catch area (really useful!)
To conclude, not a real fishing report but something extremely useful in combination with actual fishing reports.
With this combo, you’ll be unstoppable out there on the Sound!
Rating: 4/5 rods