The best times for me have been September/October in the fall and April in the spring. I only fish Southern Hood Canal. We have a family house on the North Shore. There are fish out there in good numbers all summer but with all of the boats and jet skiers I don't usually attempt it, plus I'm salmon fishing. In April when the juvenile chum enter the salt the SRC's really attack them in front of any stream on the canal. This is when we catch some of the bigger fish. There are more numbers of fish in September/October in front of these same streams. Find a point with some current on the incoming tide. I use floating line with an 8ft leader and a clouser or shrimp pattern. These fish will be in shallow water. Go ahead and use your freshwater gear, just really wash it down afterwards. I'm not ready to give up my secret stream mouth, never seen anyone else around, kind of a family secret. If you have a small boat with a kicker, just about every stream mouth on the canal will produce at the right time.