Dan,
I think anyone that has fished for searun cutts for a long time regrets some of the big fish we harvested. That was a different time and we didn't know any better.
The south sound and the canal provide the best searun cutthroat fishing in my opinion.
I see a number of anglers each year having success with light spinning rods tossing spinners and spoons with single barbless hooks.
Searun cutt fishing has help fill the void for me in regards to lackluster local steelhead fishing or blown out rivers.
You mentioned sculpins. This pattern has worked very well for me twitched across the bottom. Sculpins and polychaete worms have accounted for a lot of my larger salty cutts recently.
SF