Are there any good spots to fish for salmon from shore in the south Sound right now? Or is it too late/early yet? I had a lot of luck at Dash Point, but that was a couple years ago during the summer. I haven't had a saltwater license for a year, and now that the new licenses are valid, I'm anxious to start filling up that catch record card. I only have limited experience fishing rivers, so I'd prefer to keep it to salt water for now.

Only decent place right now would be the boathouse at Defiance. Would check out other docks that maybe holding herring. Des Moines occasionally puts out a few Blackmouth, and IF you get up in Seattle, West Seattle and pier 89 are putting out a few. Might get some resident silvers and cutts about now also.....

Robert

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"DO THE WILD THANG"

If you'd like to get away from the piers, you might try a couple of spots where I used to have some pretty good luck:

Point Defiance - on the outgoing tide, from the time the tide is about half out until the time the tide is about half in. Just walk up the beach right out to the point. You just have to time it so you can make it out wading and get back before it gets too deep on the incoming tide.

Out at the end of the point, there is a shelf and the water drops right off. The current makes some interesting eddies and the bait schools up really thick at times. The absolute best is to get out there before light and be fishing at the beginning of morning nautical twilight. It's a little bit of a walk in the early a.m. You have to park at the boat launch and hoof it all the way out to the point. I did that countless times and never got bothered by anyone enforcing park hours.

Buzzbombs work very well. With the tide going out, its like fishing in a river. Cast up-current and let the thing sink as it drifts down. Many hard strikes come just on this drift. Twitch it, retrieve it in the normal buzzbomb way, vary it. Have caught many silvers and blackmouth this way.

You can also cast mooching gear w/herring. If there's no one else out there, longlining the mooching gear can be very effective.

I immagine bait under a float would also work.

The other spot you can try is under the Narrows Bridge. We used to park at the park parking lot and walk down the winding road. There is (was?) a path off the road when you get near the bottom of the hill that takes you to the shore. Watch out for the trains. I would fish this spot when the morning tides were incoming, so that Point Defiance was not an option. I haven't been down there in several years, so I don't know if the access has changed.

Just find yourself a place on the rip-rap and cast away.

It's not as deep as Point Defiance so you really can't just let a buzzbomb drift. I used more of a standard buzzbomb retrieve. I don't believe you could cast mooching gear like you can up at the point. Bait under a float would work, I believe.

There's all kinds of kelp and rocks and the fish come in shallow at dawn and it really is a crack of dawn deal. After sun-up on a clear day, your fishing may be done. If it's grey and cloudy, that may extend your fishing.

Again, I always had my best luck at the crack of dawn, with buzzbombs.

The pier at Redondo can be as productive as the pier at Browns Point. I have heard of some nice Blackmouth being caught from the pier recently at Redondo.

I concur with T Dodge. I grew up about a 1/2 mile from the Narrows and have caught fish from both locations he mentioned. I usually used buzz bombs, but have also caught them on blue and silver spoons. Another place that was productive was the North tip of Day Island (permission required from land owners to access beach) or casting toward Day Island from the bulkhead in the Northwest corner of Narrows/Day Island Marina.

I have had alot of luck in the past few years north of the narrows bridge. 5# to 7# silvers. Look for a - low and a good high tide. The silvers like that tide moving fast. Get down there 3 hours before high. Time of day has not made a difference. It all has to do with the tide. Try buzz bombs ,#5 blue fox or hearing fillets with 1 and 1/0 hooks with 1 ounce of mooching sinker. A fast retrive is a must or all you will catch is bullhead. Look for them around the 4th. Good luck..
Rivernut

t dodge I agree with everything you said. when i am in a situation where a strong tide and a jutting piece of land like you said at point defiance I cast a cutplug herring with nuthin attached and let the current work it. have caught nice fish using that method, or a 3/4 krocodile stubby or little cleo and flutter it but keep it deeper and out there as long as you can keep it in the strike zone. Ben

Get youself some navigation maps for the south sound.These maps will show you the exact shore structure of the erea you are wanting to fish,there are alot of little structure that will give the bait a break from our strong tides that will also hold salmon.

I will also reiterate the dawn importance for blackmouth.I have hundreds of hours fishing b-mouth from shore and have only ran into b-mouth inshore depths a couple of special times post dawn.These times included big summer schools of candle fish.I have had good success with bait right at dawn.

Goodluck there is a huge fishery to figure out out there.I have been fishin the salt for cuttys and salmon since I was 9 and still only know a drop in the bucket!

Can't go wrong with any of those spots mentioned
I have a couple that I would like to add:

1) Concrete dock on Fox Island. This is a good Blackmouth spot. Better whe the Silvers come home. Ususally lots of bait holding in this area around slack tide. Cut plug and 1 or 2 oz of lead should put you into some fish.

2) Spit at the entrance to Gig Harbor. Great spot for Silvers.

3) Evans Point. Used to be a trail down the hill. I haven't been there for awhile. On a good low tide, you can walk down the beach from the Narrows Bridge.

4) Pt Fosdick. Access at the end of Pt Fosdick Drive. Hit the beach and head left. There are some clay banks to the left (you can only notice these at a minus tide so be careful). Largest rock on the beach is the telltale sign of the start of the clay banks. Keep working north until the water shallows out...

Downriggin'