Silvers on the side
Many of the beaches, points, parks and piers lining Puget Sound offer salmon anglers good access to ocean-returning coho.
Story originally published in the Northwest Sportsman Magazine September issue
The one thing you can bank on right now is going to the banks across Puget Sound!
No, this isn’t about any financial institution handing out silver currency, but rather the many saltwater shoreline fishing options anglers can cash in for coho salmon, commonly referred to as silvers for their shiny-bright bodies.
These silvers started to arrive in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound late last month and are expected to peak throughout September and October. Silvers, which average four to 15 pounds with some exceeding 20-plus pounds, bring excitement to anglers for their leaping abilities and erratic zigging and zagging across the water’s surface when hooked.
Puget Sound coho returns to certain river systems have gradually made a comeback in recent years compared to the downtrend of more than a decade ago. Much of that was brought on by drought issues, warm water conditions in rivers and the Blob in the Pacific Ocean, which created poor survival rates for their offspring in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
By 2020, 2021 and 2022, Puget Sound wild and hatchery silver forecasts began to rebound and inched upward, creating more respectable fisheries in recent years. And the 2024 coho forecast is 722,134. That compares to 760,029 in 2023; 666,317 in 2022; 614,948 in 2021; and 504,604 in 2020.
Get ready to rumble
Back in June and July, anglers encountered a decent number of resident coho in Marine Area 10 (Seattle-Bremerton Area). Some of those fish have since grown larger and will meet up with their larger migratory cousins during the late-summer and fall marine fisheries.
The front end of this silver-lined train has already made its way into the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Marine Area 5 (Sekiu and Pillar Point) and Marine Area 6 (East Strait of Juan de Fuca). As these silvers turn the corner off Port Townsend at the northwestern entrance to Admiralty Inlet and migrate into Puget Sound, shore-bound anglers can regularly catch them along the migration path. Silvers are known to travel in shallow water well within casting range of the many public beaches and piers.
The fishing techniques and essentials from the shoreline are like low-hanging fruit, and the reward can be a silver (not an apple) tugging on the end of your fishing line. On many days, you’ll have ample solitude and elbow room to cast along the more than 2,500 miles of diverse inner-sound shoreline.
Spending time along the beach or shoreline is a wonderful opportunity for family and friends without a boat to easily partake in a saltwater salmon fishery. And when the fish aren’t biting, be sure take in the beautiful sandy and cobblestone beaches, do a little beachcombing, listen to the sound of waves splashing the shore, watch wildlife and sea life or enjoy the salty scent of the blowing sea breeze.
Top coho shorelines/piers
· Point Wilson in Fort Worden State Park near Port Townsend: The beach off the lighthouse at Port Townsend is the turning point for many silvers heading into Puget Sound, and fish like to use it as a stopping point before migrating south. What makes Point Wilson a standout is the steep drop-off located just a stone’s throw (more like a jig or bait cast) away from the prime spots to catch silvers. To the south is Fort Flagler State Park on Marrowstone Island and you can find good prospects around the Marrowstone Point Lighthouse.
· Western and eastern shorelines of Whidbey Island: There’s a plethora of shoreline fishing opportunities on all sides of Washington’s largest island. The top locations include Fort Casey, Lagoon and Bush Points, the Bait Box Hole just north of Possession Point, and West and North beaches at Deception Pass State Park.
· Point No Point on the Kitsap Peninsula: If I had to choose one spot in northern Puget Sound, it’d have to be Point No Point at Hansville. This expansive sandy shoreline offers ample public access, and the steep drop-off is an easy cast to the prime fishing grounds where hungry silvers feed on baitfish schools stacked up in the area. Runners-up include Browns Bay, Salsbury Point, Edmonds Marina Pier, Mukilteo Lighthouse and the Mukilteo Ferry Landing public pier.
· Richmond Beach and Golden Gardens in Central Puget Sound: There’s definitely a silver lining around the greater Seattle area when it comes to beach access to catch silvers! On an incoming tide, my two favorite spots are Richmond Beach and Meadow Point Beach to the south at Golden Gardens. Each has a lower gradient shoreline, so your optimum time to fish is near the end of an incoming tide. Other notable Central Puget Sound spots include the Seacrest Pier in West Seattle, West Point at Discovery Park, Carkeek Park, and Lincoln Park and Alki Point Lighthouse in West Seattle.
· Browns Point Lighthouse Park and Dash Point State Park in southcentral Puget Sound: These two spots are ground zero during odd-numbered years for pink salmon, but silvers will lurk in the same areas. The drop-offs provide a good resting spot for fish heading into Commencement Bay and all other migration points to the south. Look for baitfish being picked off by hungry silvers. Other notable southcentral Puget Sound spots include Dolphin Point off the east side of Vashon Island; Blake Island State Park; Three Tree Point; Point Robinson Lighthouse, Point Beals and KVI Beach on Vashon Island; and the Southworth and Manchester areas. There’s also a good number of piers, including Des Moines, Les Davis, Point Defiance Boathouse and Redondo.
Wherever you plant your feet, be courteous and respectful around private shorelines. With a little homework, you’ll be amazed at the numerous public beach accesses to explore across Puget Sound, from Port Townsend to Mukilteo and Edmonds, and from Bellingham south to Seattle and even as far as Tacoma to Olympia.
How to catch coho from shore
As for a rod and reel setup, stick with an 8½- to 10½-foot medium-weight, soft-action salmon rod. A spinning reel will allow you to cast further from shore, although some prefer to use a level wind reel.
An incoming tide is usually the optimum time to fish and seems to push the silvers within casting distance. Ideally, make sure you’ve got your line in the water the two hours leading up to high tide change, and keep on fishing during the two hours after.
The most popular way to catch silvers from the shore or pier is by casting and retrieving a metal jig. The weight of the lure depends on how far you need to cast out from shore, as some beaches have a gradual drop-off while other locations will quickly fall off to depths of 100 feet or more just a short cast from where you’re standing. Also keep in mind that snagging the bottom is common, as is tangling up with seaweed and kelp beds, so don’t let your jig fall too far to the bottom. Be sure to keep a variety of jig weights of two to four ounces in your tackle box.
Sometimes with silvers you can sight cast to them by seeing where they’re jumping, but if you can’t see them on the surface, simply cast as far out as you can. Then reel in the slack line, lift your rod quickly and let the jig flutter back down, reel in more line and lift again, and repeat until the jig is retrieved to your feet. More often than not, a silver will grab the jig as it’s fluttering down. Often on the drop your line will go “slack,” so always be ready to quickly set the hook.
Another widely used method is float fishing with a cut-plug herring attached on a four- to five-foot leader with a barbless tandem 2/0–3/0-hook setup and about five to six feet underneath a one- to two-ounce sliding bobber or float with the right sinker size.
With bait, gently cast it out so you don’t rip the herring from your hooks. Most anglers like to brine their herring or anchovy to toughen them up, which in turn extends the life of the bait. Adding scent to your bait and even a jig will add more enticement for a fish to grab it.
Fly fishing is another method, and most will cast with a six- or seven-weight rod on a floating line with a sink tip looped on the end, or an intermediate sinking line with a weighted fly. Cast as far out as you can and strip it back in quickly. Always start with a pink Clouser Minnow, leech, popper or Egg Hareball Leech, then move to colors like purple, chartreuse, pink/white, red/white, black and blue/white. Stick with something resembling the baitfish they’re feeding on.
Only single-point barbless hooks are allowed for saltwater salmon.
Other beach essentials include polarized sunglasses — vital for sighting fish against the water reflection — pliers, a beach-style rod holder and a cooler with plenty of ice.
Coastal coho cove option
Those without a boat can participate in another fun coho-only fishery off the southcentral coast at the Westport Boat Basin, which is open now through Jan. 31. The best action occurs in September and October as coho raised in the marina’s hatchery net pens return.
Most silvers caught around the basin originate from the net pens, but you’ll find some dip-ins bound for nearby rivers. The 2024 net pen coho forecast is 3,255 and the hatchery coho forecast for Grays Harbor, including the Humptulips and Chehalis Rivers, is 68,200.
Boat basin anglers use spinners, sometimes with hoochie skirts, and bait such as a cut-plug herring, anchovy or salmon eggs under a float. Note that the ban on twitching jigs, swim jigs and casting jigs — lures in which “the weight is molded directly to the hook” — that was instituted in 2023 returns this season. There’s also the Westport Boat Basin Salmon Fishing Derby that runs Sept. 15 through Oct. 31. Entry is free.
Regardless of when or where you go, before heading out check the 2024–25 WDFW regulations pamphlet, available now at statewide tackle shops and license vendors or on the WDFW emergency rules webpage.
(Editor’s note: Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife communications manager and longtime local fishing and outdoor writer.)
