Good morning Puget Sound anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your local fishing report for Sunday, May 11, 2025.We started off today with sunrise just before 5:30 AM and we’re looking at sunset around 8:40 PM, giving us a long window to hit the water. Today’s weather is classic spring Puget Sound, with partly cloudy skies and temps sitting in the mid-50s to low 60s. Light wind from the north is keeping things comfortable, but watch for patchy morning fog if you’re out early. The tides today are swinging wide, with a strong morning outgoing tide and a solid midday flood — perfect for stirring up bait and getting fish on the move.On the fish front, there’s a lot to get excited about. The buzz all around the Sound is the massive pink salmon forecast: over 7.7 million pinks expected to return this year, one of the biggest runs on record. While most pink action won’t peak until later in the summer, folks are already prepping gear and scouting shorelines and river mouths for early signs of movement. The chinook opener is just around the corner, and with tight retention regulations, be sure to double-check limits before you harvest any kings[3][4].If you’re headed out today, lingcod is the star of the show. Lingcod fishing opened May 1 and is rock solid right now in most Puget Sound marine areas except Hood Canal, which remains closed. Anglers working rocky structure and reef areas in 30 to 100 feet are finding steady action. The hot ticket lures are white or motor oil swimbaits and big curly tail grubs on a 2- to 6-ounce jighead. If you’re fishing live or natural bait, nothing beats a lively sand dab or a herring. Remember, barbless hooks are required, and you’re limited to one lingcod per day, between 26 and 36 inches[2].Sea-run cutthroat action in south Sound has been excellent this week, with good numbers chasing chum fry along the beaches. The best luck has come to anglers casting small minnow imitations, epoxy minnows, or olive and white clouser flies. Resident coho and the occasional chunky shiner perch are also keeping things interesting from shore near Olympia, Fox Island, and Point Defiance[5].Recent creel reports show solid lingcod catches out of Cornet Bay and Bellingham, with most groups picking up keeper-sized fish and the occasional bonus cabezon. Squalicum Harbor and Deception Pass have been producing well, especially on the outgoing tide when bait pushes off the structure[1].For today’s hotspots, try the reefs and dropoffs off Possession Bar — always reliable for lingcod and an early season blackmouth. In the south Sound, the Tacoma Narrows and the beaches around Steilacoom are turning up big cutthroat and some resident salmon.Good luck out there, respect the regs, and tight lines from Artificial Lure.