Puget Sound
- Thread starter Stonedfish
- Start date
Great write-up Tim! I'm glad you had a great season for beach coho.What a fantastic coho salmon beach fly fishing season it was in MA9 this year! This was easily my most productive September in all the years I've been chasing salmon on the beach. Late August was pretty good too. The average size seemed to be around 5 pounds, with many coho hooked that were an honest 6, 7, and 8 pounds weighed. I landed one wild coho I believe was ~10 pounds. Not bad for Puget Sound, but still small compared to SE Alaska.
View attachment 193590
I visited as many beaches as possible in 2026. Even so, several old favorite haunts never saw my boot prints due to the big crowds or lack of time. It was enjoyable to revisit a few Kitsap beaches again this year. I bumped into several PNWFF members and we shared some good to great fishing.
View attachment 193607
A very pleasant surprise was that my wife joined me on a few fishing trips this summer. She fished a rotator-squid set-up while I fly fished, and she hooked some very nice coho. Sadly, many escaped the hook on big jumps near the shore. Even so, she landed her first beach salmon. Now she has started looking for waders and is asking about a fly rod. "Now I'm hooked!" she told me the other evening. Life has many pleasant surprises!
View attachment 193602
It has been a real pleasure fishing with @Stonedfish this season. We seemed to always come up with some good fishing plans that worked with the tides we were given. Finding beaches with ample baitfish and clean moving current really helped with the catching. Also, taking some time to explore beaches that we gave less attention in past years paid off huge. Finding solitude on some amazingly beautiful beaches while catching fat coho was hugely rewarding. It is the best! Fishing a crowded beach where following the current is impossible is his and my least favorite fishing plan. I need to get out there with my Cannon and take some quality photos of the scenery and wildlife.
View attachment 193636
View attachment 193622
View attachment 193625
During the 2025 salmon season I was bogged down with several home improvement projects and didn't have as much time to to fish the beaches. This year I worked a bit harder to hit the good tides and search for the larger migratory coho of Admiralty Inlet. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but working the currents at beaches where the migratory coho pull close into the shore might pay off. The windows of opportunity are short and the hook sets need to stick in a secure part of their mouth. When it all works out and the fish is landed it is a great feeling. But when the fly is spit on a big jump or the hook pulls on the salmon's final run it can be devastating. That is the game and why it is so addictive.
View attachment 193631
View attachment 193637
View attachment 193632
View attachment 193635
For the young folks just starting their quest for a fly rod salmon caught on a gorgeous Puget Sound beach I hope all the posts in this thread have you energized to join in the fun. See you out there on the beaches!
PS - Tons of thanks again to @Stonedfish for photos and bringing a net! Also, it was great to share the beach with you @Steve_S and exchanging fishing reports with @Wolverine
I've been sticking to the local river up here the last couple years and have done pretty good using spinners.
My right shouder is still buggered up from calcification in my rotator cuff this spring and having broken my right elbow in July 2025 for the second time in 10 years. I haven't fly fished the salt for two years and only once in fresh water with @ Stonedfish.
I don't have to tell you how nimble I am on my giant feet!
HauntedByWaters
Life of the Party
Shit now I have to leave work and go change my underpants at home…
Great write-up Tim! I'm glad you had a great season for beach coho.
I've been sticking to the local river up here the last couple years and have done pretty good using spinners.
My right shouder is still buggered up from calcification in my rotator cuff this spring and having broken my right elbow in July 2025 for the second time in 10 years. I haven't fly fished the salt for two years and only once in fresh water with @ Stonedfish.
I don't have to tell you how nimble I am on my giant feet!
View attachment 194177View attachment 194178
View attachment 194179
Nice work Fred! We missed you on the beach this season, but Fall fishing should be good too. Cheers!