Encounters with adult chinook salmon are increasing daily, as thousands of fish begin to
migrate back into Puget Sound. Our guests today, Jeremey and Julie, wasted no time in
learning the technique of mooching, and hooked into a nice chinook and a coho salmon
within the first hour of the trip. Our morning continued with varied action, but the
highlight of our trip came when Julie hooked into a trophy sized king salmon- providing
an excellent fight on our light tackle equipment. Jeremey and Julie worked together to
fight the fish, and as a team were able to get the beautiful specimen to the boat. King
salmon fishing will only improve in the coming weeks, and we are excited to offer
premium trips to target these wonderful fish, right out of Seattle.

Resident coho fishing has been excellent the last few days, with numerous fish coming to the boat daily. Our guests this morning, a family of five, were able to pick up the technique of mooching very quickly. Three kids between the ages of 4 and 10 ended up catching the most! By the end of the trip, everyone had hooked into a coho salmon, retaining 4, and releasing 6 wild coho. We even encountered a special bonus, a rare even year pink salmon! All in a stellar morning on Puget Sound. Come join Spot Tail Salmon Guide on our next outing!

SEATTLE FISHING SEASON HAS BEGUN

This is the beginning of our favorite time of year in Seattle, summer salmon season on beautiful Puget Sound! It’s a time when the salmon start to come home. Shoals of herring can be found around the edges of our large underwater banks that surround Seattle’s marine environs, and draw in Chinook and Coho Salmon for an easy meal. We are already off to a great start, and fishing around Seattle was pretty exciting this weekend!

June gives us a great shot at intercepting early returning Chinook Salmon. These fish can’t resist a cut plug herring, and our mooching technique gives our guests the hands-on experience that really makes for great fishing and lasting memories. We have also been seeing Resident Coho during our trips which add to the fun.

This weekend, we hosted families from Indiana and Georgia. Both were visiting Seattle for the first time, and what experience is more thrilling than a salmon fishing trip on Puget Sound! Both days saw some pretty good fishing, with a good mix of Chinook and Coho and it was a great time! Chinook is catch and release until late July, which means that with plenty of hungry salmon available and few boats fishing, it should continue to be great days on Puget Sound! Call us today at 206-295-7031 to reserve your date!

FREE FISHING SEMINARS
Friday, January 24, 2020

Stage #3 North Hall 4:00 PM Learn to Mooch, Puget Sound Salmon Keith Robbins

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Stage #3 North Hall 2:00 PM Learn to Mooch, Puget Sound Salmon Keith Robbins

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Stage #3 North Hall 11:00 AM Learn to Mooch, Puget Sound Salmon Part I Keith Robbins
Stage #3 North Hall 12:00 PM Learn to Mooch, Puget Sound Salmon Part II Keith Robbins

Monday, January 27, 2020

Stage #1 North Hall 3:00 PM Learn to Mooch, Puget Sound Salmon Keith Robbins

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Stage #1 North Hall 5:00 PM Learn to Mooch, Puget Sound Salmon Keith Robbins

To download the full schedule – Click Here

Also please visit – https://seattleboatshow.com/

What a fantastic Day with a limit of hatchery Chinook (King ) Salmon with Troy, Taylor, Reilly and Aaron all from Seattle. Reilly and Troy are regulars who are very good anglers with great attitudes and the right fishing Karma. This King is the largest of the year and much larger than an average Puget Sound Chinook Salmon. Nice Catch Troy!!

Here is an article that Mark Yuasa wrote back in 2005 – a super fun story fishing with former Mariners catcher Dan Wilson

Despite a season-ending injury, Mariners catcher Dan Wilson continues to make spectacular plays in Seattle. In this case, it wasn’t behind home plate…
Despite a season-ending injury, Mariners catcher Dan Wilson continues to make spectacular plays.
In this case, it wasn’t behind home plate, but on a boat in the middle of Puget Sound.

Last Saturday, Wilson and his son Eli, 7, along with a brother-in-law and nephew, were salmon fishing off Jefferson Head with Keith Robbins, owner of A Spot Tail Salmon Guide.
The day started off well with Wilson and his relatives catching and releasing a 22- pound king, and several other nice fish.
Like many youngsters, Eli told his dad several times that he had a fish on when there wasn’t.
“Just when I was about to doubt him again, I looked over and [Eli’s] line was going straight out away from the boat,” Robbins said. “Then I said, ‘Oh, my God, he really does have a fish on.’ “
While Robbins was reeling in a fishing line, he glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Eli’s rod get pulled out of his hand and into the water.
At the same time, Wilson was reeling in his line and somehow got his hooks on Eli’s mainline. Wilson held up his rod, with just the rod tip of Eli’s pole above water.
Robbins backed up the boat quickly, and they finally got Eli’s pole out of the water.
“I reeled up the slack line on Eli’s pole, and miraculously the fish was still hooked,” Robbins said. “I handed the rod back to Eli, who then reeled in a 15-pound king that we released.
“This was a great fish story. … I’d say the moral of the story is, thank God we had a great catcher on the boat.”

We made it out for another exciting week on Puget Sound. There is no shortage of great salmon fishing action going on right now and plenty of other folks have keyed in on this! We fished Marine Area 10, Seattle’s backyard, and found a healthy mix of Coho and Chinook.

The fleet was out in full force this weekend, and due to the fact that Coho are the only salmon that we can keep right now, the majority of the boats were spread out to the north, south and east of Jeff Head. We are moochers, and this hands-on technique is the funnest way to catch salmon. The tides were moderate this weekend, and that mottled water that wants to be a tide rip, but just doesn’t have enough current flow to turn into a full fledged tide rip was the zone for coho. Plenty were caught. We did a little searching and found some decent concentrations of bait and we found a few really nice Chinook to catch and release as well.
With each passing day, the coho (which are all resident) are getting bigger and bigger, and more ocean returning Summer Chinook are entering the Sound. Now is the time for Seattle Fishing!

I have been fishing the waters of Puget Sound since before my father would let me hold a rod. I always wanted to be a fishing guide since we went fishing with a guide when I was a kid in British Columbia. Since 1992 I have been the only guide in the State of Washington that features both Saltwater Fly Fishing and Light Tackle “Mooching” (a bait fishing technique that was developed in Puget Sound in the 1930s). I love fishing for the largest population of wild trout in the US. The sea run cutthroat is the best fishery in Puget Sound and it is rare to see another angler fishing when we are fishing from the boat. When I have a day off from guiding I go fishing whether it is mooching for King Salmon, Fly Fishing for Sea Run Cutthroat trout in Puget Sound or Fly Fishing for Tarpon in the Florida Keys. It’s what I do. No, I don’t golf. – READ MORE

Keith Robbins is a guide on the world-famous waters of Puget Sound in Washington. A Sage Elite Pro, Robbins is also a pro for RIO Products, Simms, and Grady White Boats among others. Robbins recently took the time to interview with The Venturing Angler:

Why do you guide where you do?

Because it’s in my blood. I was born and raised fishing Puget Sound. I love being on the water and showing others a beautiful piece of the world.

What is your favorite fish species?

Salmon, sea run cutthroat trout, redfish, and tarpon

What is your favorite thing about guiding?

Showing others a wonderful place on the globe and introducing them to all of the Puget Sound species while being paid to do what I love most.

What is the most memorable trip you’ve guided and why?

The most memorable was also the most embarrassing. While running in the super thick fog I ran aground with the Manager of The Seattle Mariners, Don Wakamatsu. While aground in the fog we decided to walk up the beach and fish while waiting for the tide to rise. While fishing from the beach Don hooked and landed the largest Chinook salmon on fly in Puget Sound and he made it back in time for the game.

What is the funniest thing you’ve experienced while guiding?

I once had a guest drop a rod overboard with a very large Salmon attached. Another guest reeled up only to find he caught the dropped rod’s line. He reeled it in and the salmon was still attached. That King salmon was the largest of the day!

What makes your guide service great?

Using the best gear, fishing out of the best and most comfortable boat for fishing Puget Sound, and flexible start times upon request.

If you had only one day off all year, where would you fish and what fish would you target?

I would fish for tarpon in Cuba.

hat are your favorite three flies?

Clouser Minnow
Myawaki Popper
Deep Minnow
What is the one piece of gear you couldn’t bear to leave at home

My custom landing net.

Do you have any other passions?

Food, wine and fishing!

To check out more from Keith Robbins, please click here.

Check out this article written by Captain Keith Robbins & Ron Monaco on sageflyfish.com!