Northwest Fishing Reports

If I were to go fish the salt from shore in the next couple weeks, what would some of the best bets be? This will be my first time fishing the salt, so far the best idea I have is to go fish the westport area. I would be interested in just about anything that will bite.

From the Tri-Cities, that may be your best bet. Or Ilwaco...the jetty there is nice and flat, and that's basically the mouth of the Columbia River.

Didn't realize my location was out of date, I'm actually in Lynnwood for now.

Ill be tossing buzz bombs off the western shores of Whidbey Island and deception pass for silvers.

Guys are killing the silvers off of the north jetty ilwaco. Casting and retrieving cut plugs and spinners.

Oh...for Lynnwood...any saltwater pier right now. Coho are making their way in. And as mentioned, the west side of Whidbey Island is a good bet.

Whidbey is a good bet, but as of today it's still very quiet. Still kicking myself for the one I lost at the bank this AM.
All my reports are nothing in numbers. Few here and there. Go to Ted's there in Lynnwood and get the skinny.

West side of Whidbey, like everyone else said, is your best bet. Fishing is still slow, but they're here. Not in good numbers, but they should be any day now. After 2 weeks of fishing daily at 5:30 in the morning, my first hook up was on Monday. 1 for 3 this week, which really isn't that good yet. Give it a week or two.

Yeah, whidbey is still slow but should be good in two weeks. Trolled keystone and bombing range with nothing to report but saw one fish jump this morning. Going to do it again for high tide tomorrow.

Sounds like west side of Whidbey should be good for salmon in a couple weekends when I will likely be looking to fish again. How about for other fish like surf perch or any other fish that can be caught from shore? From what I have read these have declined in numbers in the sound and best bet would be along the coast. I don't want to ask for any secret spots that may exist but if I were to go along a beach, what kind of water/structure should I look for for things such as surf perch? I may try crabbing this weekend and throw a line in while doing so, and from what I understand flatfish/flounders/sand dabs should be good from most piers?

mukilteo pier or edmonds pier are good for fishing and crabbing

Sharpshooter....
it;s been a while since I did any surf fishing, but here's what I look for and it usually leads to success..
when you get to the beach, look down (or up) the beach at the waves - you;ll notice they come in in nice straight rows.... periodically along the beach there will be spots where these rows break up - or the top of the wave row is far lower than the rest of the wave - watch closely and you'll notice this happens in the same spot over and over.....
the waves will push water in , and then it needs to flow out again - often you;ll find these spots where the water is pushed up along a section, accumulates and moves back out through a slot - this deeper slot is what is disrupting the wave height. this slot is the funnel that pushes all the food from the shallows back out to the deep and is a gathering spot for hungry fish.
you can also find these spots by watching the water as a wave recedes from the beach... watch the foam, sometimes it just accumulates near the beach.... sometimes you'll notice it is moving up or down the beach is the shallows - ie there is a current along the beach going one way or the other - follow the current, it will lead you to the slots.
cast into the slot and let the current pull your offering straight out the slot to the mouths of hungry fish...
you don;t need to cast a mile.... fish the foamy water..... cast into a slot and let the current pull your bait out and it will get slammed. I always had more success going light - so my baits would move around (out with the current...current is going away from you so you still have tension on your line) using just enough weight to the get to the bottom rather than anchoring the bait with a big weight.
Surfperch love pile worms, clams, mussels, squid, (anything you can get on your hook) as do the flatfishes. Herring is a dogfish magnet..... for rigging, I end up using almost the same setup as I do for steelhead - pencil lead, tiny corky (tiny! black with speckles glitter works for me) and #8 baitholder hook.

Sky

I try and fish point no point in Sept.to early Oct for silvers off shore.Select most any attractor, shiney streamers.2 to 4 inches long. Puget sound fly fishing has an incredible pattern called "shock n' awe.40" + casts and get ready.Short strips . Get there early and parking is free by the light house. If you aint gonna eat it, release it.