I don’t know about you but one of my favorite places to fish for big Chinook in the Puget Sound is Marine Area 9 Possession Bar. Marine area 9 is opening this Thursday, July 14 and includes Possession Bar and a lot of other hot spots around Whidbey Island. Over the years I have caught some of my biggest Puget Sound kings trolling Possession Bar, with the East and West banks, the Tin Shed, and the Bait Box. My last big king I actually caught in the middle of possession bar which can also hold fish.

On the East and West sides of Possession Bar are deep drop offs where you will find Salmon hanging around the edges to ambush bait. Along the West side I like to start all the way back by the end of Whidbey Island and troll down about 100 to 200 feet deep all the way to the end of the bar. Of course you want to troll with the tide, north to south.

The Tin Shed

The “Tin Shed” is the area at the end of the bar that darts back in (north) and is U-shaped. Here you will also want to fish deep but as you’re trolling up the edges keep an eye on your down-rigger as the bottom structure will likely take your down-rigger ball if you’re not paying attention.

On the eastern side of the bar you can troll incoming or outgoing tide as long as you’re trolling with the tide. Though outgoing seems to be the best. Here I like to fish a little bit deeper, from 100 all the way down to 250 feet depending on the conditions.

The Bait Box

And lastly, the “Bait Box” which is a small trolling area on the south east corner of Whidbey Island. This spot is often overlooked, but can produce very nice kings.

I’ve had good luck with flasher and spoons but also with J-plugs. Twice I’ve caught large kings with a green rattle J-plug.

Also don’t forget about area 10 which opens Thursday the 14th also. You can see my previous post on how and where to fish at Apple tree Cove and Jefferson head. The previous post was targeting blackmouth, but it will be just the same for summer fish, with the exception of fishing on the bottom.