Last year Mutiny Bay produced several halibut for Puget Sound halibut anglers. This year it should be very productive as well. As you can see, one of the best spots is an bowl in the middle of Mutiny Bay. This deeper spot funnels bait and halibut making them an easy target at times. Several Mutiny Bay halibut anglers I know also fish fairly shallow here, in as little as 60 feet of water. There’s also a nice little hump on the south end of the bay near Double Bluff.

On opening day of halibut season you will likely see 50 boats or more in Mutiny Bay. Some will drift while others will anchor. If it were me I would set anchor in the bowl marked with an X. The coordinates listed on the chart will get you close to the center. From there watch your depth sounder and drop anchor when possible. Don’t drop anchor to close to another boat though and be safe when pulling your anchor.

One of the best features of Mutiny Bay is its close proximity to most Puget Sound launches. Anglers who don’t have bigger boats can launch from Edmonds, Mukilteo or Everett and make the run to Mutiny in about an hour or less, depending on cruise speeds and water conditions.

Best baits at Mutiny Bay include horse herring, squid and sardines. While searching a couple tackle stores recently, I noticed some ground up mackerel, which should make a great chum for halibut. Most of the tackle stores also had some large sardines, which would be my first choice of bait on opening day because of their oily content and size. Halibut really like the extra large sardines. If you can’t find and extra large sardines, try the horse herring.

You can rig the sardine right side up or upside down, and then add a skirt over the body to protect the bait and add an enticing attractor.

Good luck,

John