Fishing Reports

Winter Steelhead season is finally coming to and end, and what a great season it was! Casting for steelhead with light tackle on small rivers is definitely a fun, proactive,  and productive way to catch these legendary fish of the Pacific Northwest. Get on the books for next year from middle Feb-mid March to get in on the action.

Now it’s that special time of year where the sun starts shining and the Spring Chinook start biting. Spring Chinook fishing is our first chinook salmon season of the year, and one of the of best for success. Spring Chinook from the Columbia River are arguably the best tasting salmon on the planet. Super fatty, tender, and delicate meat makes these fish the most sought after salmon here in the Northwest. When Spring Chinook find their way to speciality seafood markets they are typical 55-70 dollars per pound!

The Spring Chinook season starts April 1st on the Columbia and will run until the 8th. After that, we will target “springers” on the Willamette River, and Lewis River until the end of April. Both are great rivers to catch these awesome fish on!

As fish migrate up the Columbia River past Bonneville dam, we start fishing the Wind River predominantly and Drano Lake on some days. Not only do we have really great fishing in these area’s, it’s also some of the best scenery anywhere in Washington and Oregon. The Columbia River Gorge is truly a special place!

The fishing season has finally begun for all the “fair weathered” fisherman and fisherwomen out there. Let’s get out there and fill them freezers!

The 2025 season was one to remember! We had awesome Winter Steelhead fishing, Spring Chinook fishing, and an unbelievable Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon fishing season! Now we’ve been patiently waiting for the 2026 Winter Steelhead season to start and its just about here!

Historically, Winter Steelhead fishing had been a December and January event, but now, run timings have changed our best fishing further into February and March. Which if you ask me, that’s great! We have less Winter storms and a bit warmer weather when out fishing for our awesome winter steelhead!

We target Winter Steelhead predominantly on the Cowlitz River and Lewis River in SW Washington. The Cowlitz River has a great hatchery return year after year with fish weighing anywhere from 8-18 lbs. While the Lewis River has much more wild fish, which are non retainable, but larger in size on average. The Lewis River also has much fewer crowds along with really great scenery.  Both rivers have really great chances of high catch rates year after year.

We all know wintertime can be really really boring, so break up the monotony with a really great fishing trip for Winter Steelhead this season! Shoot me an email or feel free to call to talk fishing anytime. See you on the water!

It’s been a long Spring Chinook season, and what a great season it’s been! We had lots of opportunity to fish the Columbia River this year, and there were some truly epic days out there! Fishing still remains strong on the Columbia and Willamette River.

We spent the majority of May at the Wind River, and Willamette Rivers this year with great catches just about every day. The scenery of the Columbia River Gorge I miss every time I leave. It’s such a great place to be in and fish!

Now, we’re back in the lower Columbia, still catching the tailout of the springer run, while starting to intercept the beginning of the Summer Chinook run. This is the time of the year that I love every day on the water.

Summer Chinook are known locally as “June hogs” because their typical large size. They are definitely the meanest fish we have too. With water temps still cool but not cold, these fish bite and fight like no other species on the Columbia.

We only have a select few days to fish for them this year, so get your day booked very soon. The season will only go until June 12th this year.

The next big news in the Northwest is how big our Fall Chinook run is forcasted to be! Holy smokes, there’s gonna be a ton of them this year, and the seasons are already set to be dynamite for opportunity!

Our “Bouy 10” fishery is going to be insane this year in August and continuing into September. The Buoy 10 fishery is located in Astoria, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River, and it starts August 1st.

Fishing the mouth of the Columbia is a super exciting fishery! At a moments notice, the bite can turn on and go from fishing to catching fish as fast as we can until the boat is limited out. The past couple of years, we’ve only been able to retain hatchery fish there, but this year, the first 6 days will be open to wild retention!

Now’s the time to book our World famous “Buoy 10” fishery. Guaranteed a good time with lots of action!

The action will continue into September and early October when we move up river to the Kalama and Woodland Washington areas where the fish are still very fresh and plentiful. The fall season is the time to fill the freezers to get out with us before it’s too late! See you on the water!

It’s about that time! As we’ve been tusseling with winter steelhead the past few weeks, it’s been tougher and tougher not to start thinking about the next best thing, Spring Chinook! Just the thought of catching my first Spring Chinook of the year to put on the dinner plate gives me goosebumps. They are that good!

Springer’s start showing up mid-March, but we won’t start catching them well until the beginning of April. These fish are so very special to the anglers of the northwest and honestly nationwide. Simply put, springers are the best eating salmon on the planet.

The whole month of April and May provides great fishing for these fish on several local rivers. The Columbia, Lewis, Cowlitz, Willamette, Wind River, and Drano Lake all provide great fishing during those two months. Of course, wherever is best at the time is where we will target these awesome fish.

Spring Chinook are known for their tender fatty meat because they have very long life journey’s. When these spring salmon come in from the ocean, they travel hundreds of miles to get to their spawning grounds. Once they get into these tributaries where they spawn, they will hang out for another 6 months, waiting for their reproductive organs to grow. Since they take so long to spawn, they are loaded with tons of omega 3 fat. That’s why so delicious, especially when we catch them straight out of the ocean.

The Spring Chiook season is a long one, so there’s plenty of good dates to get out and fill your freezer. The absolute best times to fish is the first week of April, through the first 3 weeks of May.

Now is the time to get on the books for these epic fish fish the northwest rivers provide. Feel free to send me an email or call and chat about getting out anytime. Looking forward to seeing you on the water!

Wow, what a fall it’s been! And the good news is, it’s not over yet! This has been a year to remember so far, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon!

The Columbia River fall chinook run has been gigantic this year! We started in Astoria, Oregon, in August, and judging by what we saw there, we all knew it was going to be above the forecasted run. Dam counts were impressive early on in the month and just stayed strong the entire time.

Now it’s nearing the end of September, and the days are finally cooling down, but fishing remains hot on Columbia. Big fish and plenty of them have been the theme all season. We are starting to get to that time of the year when fishing gets really, really good!

October is one of the most productive months of the fishing season. We have fall chinook still entering the Columbia, and also the “B” run Coho show up as well. “B” run Coho Salmon are the second component of the Coho run. The B run usually comes with larger and better biting fish as well.

Having the two runs come into the Columbia together gives angler’s a much higher chance of limiting out on both Coho and Chinook. This is the time of the year where the weather is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, maybe a little rainy at times, but hey, it’s the PNW.

The next couple months is the last chance to get out for the season, so get ahold of me and let’s get out and do some catching! See you on the water

Fishing for Spring Chinook has come to an end on the Columbia River, and it was a great season to say the least! We had great days fishing on the Wind, and Lewis Rivers and am looking forward to next year already. Next up is Summer Chinook! This is my favorite fishery of the year by far! I only have a few days left so contact soon if you’d like a date.

Summer Steelhead will be the next upcoming fishery on the Columbia River. Starting after the 4th of July, we’ll have some great days on the water fishing for fiesty, acrobatic and tasty fish they are. I also have limited days for this fishery as well so please contact asap.

We’re already getting excited for the fall run of Chinook and Coho that will be starting Aug 1st. This is the main event of the year and luckily it stays good for 3 solid months. August is the month we spend our time chasing fall chinook in Astoria Oregon at the world renowned “Buoy 10” fishery.

The Buoy 10 fishery, is an experience everyone must have at least once. Many people think this is a crowded “combat” fishery, but really it’s not. The Buoy 10 fishery consists of 30 square miles of river to fish and often times we are all by ourselves catching one right after another.

After Bouy 10 in August, we move up the Columbia River to Woodland Washington. This is where we spend the rest of the fall targeting Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon. Fishing out of Woodland is fantastic the whole month of September and most of Oct!

I’m starting to book out my days for Buoy 10 and the fall run of Salmon in Woodland Washington. If you would like to get in on it, contact me sooner than later for the best dates. It’s forecasted to be another great year of Fall Chinook and Coho fishing! See you on the water!

It was an interesting season on the lower Columbia this year to say the least. Numbers of fish passing through my area early were much better than last year by far. With low participation by anglers, we recieved a couple extensions on the season which was great!

Now that were done fishing the Columbia, We’ll be moving into the Lewis and Willamette Rivers to continue targeting Spring Chinook. As the month of April progresses, so do the numbers of fish we catch. Fishing will remain strong through late April, clear into June.

As soon as we see Bonneville Dam counts climb, it will be time to move up into the Columbia River Gorge to my absolute favorite spring chinook fishery. The Wind River! The Wind River is one of the best Spring Chinook fisheries in the lower 48. Not only is the fishing great, but the scenery of the Columbia River Gorge is absolutely stunning!

The best time historically to be at the Wind, is the last few days in April through the first two weeks of May. Limits of Spring Chinook are very common during this time frame.

Spring Chinook are the most sought after species of salmon on the planet. The oil content that these fish contain are higher than any other salmon out there. Anglers travel from all over the NW to harvest these spectacular eating salmon. And the Wind River has lots of them!

After the Wind, we’ll come back to the Willamette River and continue pursuing “springers”. It will be good fishing in there through middle June.

Our fishing season has officially began on the Columbia River! Get ahold of me asap if you’re looking to get out on the Wind River or the Willamette this year. Im just starting to book them, so I do have a lot of really good dates. See you on the Water!

Its about that time! We’re getting close to the upcoming Spring Chinook season on the Columbia River! If you didnt know, Spring Chinook are the most sought after species of salmon the NW has to offer! Spring Chinook are super high in omega 3 fatty acids that are great for our health!

This years projected run of “Springers” is another good one according to the Washington department of fish and game. With 186,400 fish expected to return to the Columbia River this year, we are expecting the season to go through April 7th on the Columbia.  However, once the Columbia closes, fishing for Spring Chinook is far from over.

We plan on starting fishing heavily around the 25th of March and wrap up the Columbia season on the 7th of April. After that, we have the Willamette River and Lewis River to fish until fish start migrating over Bonneville Dam in good numbers. Projections for the Willamette and Lewis Rivers are also looking excellent for 2024.

Around the end of April, we will see fish passage over Bonneville increasing, which will set the stage for one of my favorite Spring Chinook fisheries. Wind River and Drano Lake! These two fisheries are set in on of the most beautiful parts of the state! The Columbia River Gorge!

If you’ve never seen the Gorge before, the landscape is that out of a painting. Having the Columbia River Gorge in our backyard is such a blessing! Catching the best eating salmon on the planet, in one of the prettiest spots in the USA blows my mind nearly every day!

Once we get done fishing the Gorge, there will still be fish to be had in the Willamette and possibly the Columbia until we switch gears to Summer Chinook in June.

Now is the time to start thinking about shaking those cobweb’s off that build over the winter and think about getting out and catching some fish this upcoming spring! Get ahold of me sooner than later for the best dates for our upcoming Spring Chinook season! Looking forward to seeing you on the water!