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!
