The Pacific Northwest is renowned for its massive runs of Chinook (King) salmon, Coho (Silver) salmon and Sockeye salmon. Spring Chinook salmon, Summer Chinook Salmon, and Fall Chinook Salmon make their way from the Pacific Ocean, through the Columbia River, to Bonneville Dam and beyond. The best Salomon runs are in the months of February through Mid-December.
The first order of business for the year, is our world-famous Spring Chinook run. Spring Chinook are arguably the best eating salmon on the planet. The fat content these fish retain is rivaled by only Summer Chinook and Summer Steelhead from the Columbia River. During the months of March – June we target these fish with a number of methods. First, we start off trolling fresh herring in areas where Spring Chinook migrate through. Finding the best bait for these fish is key to our success, along with brining the herring properly. After the water starts to warm up, we switch to lures such as spinners and kwikfish. The lure bites are very aggressive, and many times can be very fun to watch happen!
Next up, Summer Chinook make their way through the Columbia River during June and July. These fish are known locally as “June Hogs” because of their common size of 30 to 45 pounds! Summer Chinook fishing is our favorite due to our high catch rates of high-quality salmon! Not to mention the beautiful weather we have in the month of June! We target the Summer Chinook by trolling spinners and anchoring with Kwik fish on ledges. The water temperature while targeting Summer Chinook is perfect for having the fish be very aggressive, and still cold enough for them to fight very hard!
While targeting Summer Chinook we also start catching Summer Steelhead and Sockeye Salmon later in June. I always make sure to put out a rod or two that will catch both Summer Steelhead and Sockeye on the same presentation. Having a Summer Chinook, Summer steelhead and Sockeye to take home is as good as it gets as far as table fare!
And for the super bowl of the season: August is the month when Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon start entering the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean. Also known as “Buoy 10”, it’s one of the hottest fisheries anywhere in the world! Fall Chinook and Coho will travel up the Columbia River for a solid month providing awesome action for these 15–55-pound, fresh fall Chinook! We fish for the Fall Kings and Coho Salmon in the Columbia River, Lewis River and Cowlitz River from August through December with great success! August through December is by far the most popular time of the year to fish, so book your dates in advance since the best dates fill fast.
Once Fall Chinook have entered the river from the Pacific Ocean, we’ll start catching them in good numbers in the Woodland Washington area. During September and October, we can sometimes keep two chinooks native or hatchery per day in the Columbia! This fishery is probably one of our clients favorites due to the constant action the high numbers of fish provide.
After Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon slow down on the Columbia it’s time to hit the tributaries. We will target Coho and King Salmon in the smaller rivers until nearly Christmas before switching gears to Winter Steelhead. Tributary fishing is much more hands on and a blast to the folks that like to be more “proactive” while fishing. “Proactive means you’ll most likely be casting a lot while moving around the river to find large schools of fish to target. If this sounds like your thing, just let me know and we’ll get line up on a trip that offers this.
