Many Columbia River fishing guides call the Columbia River home. The Columbia River is arguably some the best sport fishing in the entire world! It is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest and the fifth largest in the United States. The Columbia River’s headwaters are located in Revelstoke, Canada and it flows north to south. Then it heads east to west bordering Washington and Oregon State. It then runs into the Pacific Ocean in Astoria Oregon. Columbia River fishing guides fish ever corner of this river.
The Columbia River has some of the largest fish runs anywhere. There are not many places if any, where you can catch a Summer Chinook, Summer Steelhead, sockeye, and a Sturgeon all in one day! We fish the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean to Bonneville dam and into the Columbia River Gorge.
Fishing in the Columbia River Gorge is some of the best Sturgeon, Salmon, and Steelhead fishing in the west. The scenery is also an attraction that many people come to see from around the United States. The gateway to the Columbia River gorge is only 35 min from the Portland International airport. If going on a fishing trip of a lifetime in a place as beautiful as the Columbia River Gorge sounds like your cup of tea then book a trip with us today and we will put you right smack in the middle of it.
The Columbia certainty receives a lot of Winter Steelhead year after year but targeting these fish is difficult due to high flows in the winter. The real party starts in March when the world-famous Columbia River Spring Chinook start showing up! This is the fishery that local fisherman go bonkers over! Spring Chinook attracts thousands of sport fishermen and women from the mouth of the Columbia all the way to Idaho. The water temp in the spring reaches the perfect temp for fish to bite well, one of the big reasons for the popularity of this fishery.
The main reason sportsman flock to this fishery is the quality of table fare. These fish rarely ever get to market, and when they do, they are upwards of 55-75 dollars a pound! AKA “springers”, these fish have a high content of fat due to their long journey to their spawning grounds. Springers use this fat for energy and to grow their reproductive organs before spawning. There are only a couple different species in the Columbia River, or the world that have this amount of fat content. Spring Chinooks are known to get close to the area where they will spawn and then rest there for nearly 6 months. Just another reason these amazing fish have such high fat content.
When “springers” enter the Columbia from the ocean, the Columbia’s water temperature mimics what the ocean temperatures are. Having the same water temperature as the ocean keeps this fish-eating bait just as they would in the ocean. Therefore, the bait of choice is herring and anchovies. Finding good bait suppliers is the key to having successful days on the water for spring chinook. Finding herring that are the correct size, have all their scales, look shiny, and haven’t been in the freezer to long is what we search for when buying our bait for the year.
After finding good bait to use, the brining process just before fishing is another important part of the factor. There are hundreds of ways to brine herring, and many have their place, but experienced fishermen will agree that for spring chinook, often times the “KISS” method is often the best. Triangle flashers and cut plug herring have become the staple of tactics to use to catch Spring Chinook in the northwest and that will not change anytime soon.
Columbia River fishing guides often follow the Spring Chinook run over Bonneville Dam. Bonneville Dam is the first of many hydroelectric dams on the Columbia. When Bonneville Dam counts for Spring Chinook reach over one thousand per day, it’s time to get up above the dam and fish the Wind River and Drano Lake. Having Spring Chinook dam counts over Bonneville is one of our most important tools in knowing how the fishing will be in these areas. Typically dam counts do not start getting high until the end of April.
In the meantime, after the Columbia River Spring Chinook closes in the lower Columbia in early April, we switch locations to either the Willamette River, Lewis River, or the Cowlitz River. Choosing the correct location often depends on water conditions. Often times the Willamette River can blow out and have near zero visibility after heavy rains. Where the Lewis and Cowlitz are dam controlled and don’t blow out easily. Having two other rivers to choose from close by is such a blessing for Columbia River fishing guides.
Next up, after Spring Chinook fishing on the Columbia River slows, we will spend a couple weeks targeting Kokanee Salmon on Lake Merwin and Yale Lake. Kokanees are a land locked Sockeye Salmon that are planted and naturally reproduce in some of the creeks that help feed the lake. The Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife plant nearly one hundred and fifty thousand Kokanee into Merwin and Yale. This is a fishery where these fish get pounded year-round and still never come close to low numbers. For More information on Kokanee fishing, visit the “Kokanee fishing guide page”.
Onto our favorite time of year. Summer Chinook! Year after year, we spend late spring, and early summer targeting these magnificent fish with great catch rates! Around the end of May, we start seeing good numbers passing through the lower Columbia River as they head into the far reaches of Washington State and Idaho. The month of June and early July is the peak of the Summer Chinook run, and we have an absolute blast catching them! Summer Chinook are locally named June hogs because of their size and stature. Spring Chinook average 12-20lbs where Summer Chinook average 18-30lbs and sometimes 35-40lbs. Every year there’s even a few fish that make it to the hatcheries that are upwards of 50 plus pounds! This is one of our most popular fisheries so contact us sooner than later for great dates.
Columbia River fishing guides, Lewis River fishing guides and Cowlitz river fishing guides then turn their attention to Summer Steelhead fishing on the Columbia, Cowlitz and Lewis in July. Summer steelhead fishing a blast, and one of the top 3 best eating fish the Columbia has to offer. Summer steelhead are a very aggressive species that move through the Columbia in great numbers most years. There have been a couple slow years recently, but 2022 was much better in terms of catching and fish passage over Bonneville Dam. In between days on the Columbia River, we spend some time on the tributaries as well. Fishing on the tributaries of the Columbia is much different than the Columbia itself. On the Lewis or Cowlitz rive we have a much more hands on approach to fishing Summer Steelhead. Casting baits of eggs in stretches of river that steelhead lay in is the most common practice on these rivers. This Technique is called side drifting and it is so much fun! Visit the “steel head fishing guide” page for more information.
After Summer Steelhead the most popular fishery in the NW begins. “Buoy 10”! Located in Astoria Oregon, Buoy 10 is where just about every angler and guide spends the month of August catching fresh Fall Chinook that are entering the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean. For more information the “Buoy 10 fishing guide page” has all you need to know about
We Continue targeting Fall Chinook and Coho right in our backyard in Woodland Washington in the months of September and October. This is another fishery where you can’t really miss on catching some very nice fish daily. Most days, limits of fall Chinook are common due to the high numbers of fish that are travelling through our area daily. Bonneville Dam counts can reach as high as thirty thousand fish per day! This is another do not miss fishery and a very popular one so book early for the best dates.
