Salmon Fishing Guide

During the spring, Chinook salmon are plentiful at Buoy 10 on the Columbia River. This season usually runs hot and heavy through March into June. During this time Chinook can be found working their way to the Bonneville Dam and then The Dalles Dam, John Day Dam and lastly the McNary Dam near the end of Oregon’s Columbia River Spring Chinook season.

Once spring arrives and the winter snows start to melt off the Cascade mountains, water flows begin to rise in the Columbia River watershed. This is when the infamous spring chinook salmon also known as springers begin their journey into the Columbia River. During this time, the spring salmon season takes center stage in the lower sections of the Columbia.

Throughout the months of March, April, May, and June, are the key times for Spring Chinook Fishing Trips and the Columbia River is a hive of activity with fishing guides and sports fishing enthusiasts buzzing up and down the river targeting these amazing fish. The key is to get on the water bright and early because the chinook bite is almost always best at the crack of dawn. This is largely because once the sun comes up, Chinook head to deeper waters to avoid predators. One thing for sure, once the bite is on, its action packed and fun for all.

With its bright orange-red flesh, firm texture and delicate flavor, many consider Coho the best grilling and tasting fish. They are the second largest of the salmon species and aggressive rockets slashing at the bait and truly acrobatic out of the water after getting hooked up.

Coho or commonly known as Silver Salmon school up early near the mouth of the Columbia River in early July. They give us an early fishery while waiting for the Chinook to come down from the north waiting for the Buoy 10 season to open. Their abundance allows for two per person. This is the perfect opportunity to get into a combo trip with bottom fishing or catch and release sturgeon fishing depending on the tides. There two runs of silver coming into the Columbia River the early in July and what is known as the “B run” in late August that can run as late as early October.

Fishing for silver (coho) salmon typically begins in the summer, as early as mid-June, and runs through October. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) typically opens the season with ocean fishing and then extends the season with river-fishing. We’ve found great results in late summer and up through September and October, making the silver salmon a popular fishing trip for summer vacation travel. You can save your spot on the boat with a down payment of as little as $100 per person.

Silver salmon are smaller fish than their Chinook and King salmon cousins, but they are fun fighters on the line and make for great eating! The average size of a coho salmon is 8 lbs, with some fish running as heavy as 20 lbs. Coho typically rear for 18 months in freshwater and another 18 months in the ocean before returning for their spawning run.

Fall salmon fishing on the Columbia River is the angler super bowl of the pacific Northwest. Thousands of anglers decent on the Columbia for both fall chinook and coho during this part of the season and depending on the run sizes for the season it’s generally game on. One of the main draws to the Columbia during the fall salmon season is the chinook salmon runs. These tend to be the larger of the species an provide excellent numbers for anglers to target. However, the real deal during the fall is the Coho run. The Coho numbers can fluctuate from year to year, but overall, the Columbia river coho run tends to be pretty decent and the fishing action can get pretty hot when the numbers are there.

Best of all coho are just as good if not better eating than chinook which are pretty good as well.
The kickoff for fall salmon on the Columbia takes place at the mouth in Astoria at the river marker near the mouth referred to as Buoy 10. The Buoy 10 fishery is renowned for excellent catch rates during the slack tied but can be tricky and the water moves fast and can pose a bit of a challenge for those whom have not had allow of experience fishing this area of the river. Some of the hot spots near the mouth but we like to camp out in front of the mouth of the Cowlitz river and catch them before the head up the Cowlitz to spawn. Another great fall salmon fishing spot on the Columbia is at the mouth of the Willamette River.

One of the best sections of the Columbia is at the Bonneville Dam. Thousands of anglers from around the world can be found huddles in Columbia River Fishing Guides boats camping out here working the waters for the staging salmon that are held up in this section in preparation of working their way up the fish ladder to the spawning grounds. Millions of salmon are counted as they pass by this dam every year and it never ceases amaze at the amount of the amazing fish are in the river. We catch allot of fish here and after we’ve caught our limits, we bring our clients for a photo shoot near Beacon Rock. This area provides one of the most amazing backdrops for our client’s photos and truly displays the beauty of the region for all to see. It’s undeniable, the Pacific Northwest is truly the land of milk and honey or in the case salmon.

Fall salmon fishing on the Columbia River is the angler super bowl of the pacific Northwest. Thousands of anglers decent on the Columbia for both fall chinook and coho during this part of the season and depending on the run sizes for the season it’s generally game on. One of the main draws to the Columbia during the fall salmon season is the chinook salmon runs. These tend to be the larger of the species an provide excellent numbers for anglers to target. However, the real deal during the fall is the Coho run. The Coho numbers can fluctuate from year to year, but overall, the Columbia river coho run tends to be pretty decent and the fishing action can get pretty hot when the numbers are there.

Best of all coho are just as good if not better eating than chinook which are pretty good as well.
The kickoff for fall salmon on the Columbia takes place at the mouth in Astoria at the river marker near the mouth referred to as Buoy 10. The Buoy 10 fishery is renowned for excellent catch rates during the slack tied but can be tricky and the water moves fast and can pose a bit of a challenge for those whom have not had allow of experience fishing this area of the river. Some of the hot spots near the mouth but we like to camp out in front of the mouth of the Cowlitz river and catch them before the head up the Cowlitz to spawn. Another great fall salmon fishing spot on the Columbia is at the mouth of the Willamette River.

We also fish the Willamette up to the dam. This is one of our favorite spots, not just because of the great fishing but because it’s close to home so there’s less drive time when fishing this section of the Columbia. As the fall salmon move upriver, so do we, granted we need to be mindful of the fishing regulations as sections of the Columbia close at the will of the Oregon and Washington department of fish and Wildlife. If regs permit, we will catch fish as long as we can however if the salmon fishing gets shut down the beauty of fishing the Columbia is that you can switch species and start targeting walleye, sturgeon or steelhead. However, the salmon fishing all on it’s own provides plenty of action to keep us busy for the year.

One of the best sections of the Columbia is at the Bonneville Dam. Thousands of anglers from around the world can be found huddles in Columbia River Fishing Guides boats camping out here working the waters for the staging salmon that are held up in this section in preparation of working their way up the fish ladder to the spawning grounds. Millions of salmon are counted as they pass by this dam every year and it never ceases amaze at the amount of the amazing fish are in the river. We catch allot of fish here and after we’ve caught our limits, we bring our clients for a photo shoot near Beacon Rock. This area provides one of the most amazing backdrops for our client’s photos and truly displays the beauty of the region for all to see. It’s undeniable, the Pacific Northwest is truly the land of milk and honey or in the case salmon.

Fall salmon season consists of two primary salmon species that are caught and retained on the Columbia. The first being the infamous chinook salmon which is the largest of salmon species and then there are coho salmon which are among the best eating salmon there is. This is largely due to the fact that coho tend to hold up well as the enter the fresh water on their journey to the spawning grounds. Basically it takes longer for coho to decompose during the spawning process thus providing a much fresher and tastier fish for the dinner table. As crazy as it may seem some salmon start to decompose as soon as they get a whiff of fresh water. I’ve even caught them at the mouth of a river in the salt and they have already half rotted away.

One of the beauties of the Columbia is that the water is so cold pretty much all species of salmon that run the Columbia manage to stay salt water fresh even in the upper reaches of the river. I’ve been in the upper where it’s 90 degrees outside, but the water is so cold in the Columbia it’s unbearable to swim in. However, even though you might not want to swim it you sure as heck can fish it and best of all the fishing on the Columbia is usually pretty good. With that in mind the beginning of the fall salmon season on the Columbia is usually fairly warm, especially in the upper reaches. Another of our favorite hot spots as we move upriver is a section known as “The Gorge” This is one of the most beautiful areas of Columbia and is part of the Bonneville pool.

As we enter the Gorge we like to do a couple quick drifts by the mouth of the Wind River. If the action is slow we head for the section of the Columbia that is fondly referred to as the toilet bowl. Drano Lake “The Toilet Bowl” is a small manmade lake connected to the Columbia. When fishing here during the early part of the run the fishing gets so hot that boats are literally lined up within a few feet of each other. Trolling at slow speeds these anglers just keep doing circles in the toilet bowl going around and around in this small Lake. Hence the nickname “The Toilet Bowl”. Even in these tight quarters the fishing can be fantastic with multiple hooks ups occurring on all sides of the boat. It can get crazy though when someone hooks up and get tangled up with another fisherman from a neighboring boat. Generally most of the guys out there are pretty decent but at times it can get heated.

When the Drano Lake action starts to poop out, no pun intended, we head out to chase the salmon as they move upriver through the Gorge. The Columbia River Gorge is renowned not for just excellent salmon fishing but sturgeon, bass, and walleye as well. Lots of sunshine and good fishing in this section of the Columbia. Once we’ve moved past Drano were on our way to the mouth of White Salmon River or Hood River. Salmon spawn in both se we like to see if we can intercept them as they head to the promise land. A bit further up the Columbia river you have the section at the mouth of the Klickitat River. This is another great spot as the Klickitat is known for decent fall salmon returns and we defiantly can a few before they enter the river.

Next Stop is the Dalles Pool. This is the section of the Columbia above the Dalles dam and below the John Day. Some of our favorite spots for targeting salmon in this section of the Columbia is up near Horse Thief Lake and Further up at Browns Island. Then we work the flats and the sections around Miller Island. In this section we also work the mouth of the Deschutes River and then head up just below the John Day in the stretch from Rufus up to Preachers Eddy which can produce excellent catch rates as well. Also, just below the dam at Gilles French park or on the Washington side Cliffs Park can make your day if you hit it at the right time.

These stretches we refers to as the flats are not all that deep but if you troll spinners or swim baits and the fish are there it’s game on. Once we have fished all we can in the Dalles pool it’s time to start fishing the John Day Pool. On the way we work the areas at the mouth of the mouth of the John Day River and further up at the section n known as Lake Umatilla. Also, below the McNeary Dam at the mouth of the Umatilla River is another great hot spot that has been known to produce some record-breaking size fish for the State of Oregon. Once above the McNearly, you’re on your way to Hells Canyon. The McNeary pool is the section that meets up with the infamous Snake River. Salmon, Steelhead and Sturgeon are in abundance in this section and we catch them all.

We fish for fall salmon on the Columbia River all the way from Buoy 10 300 miles upriver to the mouth of the Snake. This stretch of the Columbia offers some of the best salmon fishing in the world and we would love to offer you the chance to catch these amazing fish and share the adventure with friends and family. For the memories of a lifetime book your fall salmon fishing trip with Columbia River Fishing Adventures today. Your premier Oregon Fishing Guides. Call Buddy Dupell at 503-499-3099 and book your Columbia River guided fishing trip today. We service anywhere from a couple anglers to full on corporate events and we’d lost to serve you.