FISHING TRIP ADVENTURES
Fishing Guide On The Columbia and Willamette River
The Willamette River runs across northwestern Oregon and through the heart of Downtown Portland before feeding into the Columbia River, Oregon’s largest river. The Willamette and Columbia Rivers both offer fishing throughout the whole year. Whether it be Salmon, Sturgeon, Steelhead or Walleye, between these two rivers you are sure to have a shot at them all depending on the time of year!
Salmon, Sturgeon and Steelhead Fishing Guide
THREE-SEASON FISHING ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER
Columbia River Salmon Fishing
Throughout the year the Columbia River gets three different runs of Chinook Salmon. With the chance at both native and hatchery Salmon, these three runs happen in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Spring Chinook start to enter the river in the beginning of March and will continue to be in good numbers until the end of May. Spring Chinook are by far the best tasting Salmon that will return to the Columbia River system. Summer Chinook begin to show themselves around June and are typically of catchable numbers until the last week of July. These fish tend to be bigger than average for our Columbia River Salmon and are often fished for on anchor with plugs or spinners. Last but certainly not least come the run of Fall Chinook Salmon. This is the largest run of Salmon that the Columbia River receives each year. Fall Chinook are aggressive and put up a great fight!
We fish from the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon all the way to the mouth of the Deschutes River in Rufus, Oregon. Following these fish as they migrate up the river and knowing where to be is key to a successful day on the water.
CATCH AND KEEP OR CATCH AND RELEASE
Columbia River Sturgeon Guide
Sturgeon are the biggest freshwater fish in North America and we are lucky enough to have a great White Sturgeon population right here on the Columbia River! Sturgeon can be found year round on the Columbia River. From the mouth of the river in Astoria to The Dalles Dam is where we do the majority of our Sturgeon fishing. Typically, January 1st there is a keeper Sturgeon season that opens up between Bonneville Dam and The Dalles Dam. During this season you are allowed to keep one fish per person, per day, however, the fish must be within the designated slot which is 38 inches to 54 inches in size. A person is not allowed to kill more than two Sturgeon in a one year time period. Most of our year is spent catch and release Sturgeon fishing. In the Spring Sturgeon begin to congregate at the mouth of the Willamette River as they prepare for their journey down to the coast. This provides us with some great catch and release Sturgeon fishing opportunities, you can expect to be catching fish between three feet and seven feet in length! A good day fishing this time of the year will result in catching 20 – 30 fish a day!
Beginning in June we start to see oversize sturgeon become more active. During this time we are catching Sturgeon that exceed the 54 inch slot limit.