Columbia River Early June: Shad, Steelhead, and Walleye in Stable Conditions

This is Artificial Lure with your Columbia River Portland fishing report. We’re working a cool, stable early‑June pattern on the big river. Overnight temps dipped into the low 50s, climbing into the upper 60s to low 70s this afternoon with light northwest wind and just a slight breeze funneling up the gorge. Skies are mostly clear with some high clouds rolling through. Sunrise is right around 5:20 a.m., with sunset close to 9:00 p.m., so you’ve got a long, workable window of low‑light feeding time at both ends of the day. The Columbia here is more flow‑driven than tide‑driven, but you still feel the coastal push. Expect a softer, “slack‑ish” period mid‑morning and again late afternoon that makes it easier to keep gear down and in the zone. The river is running a little high and colored with snowmelt, but visibility has improved to a couple feet in many main‑stem edges and inside seams. Fish activity has been solid. Local reports from the Portland stretch down to St. Helens say steelhead and a few late spring Chinook are still trickling through, with most folks now pivoting to summer steelhead, shad, and warm‑water species. Bank anglers have been picking off shad in decent numbers on the Oregon side, and boaters are finding pods out in 15–25 feet on the edges of the main current. Walleye catches upriver of Portland have been good, especially on the Washington side along drop‑offs and rock breaks. Bass in the sloughs and backwaters are active around reeds, wood, and riprap when the sun gets up. For salmon and steelhead, think hardware with some thump and color. Spinners in size 3–5 with chartreuse, flame orange, or copper blades, as well as metallic pinks in the softer water, are getting bit. Small wobbling plugs in green‑chrome, clown, or classic chrome‑blue do well in that 8–15 foot travel lane off the main current. If you’re running bait, cured coon‑stripe shrimp and sand shrimp behind a small spin‑n‑glo are still a go‑to for steelhead in travel slots and behind points. Shad are almost a numbers game. Light gear, 1/16–1/8 ounce shad darts, tiny spoons, or crappie jigs in chartreuse, hot pink, or white will keep rods bent once you’re on them. Let your offerings swing in the current with just enough weight to tap bottom. For walleye, slow and close to bottom is the ticket. Bottom‑bouncers with nightcrawlers on spinner rigs in chartreuse, orange, or gold are producing, especially in 18–35 feet along breaks and current seams. Jigging soft plastics or hair jigs in muted perch, goby, or plain white also works when the fish are belly‑down on the structure. Bass in the sloughs and marinas are chewing soft plastics and reaction baits. Weightless stickbaits in green pumpkin, small swimbaits, and squarebill crankbaits banged off riprap are reliable. Early and late, topwater walkers and poppers over weed edges and along shade lines can turn up some quality fish. A couple of hot spots to keep in mind: - The mouth of the Willamette down through Cathedral Park and into the main Columbia current seams has been giving up mixed bags of shad, the odd steelhead, and some early‑season warm‑water fish tight to structure. - The stretch from Kelley Point down toward Sauvie Island and across to the Washington side has been a steady producer for shad and walleye, with subtle contour changes and rock edges worth probing carefully. Water’s still cold enough to demand respect. Wear a PFD, watch that afternoon wind chop, and give working boats plenty of room. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Columbia River report, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next one. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn