Columbia River Fishing Report: Autumn Abundance on the Waterways

Artificial Lure here with your Columbia River fishing report for Portland and surrounds, Friday, September 26th, 2025. It’s prime fall fishing, and here’s what’s happening riverside. Sunrise came at 7:19 AM and sunset will be right around 7:20 PM. The tide for Portland shows a high at 5:42 AM and a low at 3:28 PM, so plan those riverbank sessions to hit the transitions, especially close to the high tide—the bite always perks up with the movement. The early fall weather is classic Pacific NW: mornings cool, afternoons mild, with cloud cover likely and light winds. Layer up, and keep that rain shell handy—Columbia fog can move in quick this time of year. Fish are on the move. ODFW’s latest reports show boats finding steady action from Bonneville Pool all the way up to John Day Pool. This last week, Bonneville Pool saw 185 **Chinook**, 26 **jack Chinook**, and six **coho** kept, with even more released by 99 boats (285 anglers). Dalles Pool was hot—203 Chinook and six coho kept, plus steelhead starting to show. John Day Pool was quieter for salmon, but walleye fishing up there is excellent—over 60 walleye kept and 27 released by just 10 boats. Around Rainier and Puget Island, things were slower for boats and bank anglers, with only a handful of Chinook and coho landed. Down at Buoy 10 and Tongue Point, stats show a lull, but don’t let that fool you—tides will turn, and fish are stacking up mid-river. The Columbia remains closed to sturgeon retention all the way up, but catch-and-release for legal-sized sturgeon continues below Bonneville, with 18 fish released by five anglers last week. For tackle: Chinook and coho are biting best on **spinner rigs**, 360 flashers paired with natural bait (herring or anchovy), and Mag Lip plugs. Flashy colors—red, chartreuse, or rainbow—have been favorites. Coho, when they show up, hammer spinners and spoons worked midwater. Bank anglers are sticking to natural cured eggs under bobbers, especially at higher tides. Walleye chasers are trolling deep with worm harnesses and bottom bouncer rigs, gold and perch-color blades have been productive. Soft plastics in green and motor oil work for jigging tight to structure. Steelhead are coming, and for those, folks are drifting pink Corkies, small shrimp, or marabou jigs, especially above the dams in tailouts and slow seams. Hot spots around Portland right now: • **Bonneville Pool (below the dam)**: Steady Chinook bite, lots of boat action. • **The Dalles Pool**: Consistent salmon and the best walleye numbers, especially near the east end. • **Sauvie Island beaches**: Good bank access, steady Chinook shot especially first light. • **Willamette mouth**: Worth a look for migrating coho and late steelhead in the confluence drift. Regulations have changed for fall management season, so double check retention and slot limits before heading out—ODFW posts daily updates. And Oregon Health Authority still advises caution when eating fish from parts of the Columbia due to This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.