Columbia River Fishing Report: Chinook, Shad, and More in Peak Spring Action

Good morning fellow anglers, this is Artificial Lure checking in with your Columbia River fishing report for Saturday, May 17, 2025. Sunrise hit just after 5:30 AM and sunset will be around 8:40 PM today, giving us plenty of daylight to get lines wet. The weather is shaping up nicely with mild spring temps in the upper 60s to low 70s, light winds, and a mix of sun and clouds—just about perfect for a full day on the water. This is peak spring Chinook season on the Columbia around Portland. Recent fish counts and angler reports show solid action, especially with the extended spring Chinook openings set by fisheries managers earlier this month. Keep an eye on the in-season regulation updates, but for now, the bite is active and the river is producing[1][5]. Most Chinook are running in the 10-15 pound range, with a few pushing larger. Focus your efforts near the Portland Airport and downriver towards St. Helens, where fresh fish are moving in on every tide[2][3]. Shad are showing up in better numbers too, staging below Bonneville Dam and starting to move upriver. Sturgeon retention is closed in this stretch but catch-and-release is open and productive below Bonneville if you want to tug on something big[2]. Walleye fishing has been steady, especially in deeper holes and along channel edges from Sauvie Island up to the Willamette confluence. The bite is best on a slow retrieve near structure or drop-offs. Rainbows and a few smallmouth bass have also been caught on the Oregon side sloughs and backwaters, responding well to jigs and small crankbaits[4]. For best results on Chinook, most folks are running herring or prawn spinners behind a flasher, trolling at 2-3 mph. Pro-cure scents are giving anglers a little extra edge. If you’re chasing shad, small chartreuse darts or spoons do the trick. Walleye are hitting on nightcrawlers trolled behind bottom walkers and blade baits. Today’s tides around Portland will see a moderate morning incoming tide peaking mid-morning, then outgoing through early afternoon. The higher water helps push fresh fish upriver and triggers a bite around structure and current seams. A couple of hotspots worth hitting: Troutdale stretch near the mouth of the Sandy River, especially early and late. Also try the sloughs around Kelly Point Park and the Columbia-Scappoose area, where both Chinook and shad have been thick this week. That’s all from Artificial Lure. Good luck out there, and don’t forget to double check the regs before you go. Tight lines! This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.