Columbia River Fishing Report: Coho, Walleye, and Autumn Chills

Artificial Lure with the Columbia River fishing report for Portland, Tuesday, November 18, 2025. Today kicked off with a crisp November chill—sunrise at 7:21am and sunset coming up quick at 4:39pm, bringing only about 9 hours of good daylight to wet a line, so keep that in mind for your evening sessions. According to Tides.net, Astoria’s tide swings are pronounced: low at 5:38am, a peak high at 11:32am (8.7 feet), then dropping out for an evening low at 6:36pm just below zero; these numbers are mirrored upriver near Portland and Vancouver, so time your casting for that late morning push with the incoming tide for best action. Tillamook County Pioneer’s weather update shows we’re deep in the rainy season but slipped into a cooler, drier patch briefly today—highs cap out near 53 degrees, overnight lows dip close to 38. Expect a mix of patchy fog early and clouds rolling in later, winds gentle out of the east at 5-10mph. Dry spells in the morning are your best bet before rain returns tonight, so early birds should make the most of it. Fish activity in the Columbia remains solid for late fall. Lower river catches have been dominated by coho salmon with some lingering chinook still being hooked, especially around Sauvie Island and Government Island; local anglers reported several nice limits over the weekend, and pound nets set downstream have supported a steady harvest, marking a big change in river management after more than 75 years according to the Chinook Observer. Fresh coho are still chrome-bright, though if you’re chasing steelhead and resident rainbows, focus on deeper seams as water temperatures continue to drop. Bass anglers are switching gears for winter, but smallmouth remain active around rocky ledges—particularly near the mouth of the Willamette and further east at Frenchmen’s Bar and Kelley Point Park. Walleye continue to bite in slow-moving stretches above the I-5 Bridge; try trolling along the Multnomah Channel, where recent catches have weighed in at 2 to 6 pounds per fish. Your best lures today are going to be brighter patterns under the overcast—chartreuse and silver spoons for coho, flame-orange Mag Lips and Wiggle Warts for chinook, and soft plastics for walleye and bass. For bait, fresh sand shrimp and cured salmon eggs were the ticket this week for salmon, while worm-tipped jigs are consistently productive for walleye. For sturgeon, which are strictly catch-and-release but always a thrill, herring chunks and squid remain top performers near the St. Johns Bridge. As for hot spots, here are two local favorites: - Government Island: Great mixed-bag action for salmon, sturgeon, and some surprise smallmouth. Anchor up near the drop-offs during the morning high tide. - Multnomah Channel (from Scappoose Bay to the confluence): Walleye and bass are hungrily prowling, with quieter traffic during weekdays for those seeking solitude. Crabbing and shrimping action reports have picked up at the river entrance for those heading west, This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.