Columbia River Fishing Report: Hot Chinook Action, Stable Weather, Tidal Trends

Good morning, anglers—Artificial Lure here with your Friday, September 12th, Columbia River fishing report, straight from the Portland stretch and surrounding areas. Let’s start with the tides: today’s low is at 5:04 AM, bottoming out around 0.6 feet, then rising to a mid-morning high at 8:53 AM at 1.94 feet. The next low comes at 3:31 PM (0.27 ft), before one of the highest evening pushes we’ve seen in a while, 3.7 feet at 9:10 PM, according to tide-forecast.com. Tidal swing is tight to the times when fish start to bite, especially near structure and channel edges on the outgoing and first push of incoming waters. Sunrise is at 6:45 AM and sunset wraps things up at 7:26 PM. Weather’s stable with light wind and a classic early September sky—mornings start cool in the upper 50s but by midday we’re mid-70s and bluebird. That’s prime comfort for both anglers and salmon. Fishing has picked up with the fall run sliding into high gear. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife checked nearly a thousand boats out over the weekend from Bonneville down to Lord Island. This week, the hottest action is on Chinook, with solid numbers showing throughout the lower river. Buoy 10 lit up with over 600 Chinook and 630 coho kept, and Rocky Point up to Bonneville saw a pile of both species. In the Portland metro stretch—especially Vancouver, I-5, and Longview—most boat anglers who put in their time came away with at least a Chinook or two, and in Vancouver 97 boats checked in with 34 Chinook and a few bonus coho. Bank anglers are finding some success too. Bonneville, Woodland, and down toward Kalama have been especially productive early and late, with most keeping a Chinook, and some lucking into a chrome-bright coho. Hotspots right now are the mouth of the Lewis River—try just above or below the confluence, especially with that morning incoming tide—and the Portland Harbor stretch near Cathedral Park, which always seems to light up on that first evening push. Drano Lake is another top spot if you want to venture upriver, stacking with both Chinook and the first few steelhead. As for tackle, spinners in chartreuse, silver, and green remain top producers for coho and Chinook. Pro-troll flashers with a Brad’s Super Bait or cut-plug herring have been money for boaters, and eggs cured red, fished below a float or plunked off the bank, are pulling in both main-stem and tributary fish. Early morning or that last hour before dark are your best windows—clearer water always helps throwing natural or subtle colors. Sturgeon is all catch and release below Bonneville; no recent effort noted and most folks aren’t targeting them with the current salmon run in full swing. Walleye and shad get a pass this week—there’s no news of real effort or success on either front. Quick reminder for all: keep an eye on reg updates and fish advisories, especially related to mercury and PCBs—they’re posted on the ODFW site for your safety. Also, this is a busy time on the boat ramps, so be This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.