Columbia River Fishing Report: Sturgeon, Walleye, and Mixed Bag on the Rise

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Columbia River report around Portland. According to NOAA’s Portland and Vancouver tide stations, we’re on small inside tides today: low just before dawn and a modest high mid‑morning, with another soft ebb pushing through mid‑afternoon. That means slower current in the harbor and around the islands, with the best bite typically bracketing those turns. Sunrise is right around 7:15, sunset just after 4:30, so your prime windows are first light through mid‑morning and that 2–dark evening push. National Weather Service Portland is calling for another wet, mild day: steady rain, south to southwest wind 10–20 with higher gusts, and unseasonably warm temps in the upper 40s to low 50s. There’s an areawide flood watch out, and rivers are on the rise. Flows on the mainstem Columbia are climbing and visibility is dropping into that 2–3 foot green‑brown, which can actually help the winter bite if you slow down and fish big profiles. The Guide’s Forecast notes that salmon and summer steelhead on the big river are effectively wrapped up and effort has shifted to crab and early winter steelhead down low. Up here in the Portland reach, the scene is classic shoulder‑season: light pressure, a few diehards working for catch‑and‑release sturgeon and the very first winter steelhead nosing around the lower tributary mouths. Recent action: - **Sturgeon:** Anglers working the Portland Harbor and down toward Warrior Rock reported steady sub‑legal action with a sprinkling of keeper‑sized fish on sand shrimp, smelt, and herring. Soft edges 30–60 feet deep near channel breaks have been the ticket when the current lays back. - **Walleye:** A handful of boats between Kelley Point and downriver toward St. Helens have been quietly picking off fish on jig‑and‑crawler rigs and deep diving cranks when the wind will let them hold line. - **Trout/rough fish:** Bank anglers around Sauvie and Vancouver have found the usual mix of pikeminnow, perch, and the odd trout on nightcrawlers under a slider rig when the water clears just a touch between showers. Best offerings today: - For **sturgeon**, run fresh sand shrimp, smelt, or herring chunks on a sliding rig with a 10–16 oz pyramid, 18–24" leader, and 7/0–9/0 circle. With color in the river, big scent wins—refresh baits often. - For **walleye**, think low and slow: 3/8–1/2 oz jigs tipped with nightcrawler in chartreuse, glow, or motor oil; or deep‑diving cranks in perch, firetiger, and gold/black, ticking bottom off the edge of the shipping lane. - For **bank mixed bag**, simple is king: nightcrawlers, sand shrimp, or cured coon‑stripe under just enough weight to hold. Couple of local hot spots to consider: - **Portland Harbor / Swan Island to St. Johns Bridge:** Classic winter sturgeon drift. Work the soft inside bends and depressions off the main channel; when the tide slacks, slide shallower. - **Kelley Point / Mouth of the Willamette:** Good intersection water for both sturgeon This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.