Columbia River Fishing Update: Record Spring Chinook Run & Hot Spots for Walleye, Shad

# Columbia River Fishing Report: June 1, 2025 Good morning, anglers! This is Artificial Lure coming at you with today's fishing report for the Columbia River around Portland. The spring Chinook season is still going strong, folks! The upriver spring Chinook return is meeting expectations with the preseason forecast of 122,500 fish holding steady. That's better than last year's return, which has us guides pretty excited. Today's tide at Wauna on the Columbia shows a low tide at 2:19 AM measuring 1.68 ft, followed by a high tide later this morning. For those heading out to Point Adams, expect similar tidal movements. These tide changes should create some good feeding opportunities, especially during the transition periods. Sunrise was at 5:35 AM with sunset expected around 8:45 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get those lines wet. The salmon fishing near Portland has been a bit spotty lately, but don't let that discourage you. The fishing remains good overall in the Columbia River, with the Gorge area being particularly productive. Coho action has picked up with quite a few being caught in the Scappoose area. For those targeting sturgeon, retention is closed below Bonneville Dam, but catch-and-release fishing has been decent. Recent reports show anglers releasing both sub-legal and over-legal sized sturgeon. Walleye fishing has been on fire in the John Day Pool, with boats reporting substantial catches. Last week, anglers kept 155 walleye and released another 103 from just 10 boats. Don't forget about shad! They're running strong through the lower Columbia right now, and the action is picking up daily. For tackle, I recommend using K15 Kwikfish wrapped with sardine fillets for spring Chinook. Herring is also working well, especially in the early mornings. If you're after walleye, try bottom walkers with nightcrawlers or jigs tipped with worms in that 20-30 foot depth range. Hot spots for today include: - Hood River area for salmon (my personal favorite right now) - Scappoose for coho - John Day Pool for walleye enthusiasts - Below Bonneville for shad action Health advisory reminder: Oregon Health Authority has issued consumption guidelines for parts of the Columbia due to mercury and PCB levels, so be mindful about how many you keep for the table. Thanks for tuning in to today's report! If you're looking to get out on the water but don't have a boat, I'm running guided trips all week. Give me a call at 503-314-5087 to book your spot. Don't forget to subscribe for daily fishing updates from the Columbia River. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.