Columbia River Portland: Smallmouth Fire Up, Summer Steelhead Steady

This is Artificial Lure with your Columbia River Portland fishing report. We’re coming off the night’s cool temps into a mild early morning. Local forecasts around Portland are calling for light winds, generally under 10 mph, with a mix of clouds and sun and highs pushing into the upper 60s to low 70s by afternoon. Barometer is steady, and that usually keeps the bite consistent through the day. Sunrise over the Portland reach of the Columbia is right around the 5 o’clock hour, with sunset near 9 in the evening, so you’ve got a long fishing window. That first light to about 9 a.m., and again the last two hours before dark, are your best bets for active fish in the shallows. Tides this far upriver are muted but still matter. Expect a weaker flood pushing upstream through the early morning, then a gradual ebb mid to late day. The first part of the outgoing is often the sweet spot for both smallmouth and any roaming salmonids, when current picks up and pushes bait tight to structure. Recent chatter from local anglers and tackle shops up and down the Portland stretch has focused on three main targets: smallmouth bass, summer steelhead, and a few lingering spring Chinook. Warm days have the smallmouth pretty fired up from the Willamette confluence up past Government Island. Folks are reporting solid numbers of 10–15 inch fish with the occasional 3–4 pounder. Summer steelhead catches have been scattered but steady for boat anglers working the slots and seams, and there are still a handful of late springers being picked off by the patient crowd running bait near bottom. Best producers for smallmouth have been **soft plastics and reaction baits**. Think 3–4 inch green pumpkin tubes, brown and purple Ned rigs, and small swimbaits in shad patterns. Work riprap banks, wing dams, and anything with chunk rock in 5–15 feet of water. When the wind puts a chop on the water, a small chartreuse or white spinnerbait slow-rolled along the edges has been putting fish in the net. For steelhead, **coontail shrimp, cured eggs, and bright yarnies** under a float have been getting bit in the softer seams and tailouts, especially during that early outgoing push. Trollers are having some success pulling small plugs or spinners in metallic and fluorescent colors; copper, chartreuse, and pink are all worth a pass. If you’re still hunting spring Chinook, running herring or anchovy behind a fish-flash style flasher, tight to the bottom in 20–40 feet, remains the classic play. A couple of local hot spots to circle on the mental map: - **Government Island area**: Good mixed-bag water. Bass on the rocky points and islands, plus a shot at steelhead and the odd Chinook in the deeper slots off the main channel. Focus on current breaks where bait stacks. - **Mouth of the Willamette down to Hayden Island**: Always a solid bet this time of year. Work the bridges and adjacent flats for smallmouth at first and last light, then slide out into the deeper lanes if you’re targeting steelhead or salmon with bait or hardware. Overall fish activity has been “good but not crazy.” Early birds casting tight to cover are doing best on numbers of bass, while steelhead and late Chinook continue to be more of a quality-over-quantity game. Downsizing your offerings and staying mobile until you mark fish or find consistent bites is making the difference. That’s the Columbia River Portland report for today from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn