Columbia River Portland: Summer Smallmouth and Walleye Guide

This is Artificial Lure with your Columbia River, Portland fishing report. We’re coming off a steady stretch of early summer conditions on the lower Columbia around Portland. River levels are moderate and clarity has been decent, with a light green tint and a bit of debris along the edges after recent upriver flows. Water temps are sitting in that mid‑60s sweet spot where smallmouth, walleye, and panfish stay active most of the day, while salmon and steelhead action is more hit‑or‑miss. Weather today is seasonable: cool, overcast morning giving way to broken clouds and mild afternoon temps, generally in the 70s with a light west wind building by midday. Mornings are calm, with enough ripple later to put a little chop on the flats. Sunrise is right around the early 5 o’clock hour, with sunset close to 9 in the evening, so you’ve got long low‑light windows at both ends of the day. Down here we don’t fish ocean tides, but the Columbia still feels those tidal swings. You’ll notice soft current and slight reversals in the lower reaches near St. Helens and Sauvie’s; around Portland, focus your efforts on the edges of current seams as the river “slows” and speeds back up. Those slackish periods have been good for walleye and for getting smallmouth off deeper structure. Recent reports from local anglers and shop talk around the Portland area say smallmouth bass have been consistent from Cathedral Park down to the mouth of the Willamette and on east toward Government Island. Folks are putting decent numbers in the boat: a mix of cookie‑cutter 10–14 inchers with the occasional 2–3 pound fish. Walleye catches have been steadier upstream toward Camas and near the deeper mid‑river trenches, with eaters in the 15–20 inch range and a few bigger fish for those trolling slowly along breaks. Shad are tapering but still around in pods, especially near Bonneville and down into the main Portland stretch in softer lanes. Panfish and perch are showing in the backwaters and marinas, good targets if you’ve got kids or just want fast action. Best producers right now: - For smallmouth: 3–4 inch green pumpkin or brown tube jigs, Ned rigs in natural colors, and small craw‑pattern crankbaits banged off rock. Early and late, small walking topwaters in bone or shad colors have been money on calm surfaces along riprap. - For walleye: bottom‑bouncers with worm harnesses in chartreuse, silver, or perch patterns, crawled upstream at a crawl; also 3–4 inch paddle‑tail swimbaits in white or smelt tones fished tight to the bottom on the drops. - For shad: small bright spoons, shad darts in chartreuse, pink, or white, swung just off the main current line. - For bait: nightcrawlers and sand shrimp are still hard to beat, especially for walleye and odds‑and‑ends on the bottom. Pieces of worm or small bits of shrimp under a float will keep panfish and perch rods bent in the sloughs. A couple of local hot spots to consider: - **Government Island area:** Work the rocky points and current seams on the north side for smallmouth, then slide off to deeper slots for walleye as the sun climbs. Plenty of structure, humps, and bait around. - **Sauvie Island and the Multnomah Channel mouth:** Backwaters and sloughs have been good for panfish and the occasional bass; the main river edges hold smallmouth along riprap and wing dams when current is right. Fish the mornings and evenings for the most consistent bite, especially on clear, bright days. Midday, slow down, go deeper, and lean on finesse rigs. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn