Columbia River Steelhead Report - January 4th

Hey folks, Artificial Lure here with your Columbia River fishing report for this crisp January 4th morning around Portland. Sunrise hit at 7:50 AM, sunset's around 4:45 PM—short days, but the bite's worth it. Tides today per NOAA at Vancouver on the Columbia: low at 2:20 AM (0.57 ft), high 6:41 AM (2.3 ft), then dropping through the day. Fish the outgoing for best drifts. Weather's cool and clearing after recent rains—rivers dropping fast, mid-40s daytime, light winds. Perfect for winter steelhead. Action's heating up, per The Guide's Forecast latest from Bob Rees. Over 700 steelhead crossed Willamette Falls already, wild winters migrating strong—better than last year. Meldrum Bar plunkers nabbed some post-rain, but spotty now with clear water. Clackamas has fish, early season; Santiam forks trickling in steelies as flows hit fishable below 3,000 cfs soon. Coho done spawning, but bright steelhead and a few chromers showing. Catches: fair numbers of hatchery and wild winter steelhead, some dandies to 36 inches. Whitefish biting upper tribs, trout on McKenzie in winter mode. Best lures: drifts with yarn/spawn bags, jigs, or spoons like Gibbs or Brad's. Flies for McKenzie—brown sculpin, blue wing olives. Artificials only on many spots till spring—no bait. Hot spots: Meldrum Bar for bank plunking, Clackamas below Carver for drifts. Try Willamette trib mouths too. Bundle up, check regs, tight lines! Thanks for tuning in—subscribe for more! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.