Late Fall Riches on the Columbia: Salmon, Coho, Walleye, and More

Artificial Lure here with your November 8 Columbia River fishing report for Portland and the surrounding stretch, delivered with a hot mug and a touch of local know-how. First up, the **tides are mellow today**. Vancouver’s showing a low tide at 3:44am at 0.4 feet, peaking high around 7:46am at 1.1 feet, followed by another low at 3:50pm just at 0.3 feet. Sunrise rolled out at 7:00 this morning, and sunset will slide in at 4:47pm, so you’re fishing mainly under a short and crisp sky—classic late fall conditions, ideal for some of our target species. This trend holds up and down the lower river and tributaries according to the Vancouver Columbia River tide chart. **Weather’s mild this morning—think low 40s and damp with some patchy fog.** We’re expecting highs in the low 50s by afternoon, a light east wind, and no serious rain until later in the weekend, which keeps the bite steady and river clarity relatively solid for this time of year. **Fish activity’s the talk of the ramp.** The end of the fall Chinook run is winding down, but folks are still picking up a few chrome bright late fish at the mouth of the Willamette and up at Government Island. Trollers are landing salmon in the predawn hours, especially on plug-cut herring or larger chartreuse spinners, but many boats are shifting focus to **coho**, still rolling up in pods and hitting Brad’s Wigglers in orange or silver, or twitching 3/8 oz marabou jigs in deeper eddies. Counts on coho remain decent, especially after any overnight rain nudges them upriver. **Walleye action in the Multnomah Channel and below the I-205 Bridge has been surprisingly reliable.** Jigging 1/2 oz lead-heads tipped with nightcrawler or slow trolling deep-diver plugs in 20-40 feet is putting beefy fish in the net. Bank anglers along Kelley Point and in the St. John’s area are getting into a mix of **burly sturgeon and late fall bass**; sturgeon are strictly catch and release, but they’re biting well on smelt or squid. For **steelhead**, the main river’s a challenge, but smaller Columbia tributaries are starting to see the first winter runs. The Sandy and Clackamas are early hotspots—go with bead presentations under a float or pink worm jigs until more rains hit. **Bait and lure picks:** For salmon, plug-cut herring is still king, followed by larger metallic spinners or Mag Lips in greens and chartreuse. For coho, switch to smaller spinners or twitch jigs at creek mouths. Walleye: try nightcrawler harnesses or deep-diving crankbaits in perch or firetiger patterns. For bass, smaller soft plastics or drop-shot rigs off rocky points will get you action all morning. **Hot spots?** Sauvie Island beaches near the railroad bridge are putting out coho and the occasional Chinook, especially with a gentle outgoing tide. The mouth of the Willamette at Cathedral Park and up to Swan Island’s slip is also seeing great mixed bag fishing for salmon, bass, and the usual surprises. And a shellfish note for the brackish reaches—acc This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.