Astoria Ocean Salmon Fishing: A Promising Outlook

The anticipation is growing for the Astoria, Buoy 10 Salmon season! But here at Lance Fisher Fishing, we have already been running charters and guided fishing trips for those same salmon that will show up in Astoria a couple weeks from now.  The ocean season in the Astoria area opened the 23rd of June and when the ocean cooperates, results have been good for salmon off of the Columbia River mouth for both coho and Chinook.

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Astoria Ocean Chinook

While the ocean Chinook salmon season opened with a bang and common limits, it quickly slowed down, leading most anglers to target coho salmon.  This is very common for this time of year. There is always a gap between the summer and fall Chinook holding off of the Columbia River. That gap came early this year, but there have just been good reports from further north that big numbers of Chinook are migrating down; no doubt a big chunk are headed for the Columbia River. When the ocean calms back down, I predict those fish will start to show up and the ocean Chinook salmon fishing will be on a steady incline!

Astoria Ocean Coho

With a modest number of coho predicted to return to the Columbia River this year, anglers have been pleasantly surprised at the opportunity coho have been providing in the ocean off of the Columbia River so far this season.  We have been finding success with most days, having double-digit opportunities with some days having 20 plus chances. These fish are great table fare and extremely aggressive. They are trying to eat as much as possible to gain weight before they start to poke their heads into the river.  This makes targeting them very effective in the ocean. Usually the coho run small this early in the season, but this year we have been pleasantly surprised by the number of fish in the 8-10 pound range already. Not only is this great for fishing now, but it should also mean there will be some great fishing opportunities for large coho during the Buoy 10 season.

With the ocean too rough to fish right now, we have been targeting a lot of our effort around Sturgeon in the Astoria area. Fishing has been excellent, but we are excited to get back out and chase salmon soon. When the ocean calms down, there should be ample opportunity for anglers to find some fresh dime-bright salmon.  We will be running these trips through July 31st, as well as combo salmon and catch-and-release sturgeon trips.  

For questions or booking information, feel free to contact us! We can even guide you in the right direction with places to stay, things to do, and places to eat during your visit!