Header Slide 1

Columbia River Fishing Guide

A know how of fishing information for the Columbia River. Where to stay, what to do and when to go fishing on the Columbia River. Plenty of Columbia River photos to help you know what to expect.

Final Countdown to Buoy 10 Fishing

Grandpa and granddaughters with Buoy 10 Salmon

It’s the final countdown to the Buoy 10 Salmon Season on the Columbia River, and we can’t wait to see what the 2023 season has in store for us. We’ve been looking forward to this popular fishery for months, and the time is finally here! The river opens for fall salmon fishing on Monday, August […]

Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon Season Set

A lady holding a nice spring chinook

2023 Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon Season Set The 2023 Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon season has officially been set. From March 1st – April 7th, the Columbia River will be open for Spring Chinook fishing from the Buoy 10 line in Astoria upstream to Beacon Rock. With the Cowlitz and Lewis River returns slightly […]

Columbia River Summer Chinook Opener Extended

Columbia River Summer Chinook Salmon on a Kwikfish lure

The Columbia River Compact just announced an extension of the Columbia River Summer Chinook opener that was slated to close today. Retention will be allowed through July 15th, giving us an additional week to chase summer salmon on the Columbia River. At that point, fishery managers will review numbers and add more fishing opportunities if […]

2020 Columbia River Buoy 10 Season Announced *Update*

four people with their limit on salmon on the dock at buoy 10

2020 Buoy 10 Salmon Season The 2020 Buoy 10 Salmon season has been set! The full text of the joint decision by ODFW and WDFW is online, but here’s the season in a nutshell… Fishing on the Columbia River in Astoria opens up on August 14th this year. We can fish for both Chinook Salmon […]

2020 Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon Season Set

Beautiful Spring Chinook Salmon caught on the Columbia River

Columbia River Spring Salmon The 2020 Columbia River Spring Chinook Season has been set. From March 1st – 31st, the Columbia River will be open for Spring Chinook fishing from Warrior Rock upstream to Beacon Rock. This gives us fishing opportunities for a nice stretch of river from just above the Cowlitz River to just […]

Columbia River- Salmon and Sturgeon Openers

Happy man holding a Columbia River sturgeon

Columbia Keeper Sturgeon ODFW and WDFW ‘s announcement today added 2 days for Sturgeon retention on the Columbia River, from the Wauna powerlines upstream to Bonneville Dam, including the Cowlitz River. The open dates are Saturday, October 19th, and Thursday, October 24th. Keeper size is 44-50 inches from nose to the fork in the tail, […]

Columbia River Fishing – Summer Fun!

Happy family with Columbia River Summer Steelhead

Our fishing focus of late has been on the Ocean Salmon staged off the mouth of the Columbia River. Ocean fishing, which opened June 22nd, has been good and will continue to improve as we head toward the Buoy 10 opener on August 1st.  That doesn’t mean we have to wait until August to fish […]

Columbia River Spring Salmon Season Set

a gorgeous spring salmon caught on the columbia river with guide, lance fisher

The commissions of Oregon and Washington got together today to decide on harvest for the upcoming Spring Chinook run on the Columbia River. A very decent run is projected as I blogged about back in December with 188,000 omega 3 packed, slime rockets destined for various tributaries on the Columbia River. Having fished professionally for many […]

2016 Columbia River Spring Chinook Forecast

A nice columbia river spring chinook being held by a happy fisherman.

I started getting data on the 2016 Columbia River Spring Chinook return a couple days ago and I know that it is only December, but just the suggestion of Spring Chinook gets the finer parts of my DNA hopping! My friend Al Thomas reported on this first in the Columbian and he’s done a nice job of […]

Columbia River bent rods never get old

A Columbia River Salmon about to have a net put under it with guide, lance fisher

We see lots of bent rods on the Columbia River throughout the year. This shot took place recently with a crew of clients that fish with me regularly from a Portland based corporation. I’m behind my 5d Mark iii camera sporting a 16-36L series Canon lens. When fishing is good, clients regularly net fish on […]