2026 Columbia River Salmon Fishing Forecast – Spring and Summer
December 8th, 2025: In the first of many forecasts to come over the next couple months, the 2026 Columbia River Spring and Summer Salmon preseason forecast has been released. The preliminary numbers for the 2026 Columbia River Spring Chinook run are looking better than the 2025 forecast, bumping up to around 222,000 fish expected. Most of that is due to an increase in the Snake river numbers, which is a good thing. All of those fish have to make it through miles of Columbia River before reaching their spawning grounds. The 2026 Summer Chinook numbers are expected to be higher than last year’s returns. Columbia River summer Sockeye forecast is about 275,000 fish, which is an increase over the 2025 actual return. We’ll stay hopeful for that fishery. It’s still super early and this is our first glimpse of the preseason forecast for 2026. We’ll continue to keep you updated as more information is released. Stay tuned…
Columbia River Spring Chinook
Fishing for Spring Chinook starts to heat up in the Portland area the last week of March and the lower Columbia River typically remains open for chinook retention through the first week of April. Of course we will move right into the Willamette, Lewis, and Cowlitz Rivers once the Columbia is closed for retention, and keep on fishing for springers.
Columbia River Summer Salmon
Summer Salmon retention on the Columbia River usually has a short season that occurs in June/July. With the decreased number of fish in the forecast, we’ll have to wait to see what happens in terms of a season. We launch on both the Oregon and Washington sides of the river, depending on which provides the best fishing opportunity. The summer months can also offer some fun combination trips, when steelhead retention overlaps salmon retention. If you want to wrangle some big fish, catch and release sturgeon fishing can be added into your trip, when conditions allow, providing an action-packed day with the opportunity to keep your salmon catch.
I’ll update this post as seasons are set. It looks like we’re going to have some nice salmon fishing opportunities for the 2025 Columbia River Salmon Season.
Customers are already calling to get their 2026 dates on the calendar. If you’d like to get on the books early, feel free to call or reach out. We’re always happy to help, including answering whatever questions you may have.