2026 Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon Season Set
February 19th, 2026 Update: From March 1st – April 8th, 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 similar to last year’s, we should have some nice fishing opportunities in multiple sections of the river again this year. That’s always good news. We’ll be chasing fresh spring chinook from Astoria all the way up to just below Bonneville Dam. This year the Columbia River will also be open from April 1st until April 26th and May 12th, from the Tower Power lines (just below The Dalles Dam) to the Oregon/Washington border. Bank fishing only will be allowed Bonneville Dam upstream to the Tower Power lines. Miles and miles of river with lots of opportunities. What a great way to spend a spring day! Catch limits are two adult adipose fin-clipped salmonids (Chinook or Steelhead) per day, only one of which may be a Chinook.
Once the lower Columbia River closes for Spring Chinook on April 8th, we’ll turn our focus to fishing on the Willamette River. The Portland area is the place to be for Springer fishing, whether the Columbia River is open or closed. We usually chase salmon through May, and sometimes even into June, on the Willamette. With this year’s forecast, we should have some good numbers of fish to chase.
Salmon Combination Fishing Trips
If you would like to guarantee a little more action in your day, we also offer combination Salmon and Sturgeon trips during the Portland Springer season. We typically start running these trips mid-March and continue through the spring until the sturgeon head to Astoria in late May/early June. The sturgeon are hungry after the winter and can put up some great fights. These trips offer the opportunity to catch salmon on the incoming tide, while keeping you busy battling sturgeon while the tide runs out. Yes, tides do affect us in the Portland area 🙂 Combination trips provide a memorable experience for anglers of all ages and abilities.
I’m looking forward to Spring weather and getting out on the water to chase the first salmon of 2026! Let us know if you have any questions or if you’d like to get a date reserved. I’m looking forward to chasing some Springers!