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Columbia River Fishing Report: Fall Chinook, Coho, and Walleye Action on the Rise
Published 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your Columbia River fishing report for October 4th, 2025. Today, the weather’s classic Portland fall: cloudy, passing showers expected on and off, with northwest winds building up to 10 knots by afternoon. Air temps will ride in the mid-50s to low 60s, perfect for a jacket and a thermos of hot coffee on the bank. According to the National Weather Service, we’ve got seas subsiding a bit this morning, generally 4 to 6 feet, so boaters on the main river channel should still use caution and watch those forecasts.
The Columbia saw high tide early at about 7:05 AM this morning and low water slumping around 10:07 AM, so fishers working the tide swings will want to line up accordingly. Best fishing windows should run a couple hours after that AM high tide and then again on the afternoon slack as we approach the 2:59 PM high. Sunrise was right around 7:23 AM, with sunset coming quick at 7:11 PM, so bring a headlamp if you plan to fish out the evening bite. Tide info comes straight from Tide-Forecast.
Fishing’s been steady. Fall Chinook are still trickling in, though the main surge has passed. There are some big ones being hauled in, especially around the mouth of the Willamette and up near Sauvie Island. Early coho are active—bright fish caught off the beaches and back channels this week. Most folks swinging spinners in chartreuse and silver or blue tipped Wiggle Warts are finding coho, especially when they dial their speed with the current. According to the Columbia River, Portland Daily Fishing Report, walleye are chomping hard in the Bonneville stretch and near the I-205 Bridge. Jigs tipped with a nightcrawler or plastics in firetiger or watermelon have been the top producers there.
As for sturgeon, retention stays closed, but catch-and-release has been productive near the confluence with the Willamette. Pilings and deeper holes are holding numbers, especially with a chunk of shad or squid on the bottom.
Bait talk: For salmon, plug cut herring and anchovy are both pulling fish, but don’t overlook Super Baits or Mag Lips in metallic colors, especially on those overcast afternoons. For walleye, stick to nightcrawlers trolled slow or blade baits bounced along channel edges. Bank anglers doing best have been using cured salmon eggs under a float or tossing spoons at first light.
For hot spots, check out Kelly Point Park—salmon and coho moving tight to shore with the tides, and an easy walk for shore anglers. Up river, Caterpillar Island flats are loaded with walleye right now after this week's soft rain bumped flows a bit. And don’t sleep on the old railroad bridge pilings just east of the I-5 bridge—known to hold a mixed bag this time of year, plus decent sturgeon action on the edge.
That wraps today’s report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for tomorrow’s update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
The Columbia saw high tide early at about 7:05 AM this morning and low water slumping around 10:07 AM, so fishers working the tide swings will want to line up accordingly. Best fishing windows should run a couple hours after that AM high tide and then again on the afternoon slack as we approach the 2:59 PM high. Sunrise was right around 7:23 AM, with sunset coming quick at 7:11 PM, so bring a headlamp if you plan to fish out the evening bite. Tide info comes straight from Tide-Forecast.
Fishing’s been steady. Fall Chinook are still trickling in, though the main surge has passed. There are some big ones being hauled in, especially around the mouth of the Willamette and up near Sauvie Island. Early coho are active—bright fish caught off the beaches and back channels this week. Most folks swinging spinners in chartreuse and silver or blue tipped Wiggle Warts are finding coho, especially when they dial their speed with the current. According to the Columbia River, Portland Daily Fishing Report, walleye are chomping hard in the Bonneville stretch and near the I-205 Bridge. Jigs tipped with a nightcrawler or plastics in firetiger or watermelon have been the top producers there.
As for sturgeon, retention stays closed, but catch-and-release has been productive near the confluence with the Willamette. Pilings and deeper holes are holding numbers, especially with a chunk of shad or squid on the bottom.
Bait talk: For salmon, plug cut herring and anchovy are both pulling fish, but don’t overlook Super Baits or Mag Lips in metallic colors, especially on those overcast afternoons. For walleye, stick to nightcrawlers trolled slow or blade baits bounced along channel edges. Bank anglers doing best have been using cured salmon eggs under a float or tossing spoons at first light.
For hot spots, check out Kelly Point Park—salmon and coho moving tight to shore with the tides, and an easy walk for shore anglers. Up river, Caterpillar Island flats are loaded with walleye right now after this week's soft rain bumped flows a bit. And don’t sleep on the old railroad bridge pilings just east of the I-5 bridge—known to hold a mixed bag this time of year, plus decent sturgeon action on the edge.
That wraps today’s report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for tomorrow’s update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.