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Columbia River Fishing Report: Coho, Steelhead, Walleye Bites Amid Stormy Conditions
Published 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Good morning, Columbia River anglers—it’s Artificial Lure checking in for your November 7, 2025, fishing report.
Clouds dominate the Portland skies today, with rain in the forecast through mid-morning and scattered showers expected throughout the afternoon. Temps will hover between 49 and 56 degrees, with SW winds 10-15 mph. Sunrise was at 6:56 a.m. and sunset will be 4:41 p.m. River levels remain high and off-color from recent storms, so visibility could be a challenge for both boat and bank fishers.
The tides near Kelley Point—where the Willamette meets the Columbia—see a low right after sunrise, with a rising tide pushing in through midday. If you’re working estuary structure or slough edges, that incoming tide is usually the bite trigger, while the slack just before high tide often produces big grabs. According to NOAA tide predictions for Wauna and Kelley Point, expect tide change spikes late morning and again in the early evening—prime slots for targeting actively feeding fish.
Fish activity in the Columbia and its lower tributaries is a bit hit-and-miss. The Guide’s Forecast reports that mainstem Columbia above West Puget Island is closed for all salmon, but tributaries are seeing hatchery coho and some dark Chinook. Most recent checks (from ODFW’s zone report last weekend) show hatchery coho moving up Big Creek, Gnat Creek, and Klaskanine, with a handful of fish still in decent shape. Bank anglers have been swinging spinners and twitching jigs for limits on good days, though most coho now are starting to color up.
Steelhead action is improving around the lower Columbia tribs, particularly early mornings. The North Fork Nehalem and the Trask saw solid pushes of hatchery coho before the last high-water event, and more rain could bring another batch in. Sturgeon remains catch-and-release only—ODFW checked several boats releasing a mix of sub-legal, legal, and oversize fish in the Bonneville and The Dalles Pools.
Downriver, walleye are biting in the John Day Pool and The Dalles, with one report showing a boat of six anglers boating 18 keepers in a day—blade baits and worm harnesses are reliable patterns. Trout holdovers are still found in local lakes, and a few folks are picking them up with PowerBait and small spoons.
Best lures for the day are classic Columbia standards:
- For coho, go with **chartreuse or orange #3 Vibrax spinners, twitching pink/silver jigs,** and **small Brad’s Wigglers** trolled below the surface.
- Steelhead favor **red or orange Corkies tipped with shrimp**, or **natural drift beads** if the water’s off-color.
- Walleye are hitting **silver blade baits** and **nightcrawler harnesses**.
For bait, **prawns, sand shrimp, and eggs** are best if you’re plunking or drifting in deeper holding runs. At higher water, scent is key—add a little extra anise oil or garlic to your eggs to punch through the muddy flow.
Hot spots this week:
- **Sauvie Island’s Multnomah Channel**—look for coho staging near railroad bridges and main river confluences.
- **Kelley Point Sloughs**—active on the tide change for bank steelhead and occasional late coho.
- **Warrior Rock area upstream**—if river conditions allow, this is the stretch for sturgeon catch-and-release and solid walleye action off ledge drop-offs.
Activity is patchy, but the bite windows are tight—watch the tide chart, focus your casts on rising water, and don’t be afraid to run brighter patterns due to low visibility.
Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Columbia River report—remember to subscribe for the freshest info. 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
Clouds dominate the Portland skies today, with rain in the forecast through mid-morning and scattered showers expected throughout the afternoon. Temps will hover between 49 and 56 degrees, with SW winds 10-15 mph. Sunrise was at 6:56 a.m. and sunset will be 4:41 p.m. River levels remain high and off-color from recent storms, so visibility could be a challenge for both boat and bank fishers.
The tides near Kelley Point—where the Willamette meets the Columbia—see a low right after sunrise, with a rising tide pushing in through midday. If you’re working estuary structure or slough edges, that incoming tide is usually the bite trigger, while the slack just before high tide often produces big grabs. According to NOAA tide predictions for Wauna and Kelley Point, expect tide change spikes late morning and again in the early evening—prime slots for targeting actively feeding fish.
Fish activity in the Columbia and its lower tributaries is a bit hit-and-miss. The Guide’s Forecast reports that mainstem Columbia above West Puget Island is closed for all salmon, but tributaries are seeing hatchery coho and some dark Chinook. Most recent checks (from ODFW’s zone report last weekend) show hatchery coho moving up Big Creek, Gnat Creek, and Klaskanine, with a handful of fish still in decent shape. Bank anglers have been swinging spinners and twitching jigs for limits on good days, though most coho now are starting to color up.
Steelhead action is improving around the lower Columbia tribs, particularly early mornings. The North Fork Nehalem and the Trask saw solid pushes of hatchery coho before the last high-water event, and more rain could bring another batch in. Sturgeon remains catch-and-release only—ODFW checked several boats releasing a mix of sub-legal, legal, and oversize fish in the Bonneville and The Dalles Pools.
Downriver, walleye are biting in the John Day Pool and The Dalles, with one report showing a boat of six anglers boating 18 keepers in a day—blade baits and worm harnesses are reliable patterns. Trout holdovers are still found in local lakes, and a few folks are picking them up with PowerBait and small spoons.
Best lures for the day are classic Columbia standards:
- For coho, go with **chartreuse or orange #3 Vibrax spinners, twitching pink/silver jigs,** and **small Brad’s Wigglers** trolled below the surface.
- Steelhead favor **red or orange Corkies tipped with shrimp**, or **natural drift beads** if the water’s off-color.
- Walleye are hitting **silver blade baits** and **nightcrawler harnesses**.
For bait, **prawns, sand shrimp, and eggs** are best if you’re plunking or drifting in deeper holding runs. At higher water, scent is key—add a little extra anise oil or garlic to your eggs to punch through the muddy flow.
Hot spots this week:
- **Sauvie Island’s Multnomah Channel**—look for coho staging near railroad bridges and main river confluences.
- **Kelley Point Sloughs**—active on the tide change for bank steelhead and occasional late coho.
- **Warrior Rock area upstream**—if river conditions allow, this is the stretch for sturgeon catch-and-release and solid walleye action off ledge drop-offs.
Activity is patchy, but the bite windows are tight—watch the tide chart, focus your casts on rising water, and don’t be afraid to run brighter patterns due to low visibility.
Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Columbia River report—remember to subscribe for the freshest info. 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