If you are looking for that Salmon trip with serene beauty, abundance of wild life and the opportunity to hook up on a Big Chinook Salmon that is going to bend your rod so hard you think it is going to explode as the line is peeling off your reel, we have that trip for you. The Pacific NW offers World class Salmon fishing from March through December on the Columbia River, the tributaries that feed it and Oregon’s Coastal Rivers and Bays. Chinook (Kings) are the toughest and largest salmon of all Salmon species. Our run sizes are in the hundreds of thousands that migrate into the rivers and bays each season depending on the time of year. Our Salmon trips are one of our most popular fishing trips that we offer to our customers. We cover a large area in NW Oregon and SW Washington to assure you that trip of a lifetime. We chase the fish, we don’t wait for them to come to us!
Our Salmon trips that we offer are from March- November on the beautiful Columbia River in the national Scenic area down river to the estuary at the mouth along with the coastal rivers and bays. Depending on the time of year depends on which section of the river we will be fishing that particular day. The New Year will kick off with our most popular season in the spring which we call “Springer’s”. These fish are the prized fish of the Pacific NW due to they migrate in from the Ocean early in their life and they will not spawn until September even though they migrate in during March-May. Springers are rich in flavor and oil with tons of Omega 3’s due to all the fat they have on them. They will burn this fat off while holding in the spawning grounds for months waiting for their eggs to come to full mature size so they can spawn. There is 150-200,000 Springer’s that will migrate up the Columbia River starting in late February through May. The fishing can be much tougher due to pour river conditions. It all depends on what Mother Nature has to throw at us in the early spring. This is our rainy season along rising rivers from the snow melt that starts to fill the smaller tributaries that feed into the Columbia River. However, Late March through the middle of May is the best time to target these tasty prized fish and once you catch one to take home to the grill, you will be chasing Springer’s forever! Spring Chinook will run 10-20 pounds in size while their cousins the Summer Chinooks and Fall Chinooks run larger ranging from 15-40 pounds if not larger depending on the area. Techniques we use to catch Springer’s are anchor fishing with lures at times or trolling Herring. River flows usually depends on the technique that we use.
In June we have a 2 week summer Chinook season that offers great fishing in the sunshine which is always a treat. Some years the season may open earlier depending on the forecast for the run size and may stay open through July which is a bonus. On average 70-100,000 summer chinooks will migrate up the river each season. We target these fish East of Portland Oregon 30 miles on the Columbia River below Bonneville dam. These fish are larger than the Springer’s and are great eating fish since they have only been in the river for just a few days out of the Ocean. We anchor fish for them using plugs wrapped with Sardine or Tuna to enhance our chances of getting you hooked up.
The fall run is very popular due to the run size and time of year. In the July, we will start fishing in the Ocean until the fish start making their way into the mouth of the Columbia on the big flood tides. The area at the mouth of the Columbia River is called “The Buoy 10 fishery” due to the number “10” river Buoy that is the boundary line from the river and the ocean. This area will run from the Ocean upstream 20 miles and depending on the tide depends on which section of river we fish. This fishery is very popular and we get booked out on this trip a year in advance with a few dates that open up from time to time. Over 800,000 Chinook salmon and several thousand Silver (Coho) salmon will enter the Columbia River in just over a month which increases your chance for success. We troll in this area with fresh herring, Anchovies and spinners. You will be fishing from our 26’ Boulton Off shore boat that we keep moored at the West mooring basin in Astoria Oregon for your convenience. During the peak season the town will be full of anglers, no motels or lodging available (book in advance) and the boat ramps will be plugged from 4-8 am while everyone is racing to get out on the river. During this time is where our mooring slip pays off big for our customers. All of your catch will be cleaned at the end of the trip on the boat. Vacuum packing and freezing is available for additional charge. We offer different packages to fit your needs that can include lunches, one day fishing licenses ( which we have available on the boat) vacuum packing, freezing and shipping cooler for traveling or shipping Via FedEx.
Our Silver salmon season is from July in the Ocean through November up in the rivers near the spawning grounds. There is an early and late run of Silvers in the fall. The early run starts in July out in the ocean and they will start to enter the Columbia in August during the Buoy 10 season. The second run will enter the Columbia River in October and November. During this time of year we target these fish in the tributaries as they migrate upstream to their spawning grounds. These fish range from 6-15 pounds and are full of fight along with being very acrobatic. We offer Traditional Gear and Fly fishing trips for Silvers in the smaller rivers from our 24’ Alumaweld jet sled or our 18’ Clackacraft drift boat.
The type of gear we use depends on the area we are fishing. Ocean, bays and lower Columbia River we troll for Salmon. Once we move up River into the smaller tributaries, back trolling plugs, back bouncing roe and Bobber fishing with roe is the preferred choice for catching these fish. We offer Jet sled and Drift boat trips for spring and Fall Salmon. On our trips you will meet us at our boat slip or the boat ramp which driving directions will be provided. Rain Gear and water proof boots are a essential on our salmon trips.
