09 January 2026
Columbia River Winter Steelhead Report with Artificial Lure
Columbia River Portland Fishing Report Today
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Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Columbia River, Portland fishing report.
We’re in classic mid‑winter mode on the big river. According to The Guide’s Forecast, the mainstem Columbia around Portland is “mostly quiet,” with the primary game right now **plunking for winter steelhead** off the beaches and points. Catch counts have been light but steady: a handful of bright hatchery steelhead a day spread between the more popular bank spots, plus the odd late coho or dark Chinook getting released by folks targeting steelhead.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s recreation report says rivers are running **high but dropping**, and that pattern holds in the metro reach. Visibility is improving, giving steelhead just enough comfort to travel but still keeping them close to the bank. That’s prime plunking water.
Tides at Vancouver/Portland on the Columbia show a modest morning flood and afternoon ebb, per NOAA and Tide‑Forecast. The late‑morning high pushes a nice current seam tight to shore—watch for that push to line up with the mid‑day bite window. Sunrise locally is right around 7:45 a.m., sunset near 5:05 p.m., so your best shots are first light through mid‑morning, and then the couple hours leading into dark when the wind lays down.
Weather from the Portland NWS office has us cool and damp: low clouds, scattered showers, temps in the low 40s, and a light east or variable breeze. Not the kind of day you sight‑fish, but perfect for those steelhead that like a bit of gray on the water. Bring real rain gear; this is not sweatshirt weather once that east wind sneaks up the Gorge.
Fish activity:
– **Winter steelhead**: Main target. A few chromers moving through the Portland stretch, more showing each week.
– **Walleye**: Quietly decent below the I‑205 and downriver toward Kalama for those who don’t mind the cold and fish slow on the soft edges.
– **Sturgeon**: Mostly catch‑and‑release where open; sporadic action in the deeper slots for folks soaking smelt or squid.
Best rigs right now:
– For plunking steelhead, go with a 3–5 oz pyramid on a slider, 18–24" leader, and a **size 2–4 Spin‑N‑Glo** or winged drift bobber in chartreuse/white, pink/white, or clown, tipped with **cured coon‑stripe shrimp, sand shrimp, or a nickel‑sized gob of roe**.
– Plug pullers working smaller sleds along travel lanes are doing best with **Mag Lip 3.5s or K11 Kwikfish** in metallic pinks, chartreuse, or copper patterns wrapped with thin sardine fillets.
– Walleye anglers are doing their damage on **1/2‑ to 3/4‑oz jigs** dressed with soft‑plastic grubs in white, pearl, or motor oil, or slow‑trolled **worm harnesses** with nightcrawlers along 30–45 feet of contour.
A couple local hot spots to consider:
– **Caterpillar Island / Frenchman’s Bar (Vancouver side)**: Classic winter steelhead plunking water with good bank access and a nice inside seam on the flood. When the river’s dropping like this, that inside lane is money.
– **Sauvie Island’s Warrior Rock area**: Anchor gear and plunking from the lower island beaches can produce both steelhead and catch‑and‑release sturgeon in the deeper slots off the drop. Work just off the current breaks; don’t camp in the dead water.
If you’re banking it, travel light, bring extra lead, and don’t be shy about sliding up or down the bar until you’re lined up on a clean traveling lane. Boat folks, show the bankies some courtesy—swing wide on plane and give them that first break off the shore.
That’s your Columbia River Portland report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe for more local fishing talk.
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
We’re in classic mid‑winter mode on the big river. According to The Guide’s Forecast, the mainstem Columbia around Portland is “mostly quiet,” with the primary game right now **plunking for winter steelhead** off the beaches and points. Catch counts have been light but steady: a handful of bright hatchery steelhead a day spread between the more popular bank spots, plus the odd late coho or dark Chinook getting released by folks targeting steelhead.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s recreation report says rivers are running **high but dropping**, and that pattern holds in the metro reach. Visibility is improving, giving steelhead just enough comfort to travel but still keeping them close to the bank. That’s prime plunking water.
Tides at Vancouver/Portland on the Columbia show a modest morning flood and afternoon ebb, per NOAA and Tide‑Forecast. The late‑morning high pushes a nice current seam tight to shore—watch for that push to line up with the mid‑day bite window. Sunrise locally is right around 7:45 a.m., sunset near 5:05 p.m., so your best shots are first light through mid‑morning, and then the couple hours leading into dark when the wind lays down.
Weather from the Portland NWS office has us cool and damp: low clouds, scattered showers, temps in the low 40s, and a light east or variable breeze. Not the kind of day you sight‑fish, but perfect for those steelhead that like a bit of gray on the water. Bring real rain gear; this is not sweatshirt weather once that east wind sneaks up the Gorge.
Fish activity:
– **Winter steelhead**: Main target. A few chromers moving through the Portland stretch, more showing each week.
– **Walleye**: Quietly decent below the I‑205 and downriver toward Kalama for those who don’t mind the cold and fish slow on the soft edges.
– **Sturgeon**: Mostly catch‑and‑release where open; sporadic action in the deeper slots for folks soaking smelt or squid.
Best rigs right now:
– For plunking steelhead, go with a 3–5 oz pyramid on a slider, 18–24" leader, and a **size 2–4 Spin‑N‑Glo** or winged drift bobber in chartreuse/white, pink/white, or clown, tipped with **cured coon‑stripe shrimp, sand shrimp, or a nickel‑sized gob of roe**.
– Plug pullers working smaller sleds along travel lanes are doing best with **Mag Lip 3.5s or K11 Kwikfish** in metallic pinks, chartreuse, or copper patterns wrapped with thin sardine fillets.
– Walleye anglers are doing their damage on **1/2‑ to 3/4‑oz jigs** dressed with soft‑plastic grubs in white, pearl, or motor oil, or slow‑trolled **worm harnesses** with nightcrawlers along 30–45 feet of contour.
A couple local hot spots to consider:
– **Caterpillar Island / Frenchman’s Bar (Vancouver side)**: Classic winter steelhead plunking water with good bank access and a nice inside seam on the flood. When the river’s dropping like this, that inside lane is money.
– **Sauvie Island’s Warrior Rock area**: Anchor gear and plunking from the lower island beaches can produce both steelhead and catch‑and‑release sturgeon in the deeper slots off the drop. Work just off the current breaks; don’t camp in the dead water.
If you’re banking it, travel light, bring extra lead, and don’t be shy about sliding up or down the bar until you’re lined up on a clean traveling lane. Boat folks, show the bankies some courtesy—swing wide on plane and give them that first break off the shore.
That’s your Columbia River Portland report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe for more local fishing talk.
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