Spring Chinook Fishing in Oregon

Experience the thrill of Oregon’s legendary spring Chinook fishery! As winter fades, these prized, ocean-bright salmon begin their powerful migration up Oregon’s majestic rivers, offering anglers an unparalleled angling adventure. Imagine the tug of a lifetime as you battle these hard-fighting fish in pristine waters surrounded by breathtaking scenery. From the mighty Columbia to the scenic Willamette and beyond, Oregon’s spring Chinook season promises unforgettable moments and the chance to land some of the finest-tasting salmon on earth.

Spring Chinook fishing reports

At The Guide’s Forecast, spring Chinook fishing reports are created from professional fishing guides’ genuine experience and real-time information gathering. If you want the most up-to-date fishing information on when and where to fish for spring Chinook and what to use to catch these fish, this is it!

Spring Chinook fishing reports are seasonal and based on location, broken out by geography. Two of our latest free fishing reports are below. Our free reports give you the very latest information available for all fishing year-round and highlight spring Chinook fishing when the season is right. You can sign up for our weekly email here. Members to receive much more information about how to catch them, and what techniques are working best. Be sure to log in or become a member.

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Where to go for spring Chinook fishing

The Oregon Fish & Wildlife fishing section has the basics. As of today, you can find regulation updates on the Oregon Fish & Wildlife site here.

Some of the most popular rivers in Oregon for targeting spring Chinook include the Sandy River, Clackamas River, Columbia River, and Willamette River.

Spring Chinook Fishing on the Sandy River

This river is a favorite for a few reasons. The main reason is that it has a fair amount of public access and spring Chinook return in better numbers here. This river gets good numbers of spring chinook starting in mid-April, but peak catches happen in late May and early June. Fish are still returning well into July, but the waters warm up and become clear, making fish more wary this time of year.

The mouth of the Sandy River is mostly accessible by boat. The best ramp to use to fish in this area is the Lewis and Clark Ramp, which is just upstream of the I-84 highway on the east side of the river. You must be cautious when navigating this stretch because in lower flows, there are a few shallow spots. The other ramp you can use is the Chinook Landing Ramp on Marine Drive. Launch here and boat upstream to the east until you come to the mouth of the river. You will likely see other boats there.

The Piling Hole is a good spot to intercept upstream migrating spring Chinook. However, we don’t recommend anchoring here because it monopolizes the hole so other anglers can’t fish it.

Troutdale Bridge is best for boaters as this stretch should be backtrolled using deep diving plugs or if you can control the boat well, backbounce this stretch with bait.

The Gauge hole is a certain favorite for spring Chinook. This hole is shallow at the top making it great for pulling plugs for steelhead but quickly drops deep for salmon.

Marmot is another spot where deep pools allow large numbers of salmon and steelhead to concentrate before passing upstream. In the spring, this water becomes typical Chinook water where bobber and eggs/shrimp will take good numbers of fish. This reach of the river is well above the hatchery which makes it difficult to find hatchery fish for take-home during peak season.

Spring Chinook fishing on the Clackamas River

The Clackamas is a heavily fished river in May, June, and July. Weekend crowds are nothing short of impressive. The spring chinook fishery often starts around Easter and can hold up through the Fourth of July weekend.

Dahl Park/Clackamette Park area can be described as nothing short of a ZOO! The confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette Rivers is where many anglers come to catch the famed spring chinook. It is well known for its conflicts. If you are looking for a serene, peaceful place to fish, this is not it but, it does produce fish! Bank anglers fishing from either side of the Clackamas can catch salmon or steelhead.

The Dahl Park side is probably for the more experienced angler. There is a tight bunch of plunkers that fish from shore here. Clackamette Park anglers are a little more laid back but that side does not produce the numbers that Dahl Park does.

Clackamas Lagoon also known as the “lagoon” can be a productive area to troll for salmon or steelhead at certain times of the year. It is located just upstream of the McLoughlin Bridge on the south side of the river.

Railroad Bridge has a deep swift slot that can produce some good results for spring chinook.

Cross Park is a good place for bank anglers to try spring Chinook fishing and will plunk or driftfish. Bank anglers fishing “Monkey Rock” across from Cross Park do well for spring chinook.

High Rocks offers a good bank spot and the crowds indicate it! Most success comes from the north riverbank. Focus efforts at the old stone bridge abutment, the head of the hole, or around the corner in the eddy water. All these spots produce both salmon and steelhead. It is best known for spring salmon fishing.

Feldheimer Park Boat Ramp is a good place to put in a drift boat. There is excellent water for salmon just downstream.

Dog Creek has access to McIver Park. This is the hole where all the salmon concentrate before moving into the hatchery. Check regs before fishing here.

Barb’s Hole is a boat ramp just downstream of the McIver Ramp. This hole has some history of producing good catches of salmon.

River Mill Dam is a great place for the bank angler. To target chinook, bring your bobbers and bait.

Spring Chinook fishing on the Columbia River

For as many salmon and steelhead that swim up this river, it is surprising that there are not more anglers fishing the Columbia River. The metro area salmon and steelhead fishery starts up in August and runs through October. The fishery primarily targets upper river salmon. Most of the action takes place in the Columbia River Gorge where the river narrows down and fish concentrate in mass before passing the dam.

Frenchman’s Bar/Davis Bar – This Washington side sand bar is a productive place to target spring chinook when the Columbia is open.

The mouth of the Sandy River – A hogline usually forms here in August and September. The hogline here is hard to miss and anglers anchor in about 28 – 35 feet of water hoping to intercept a chinook salmon. Launches close by are either Sundial Beach or Chinook Landing Boat Ramps.

The Gorge for Boat/Bank Anglers – You will likely see a scattering of boats in this area when the fish are running.

Spring Chinook fishing on the Willamette River

St. Helens – To access this area, it is best to approach from Highway 30. The boat ramp is east of the highway right on the Columbia River just a cast away from the mouth of the Multnomah Channel. Look for the heavy concentrations of boats at the mouth and upstream.

The mouth of Willamette/head of channel – Trollers dominate this area. With little exception, you will target salmon in the deeper channel of the Willamette River and the Portland Harbor.

Mid-Willamette/Portland Harbor – This section of the river typically accounts for 11% – 17% of the Willamette River harvest below the falls. With little exception, this is a trolling show.

Swan Island – Anglers troll along the moored vessels.

Downtown Portland – What better area to land a fish than in downtown Portland? You can ask yourself, “I wonder what the working folks are doing today?” as you are putting your dinner in the net! The Hawthorne Bridge consistently boots out salmon for anglers.

Sellwood Bridge – This is a unique and productive spot in the mid-river section. There is a built-up sand bar at the base of the bridge that fish seem to concentrate on.

Oregon City/Willamette Falls – This section accounts for the remaining percentage of salmon taken in the lower river recreational fishery. This section is growing in popularity and production.

Meldrum Bar – You can easily find this place of interest by the high number of bank anglers fishing this spot from the east bank. This can be a very productive place to fish.

Yuca Island backwater – Almost directly across from the mouth of the Clackamas River is an island with slack water at the bottom tip of it. This is an ideal place for resting chinook before heading upriver.

Mouth of the Clackamas – When this area is hot, it is HOT! It is also the scene of a high-stress fishery! You don’t want to fish here if you don’t know what you are doing and other anglers fishing in close proximity intimidate you.

The log rafts – Another popular spot, and this place can be productive in the early and late seasons. The area I am describing is directly downstream of the I-205 bridge on the east side which is where the Sportcraft Marina boat ramp is directly under.

The garbage hole – This short stretch of river is on the west side of the river across from the log rafts. It too is downstream of the I-205 bridge and is deeper than the log raft spot. It is considerably snaggier too!

I-205 bridge/sandbar – This spot is directly upstream of the I-205 bridge on the west side of the river. It stretches about 250 yards and ranges from 12 – 18 feet deep. It gets snaggy when you get close to the bridge abutments.

Catholic Rock – This is primarily a bank fishing spot but I have seen boats do well here. Bank fishermen take salmon here. It is fairly deep but you want to be on the bottom.

The lakeline – A popular hogline, this can also be a productive spot.

The puddle – Just upstream of the Gladstone Bridge and alongside the high cement seawall in downtown Oregon City is a piece of water we call “the puddle.” It is an eddy that we have had some success catching salmon.

The catwalk – This area usually has a handful of bank spinner fishermen.

Willamette Falls – Like the mouth of the Clackamas River, this too can be an intimidating place to fish. Hogliners will often spend the night here to hold the most productive spots. Newcomers are not greeted with open arms. You don’t need good luck to fish here, you need courage.

Find much more information out about these fishing locations, what and how to fish them, by reading our Tech report, Portland Area Boat and Bank Angling Opportunities for Salmon and Steelhead.

Spring Chinook fishing webinars

The Guide’s Forecast has produced several spring Chinook fishing webinars so you can incorporate the techniques provided in these videos with the spring Chinook fishing reports to be as successful as possible.

How to fish for spring Chinook

Spring Chinook fishing can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Different salmon species behave differently and have distinct migration patterns, but here are some general tips to get you started on how to approach spring Chinook fishing.

Trolling herring with lead or divers

It is likely that 95 – 99 percent of the anglers that fish for spring Chinook in bigger rivers such as the Willamette or Columbia employ this method. The use of divers is a bit outdated, but some still use them. Most anglers are trolling with lead, followed by a flasher and herring to draw strikes. When a fish grabs your herring trolled with a diver, the diver trips and it often takes the bait out of range where the fish hit the bait. This is not true for lead anglers; the bait stays in the zone where the fish hit it.

Hardware

Some guides have had good (but sporadic) results with hardware. Wobblers and spinners both take fish. Spring Chinook are better known for hitting hardware after the temperatures hit 57° F. Wobbers are popular on anchor, spinners are often trolled behind 360° flashers later in the spring.

Bait

Without a doubt, the most widely used bait in this fishery is herring. Most guides use the frozen herring in green label packaging. This bait is preferred by guides because of the quality of scale retention versus the fresh herring. Fresh herring will work fine, especially for coho but for Chinook, the frozen baits, with their better scale shine, seem to produce better in the deeper water. The frozen baits are also easier to rig, while fresh bait simply isn’t available during the spring months.

In addition to our weekly Columbia River fishing reports, the webinars below go deep into these topics, often providing two hours of detailed discussions with professional fishing guides. We offer a money-back guarantee on everything at The Guide’s Forecast so there is NO risk for you, our customer.

Spring Chinook fishing information from The Guide’s Forecast

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