Best Times & Seasons to Fish Portland, OR (Complete Guide)

Portland is one of the best fishing destinations on the west coast. Knowing when certain species of fish bite can make a huge difference in your success and enjoyment.

The best times to fish near Portland is June through September for chinook salmon, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon (during odd number years), flounder, and lingcod. Chum salmon fishing is best from October through December.

Fish Species	Best Times of Year to Fish Near Portland
Chinook (King) Salmon	The peak of the king salmon run is June through August.
Coho (Silver) Salmon	July through October is the best time for silvers in Oregon.
Sockeye Salmon	June through August is the best fishing window for local sockeye runs.
Chum (Dog) Salmon	The run starts in July but peaks out with the best fishing October through December.
Lingcod	May through mid-June is the lingcod season. Very short season, but great action.
Halibut	Year-round availability; May through October is the best in Oregon-area waters.

If you are looking to take a fishing trip but can’t decide on what species to fish for, Portland might be a good option for you. From salmon to sturgeon to smallmouth bass, Portland has it all. Located about 80 miles away from Oregon’s coast, this city offers a wide variety of fishing.

The bulk of the fishing is done in the Columbia River, but there are plenty of streams, tributaries, and lakes in the area as well. While fishing on the Columbia River, Mount St. Helens is in clear view, giving you great sightseeing opportunities from the comfort of the boat.

Best Time to Fish Portland

Portland offers great fishing year-round, but some of the best fishing is done when the salmon are running. Salmon runs happen during most of the year in Portland, just in different streams and rivers. The first ones start with the chinook runs in spring and end with more chinook runs in the coastal rivers during the fall.

Silver salmon run twice in the Portland area, one of the runs is from September through October, and the other starts in mid-October and ends in November. As for sturgeon, they like colder water and will start to move up the rivers in October, they can be caught year-round, but only harvested in January.

So, if you are looking to get the best bang for your buck for your trip, fishing in the late fall can provide a great time with a variety of fish to catch.

Recommended Fishing Charters in Portland

These Portland-based charters have earned great reviews from anglers and will offer you a tremendous service. The captains are knowledgeable, friendly, and are sure to put you on fish. By clicking the links below, you will be taken to the charter’s respective profile on Fishing Booker where you can read reviews, learn more about the charter, view photos, and book online at the best rate.

Recommended Fishing Charters	Type of Fishing Offered
2 Net Fishing Guide LLC	River
Caleb’s Guide Service – Portland	River
Dave’s Fisheng Guide Service	River
Corkem Fishing Northwest	River
Take Down Guide Service	River
Obsession Fishing Guide Service	River
Rivertrek NW – Columbia River King Salmon	River

Species of Portland (Best Times)

Steelhead

Steelhead are rainbow trout that live most of their lives in lakes and move into rivers and streams to spawn. Steelhead fishing in Portland usually starts to get good around June and goes through July. There are also a couple of runs in the winter, one that goes from late December to early January and one that goes from February to March, sometimes cutting into the earliest summer runs.

The best time of day to target steelhead is anytime the sun isn’t beating down on them. The sun opens opportunities for predators, like birds, to feed on them and makes it so then you are more visible to them.

Steelhead generally stick to eating flies, small baitfish, and eggs. Using inline spinners or anything small and flashy is a very popular tactic to catch steelhead year-round as it will cover a lot of water. This method also works when the steelhead is in groups during their runs as well.

Fresh eggs or imitation eggs also are a very good option during the runs as there are already eggs in the water, so in a way, you will match the hatch by using them during this time. Fly fishing is very popular for steelhead, you can imitate almost any food source they have with flies.

The main spots in the area include the Columbia and the Willamette rivers. You should try to aim for deeper spots. You should also try to find eddies (swirls in the water), these are usually found on the edges of faster currents or by structure, both are great spots for steelhead.

Rainbow Trout

Rainbow trout are just like steelhead, the only difference being how they spawn. They will stay in the same body of water their entire lives and spawn in it as well. They are generally more active when the water is cooler, making fall and spring the best times to fish for them, with ice fishing in the lakes being an option in the winter. As with steelhead, they like low sun, so dusk and dawn are the best times of day to target them.

Steelhead and rainbows have roughly the same diet, varying based on what body of water they are in. Using small flies in streams and rivers can be a good way to get a bunch of trout, especially if they are being more timid than usual. Using inline spinners is a good technique for covering water in any body of water and if you’re fishing in a lake, you can troll them as well. Trolling usually works best when the water warms up and the fish move to deeper water.

There are plenty of streams and lakes in the area with stocked rainbows. Most of them are a short drive from Portland or directly in the city. Rainbows will stick to the same spots that steelhead does, eddies, deep spots, and structure.

Coho (Silver) Salmon

Silver salmon run a few times during the year, with the biggest runs being in mid-fall. There are also spring run silvers, but they don’t reach the numbers that fall run salmon do. As for the best time of day, dusk and dawn are the best times to target silvers.

Salmon are similar to trout in a few different ways, including their diet when they are in freshwater. They will go after any kind of small baitfish and eggs. Spoons and inline spinners are the most popular baits, but eggs and egg imitations are also very effective.

Salmon will stick to the main rivers in Portland, the Columbia, and Willamette. They will be all over when they are running, and it will be hard to find a spot without salmon. You should try fishing by eddies, deeper spots, and near faster-moving water. Salmon like clean, cold water and the extra current will help them get that and will also bring in more food for them.

Chinook (King) Salmon

King salmon are the largest species of pacific salmon and are one of the most popular to fish for. There are both spring and fall-run kings in the area. The fall run starts around August and ends in September or October. The spring run usually goes from March to April. The best time of day to target chinook is in the morning before the sun hits its peak.

Chinook salmon usually feed on baitfish and eggs, so crankbaits, inline spinners, and spoons are generally the most used baits for them.

King salmon are found in the Columbia and Willamette rivers. They don’t go as far as silver salmon will because they need larger water to live in. You can try deeper spots right on the edge of faster-moving currents.

Sturgeon

Sturgeon are one of the oldest fish in the world and some won’t stop growing as they age. They like colder water and will become more active from fall through spring. The only time you can keep a sturgeon is in January, but the most popular time to fish for them is in late fall. The time of day that is best for sturgeon is in the very early morning. The water will be cooler, and the sun won’t be as harsh, making it so that more sturgeon will be roaming around.

The best bait for sturgeon is a ball of nightcrawlers attached to a circle hook and lots of weight to keep it on the bottom. Nightcrawlers(worms) make up most of a sturgeon’s natural diet and are sometimes all that they will bite on.

Sturgeon are bottom feeders and like to live around the sand. Casting in deep channels in the Columbia River is the most effective way to catch sturgeon in Portland. If you manage to get one on your line, be prepared for a long fight, they will bury their nose in the sand and make it so you have to drive the boat to the opposite side of them to pull them out. This can happen multiple times in the same fight.

I recommend this Penn Pursuit Spinning Rod & Reel combo (available on Amazon) for inshore and nearshore fishing. It can handle everything from redfish to snapper and king mackerel. The Penn Battalion Series Spinning Rod and the Penn Battle Spinning Reel are fantastic if you want to create your combo.

Tidal Impacts on Portland Fishing

Portland isn’t necessarily affected by tides, but it can still be affected by the moon cycle. If it is a full moon, the fish will have much more light at night and will be able to feed all night long. This makes day fishing worse. Night fishing for sturgeon is very popular as they have sensitive eyes, and the full moon gives them just the right amount of light to feed. 

Affect of Rain & Storms on Fishing in Portland

Being near the coast of Oregon, Portland sees its fair share of storms throughout the year but has a more mild climate compared to the towns on the coast. As with any other fishing trip, the rain will always be a possibility, but shouldn’t stop you from getting on the water if you’re prepared with the right equipment.

Rain and storms can make fish less active, especially before a storm. The air pressure will be much higher right before a storm and tapering off as the storm moves out of the area. Fishing quality after a storm can vary based on how severe the storm was. If there was a lot of rain, the streams and rivers in the area will most likely be very high and muddy, making fishing more difficult.

The excess water and mud will usually clear out in about a week, depending on how much it rained. If it was a mild storm, fishing right after the storm is done can be great. The pressure in the air will be gone and there will be much less competition at your fishing spots.

For a complete breakdown of the best spots to catch salmon in Oregon, please check out this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to fish Seattle, please check out this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to fish San Francisco, please check out this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to fish the Oregon Coast, please check out this helpful article I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best time to fish in Washington, please check out this helpful article I wrote.

Night Fishing in Portland

Night fishing is available in the Columbia River, but only on the Washington side. As long as you have lights on your boat and a Washington license, you can fish all night long for salmon and walleye if you please. While fishing the Columbia at night, make sure that you have read up on the regulations to make sure you are fishing legally.

As for stream and lake fishing at night, you can only fish in certain areas for trout and salmon. You can fish for any warm water fish at night, mainly being smallmouth, walleye, and sturgeon, outside of the Columbia River.

Shore & Surf Fishing in Portland

Shore fishing is extremely popular in Portland as some of the spots are only fishable from shore. Along with the creeks, shore fishing is popular along the Columbia and Willamette rivers.

You can catch just as many fish from shore as you would from a boat. Most fish caught from shore include salmon and trout, but you can just as easily get walleye, bass, and panfish on some of the warm water lakes from shore as well.

Best Fishing Spots in Portland

-Surf/Shore Fishing

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in Portland. The Willamette meets with it just north of Portland and there are spots all over the area for shore fishing as well as plenty of boat launches. The main species targeted here are salmon and sturgeon, but the river also offers healthy populations of trout and walleye. Some of the most popular spots are near the islands that are located near Portland, these give the fish more structure and changes in currents, giving you more fishable waters.

Willamette River

The Willamette River is the second largest river in Portland and runs straight through downtown. You can find all of the same species here that you would find in the Columbia River. The Willamette can be much easier to fish as it is much smaller than the Columbia and has less traffic. Fishing near where the Willamette connects with the Columbia is one of the most popular ways to catch fish here. The area where the two meet is called Kelley Point and is open to fishing.

Clackamas River

The Clackamas River is a tributary of the Willamette River and offers great rainbow, brown, and steelhead trout fishing. This river is much smaller than the other two mentioned but has a very healthy population of fish. Some of the most popular spots on the Clackamas include High Rocks Park and Clackamette Park.

Sturgeon Lake

Sturgeon Lake is located north of Portland, right next to the Columbia River. Both the lake and surrounding creeks and lakes have great fishing. The Willamette dumps into the Columbia River, but also splits off and goes north, which leads right to Sturgeon Lake. The lake holds warm water fish including bass, catfish, and panfish. The whole area is surrounded by parks and trails, so finding places to fish shouldn’t be an issue here.

Best Seasons to Book a Charter

When booking a charter, the main factor to think about is what fish are going to be in season when you book it, but that isn’t all you should think about. You should consider how busy the area will be, how busy the charters will be, and the weather as well.

Portland generally sees a surge of tourism in the summer which dies down as the temperatures drop. Charters will be busier during this time, but their busiest time is usually in the fall when more salmon are running and other fish are becoming more active. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t book a charter during these times; you should just be prepared for less availability among charters and try to book one as early as possible.

With that being said, if you’re looking to catch a mixed bag of fish, fishing in the fall will be your best option. When taking the other factors into consideration, a great time to fish in the Portland area is the spring. There will be fewer tourists here in the spring, anglers are still plentiful, but there are still fewer than how many flock to Portland in the fall.

Springtime offers both silver and king salmon runs, spring run steelhead fishing, and a few other species as well. So, if you’re just looking for the best fishing, fall is your best option and if you’re looking for great fishing with fewer people, spring is a good option for you.

For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish in Vancouver, please check out this helpful guide. For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish in Astoria, please check out this helpful guide. For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish in Oregon, please check out this helpful guide.