Columbia River Guided Fishing, Guided Fishing Trips, Salmon Fishing, Steelhead Fishing Trips, Sturgeon Fishing Trips, Walleye Fishing

When settlers first began to migrate to the Northwest Territory, it was considered one of the Americas versions of the land of milk and honey. Rich in natural resources like fertile land, lumber, wild game, and fish.  Trappers, lumberjacks, and fisherman carved out the beginnings of the great society we have today here in the Pacific Northwest and Oregon is at the center of it all. A couple of hundred years later the region still offers a wealth of natural resources and among the most prized is the sports fishing industry.

Although the fish populations are not what they used to be, Oregon’s still offers anglers year-round sports fishing opportunities making Oregon one of the most popular fishing destinations in the world.

Oregon fishing guides as well as would be anglers can be found targeting salmon, trout, steelhead, sturgeon, walleye, Halibut, bottom fish and more throughout the various saltwater and freshwater fishing destinations Oregon has to offer.

Among the top saltwater, destinations are the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria, Tillamook Bay, Nehalem Bay, Siletz Bay, Yaquina Bay, Alsea Bay, and Coos Bay. In these areas, Oregon Fishing Guides offer guided salmon fishing trips, Halibut fishing trips and other popular groundfish like lingcod, rockfish, greenling, and cabezon are among the most popular.

Surf Perch also has a decent appeal for beachcombers vacationing at the many scenic beaches as well as other marine areas around docks and coral reefs. These fish can be caught from Oregon’s many shorelines in the surf thus the name surf perch. Even though surf perch are a fairly small fish, they can range from 4 inches up to 18 inches long. Also, in Oregon Surf Perch limits are pretty liberal at 15 fish allowed per day. If the fishing is good you’re sure to get a meal out of it. Surf Perch are also quite delicious fish to eat making them well worth the effort.

Other major attractions are surf smelt dip netting. Surf Smelt can be caught throughout the Oregon coast. With limits of 25 lbs. of smelt allowed per day. Keep in mind their not so distant cousin the Eulachon may not be retained only Surf Smelt. It’s easy to tell the difference between the two. Echelon are the larger of the species. One of the popular surf smelt fishing spots are the docks at Charleston Marina. During the season you’ll often see locals dip netting there and the run usually lasts a bit longer than in other areas.

Even though saltwater fishing in Oregon is a major attraction, the real action takes place on the thousands of freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams found throughout the state. When it comes to freshwater fishing in Oregon by far the largest attraction is without a doubt the Columbia River. The Columbia alone keeps Columbia River Fishing Guides working year-round chasing salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and Walleye just to name a few.

Spring Chinook are among the most sought-after fish on the Columbia, but the Fall runs of salmon have a significant draw as well. Thousands of anglers decent on the Columba every year chasing these Spring Chinook and during the fall it’s a mixed back of Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye.

There are two major runs of Steelhead the inhabit the Columbia, the first is the Winter run which generally produces the larger sized fish and the later summer run is known for the more aggressive harder fighting fish and offers up some great action as well.

Although the Columbia River is a mainstay in the sport fishing arena. Oregon also has several other excellent fisheries like the Willamette, Umpqua, Sandy, Siletz, and Mackenzie to name a few.

These rivers are all good salmon and steelhead fishing rivers that locals and fishing enthusiasts from around the globe come to enjoy. The Umpqua, in particular, is known for some big Chinook salmon with the state record weighing in at 83 lbs. having been caught on the Umpqua back in 1910. This was the world record until 1985 when Les Anderson of Soldotna Alaska caught the current world record Chinook weighing 97 lbs. 4 oz. and still remains the largest Chinook salmon caught on record.

If you work your way further south you have rivers like the Alsea, Nehalem, the Wilson or the Trask. The Wilson and the Trask are huge steelhead fisheries. Also, due to the Broodstock programs these rivers provide a chance at some nice size fish with steelhead in the 20 lbs. range. Another great thing about these coastal rivers is that there are several Oregon Fishing Guides that offer guided fishing trips on these popular river systems. If you take a couple of trips you’ll find that it’s pretty easy to learn the rivers and where the best places are to catch these beautiful fish.

Closer to the Border of California you have the Rogue River which is renowned for big Chinook with reports of Chinook as big as 65 lbs. having been caught. The Smith River not far away is known for monster steelhead. Every year we here of Steelhead in the upper 20 to 30 lbs. range being caught on this body of water which is phenomenal given that not many steelhead of this size even exists. There are also several other popular river systems like the Chetco and Sixes which are great salmon and steelhead fisheries as well.

Oregon also has several popular lakes that are great for targeting trout. Among the most popular are the Upper Klamath Lake, Diamond Lake, Crater Lake, Wickiup Reservoir, Lake Owyhee, Hart Lake, Brownlee Reservoir and tons of other great fishing lakes as well. If you’re looking for big trout, one lake of note is Odell Lake where the state record Mackinaw trout was caught back in 2010. The beast weighs in at an incredible 40.5 lbs. If you want to experience catching a big trout, in this lake it’s not uncommon to catch fish in the 20lb range making the Odell lake a big-time Oregon fishing attraction.

In 2002 the Oregon state record brown trout was caught at Paulina Lake which weighed in at 28lbs. 5oz. the Wickiup Reservoir is known for some big browns as well with reports of fish as big as 26lbs having been caught.

Ironically two state records for salmon have been caught in lakes as well. The Oregon state record Kokanee was caught in Lake Wallowa in 2010 weighing 9lbs 10oz and the record Coho at 25 lbs was caught in Lake Siltcoos. The one body of water in Oregon that boast the most record fish having been caught in the Umpqua River. The state record striped bass at 68 lbs. was caught in 1973, the record

chinook salmon in 1910 and the record green sunfish caught in 1998. All were all caught on the Umpqua making the Umpqua the best river for targeting world record class fish.

The Columbia River is the next river known for state records where Oregon’s record steelhead weighing a whopping 35 pounds was caught and the record Walleye at a hefty 19 lbs.

chinook salmon in 1910 and the record green sunfish caught in 1998. All were all caught on the Umpqua River making the Umpqua the best river for targeting world record class fish.

The Columbia River is the next river known for state records where Oregon’s record steelhead weighing a whopping 35 pounds was caught and the record Walleye at a hefty 19 lbs.

If you’d like to catch some of these amazing fish and embrace the great outdoors in the Pacific Northwest. We at Columbia River Fishing Adventures are the Columbia River Fishing Guides that can provide the fishing experience of a lifetime. Give us a call at 503 490 3099 and book your trip today.