Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing Trips
Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing is probably the most difficult, yet most rewarding fishery in the northwest. The reward for catching these highly sought after Spring Chinook Salmon is there high a Omega 3 fat content (good fat!). The spring Chinook has a much more fat store then that of the Fall Chinook Salmon. A single Spring Chinook Salmon can cost anywhere from $35 – $50 per pound, it is basically Columbia River gold.
Most spring Chinook salmon fishing guides will tell you that spring Chinook salmon fishing can be tough due to the tight rules and regulations set for each season, especially for the Columbia River. We only get a few good fishing weeks per season and then the Columbia River will close for until “Fish and Wildlife” reopen the river.
Location for Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing…
Some of the other places I guide for spring Chinook salmon are the Willamette River, Multnomah Channel, Wind River, Drano Lake, Tillamook Bay, Dalles Dam and Rufus area. Even though some of these places are on the Columbia River they are so different than that of I-5 / Portland Oregon spring Chinook salmon fishery.
Most year you can usually time the spring Chinook salmon fishery, which usually takes off mid-March and will fish into the 1st week of April. Most as spring Chinook salmon fishing guides I tend to follow these fish, starting low on the Columbia River down around Longview, WA / Rainer, OR and as the fish move up stream so will the fishermen. I tend to concentrate my efforts on the Columbia River spring Chinook until it close usually around the 1st week in April.
Need a Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing Guide???
Once the Columbia River closes for spring Chinook salmon fishing I will go into the Willamette River or the Multnomah Channel. I will fish these two places until the last week in April. Once I see there is a significant amount of spring Chinook going over the Bonneville Dam, Dalles Dam and John Day Dam I will head east, up the Columbia River.
There are several options of where you can target spring Chinook east of the Bonneville Dam, it is kind of depends on the year and what the projected spring Chinook forecast is going to be. I personally gravitate to Drano Lake spring Chinook fishing and most of my clients will agree that I am very successful fishing Drano Lake Spring Chinook Salmon.
I also enjoy fishing the Columbia River near the Dalles Dam and the John Day Dam as well. Although the season is very short, because it is part of the Columbia River so there is a small window of opportunity to catch these great fish.