The first week of September is the heart of the Pacific Northwest salmon season. Buoy 10 at the Columbia mouth has shifted from Chinook to coho, the fall Chinook are moving upriver past Portland and toward Bonneville, and the Puget Sound and Oregon coast fisheries are all producing. Offshore, the albacore are still out there for the boats willing to make the run. It is the busiest week of the year on the water in this region.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week: coho at Buoy 10 and along the Columbia mouth, with the hatchery fish thick and the wild fish being released. Fall Chinook are in the lower Columbia from the Astoria area up through the Portland reach and into the Bonneville tailrace, with the trollers and the bank anglers picking up fish daily. Coho are also on the Oregon coast at the mouths of the Nehalem, the Tillamook, and the Siuslaw, and in the Puget Sound at the Marine Areas that are open. Albacore are 30 to 60 miles off the Oregon and Washington coasts on the warm water. Steelhead are in the Deschutes and the lower Clackamas for the float and swing anglers.
Where to Find Them
Coho at Buoy 10 and the Desdemona Sands area on the incoming, and off the Columbia mouth outside the bar. Chinook in the Columbia from Cathlamet up through the Portland harbor and at the Bonneville tailrace. Coast coho at the Tillamook Bay jaws and the Siuslaw mouth. Sound coho off Possession Bar and the Edmonds area. Albacore on the temperature breaks offshore of Newport and Westport.
Tides & Conditions
River temps are still warm in the lower Columbia, which has the Chinook moving through quickly on the cooler mornings. The Buoy 10 fishery is best on the incoming and the tide change. The bar has been crossable most mornings, with the wind building by afternoon. Check the bar and offshore forecast before running for albacore; September brings the first fall systems.
Tackle & Tactics
Coho at Buoy 10 take a trolled herring or an anchovy behind a flasher, or a spinner in the upper column. Chinook in the river take a wobbler, a spinner, or a plug-cut herring trolled deep, and the bank anglers use a bobber-and-eggs setup or a spinner. Coast coho take a hoochie behind a flasher or a cut-plug herring. Albacore take a trolled clone or a cedar plug, then live anchovies when you find the school. Steelhead take a swung fly or a drifted bead.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Hammond Marina ramp and the Warrenton ramp near the Columbia mouth, the Cathlamet ramp, the Chinook Landing ramp in Portland, and the Garibaldi ramp on Tillamook Bay. Fish are concentrating at Buoy 10 for coho and in the lower Columbia reaches for Chinook. Columbia River salmon rules change by emergency rule, area, and species — check current ODFW and WDFW regulations, the daily Columbia River updates, and Marine Area openings before keeping fish, and note that wild coho must often be released.
This Week’s Tip
At Buoy 10, the coho are up high in the water column, often within 15 feet of the surface. Keep one rod shallow with a spinner or a bare herring on a short dropper — most anglers fish too deep in September and troll right under the fish.
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