Columbia River Turns to Summer: Sturgeon Steady, Chinook Run Shifting

What's biting

What's next

With no gauge or buoy data feeding this report, the forward look leans on seasonal patterns that hold fairly consistently on the Columbia River from year to year.

**Salmon timing**: The spring Chinook window is closing. Anglers above Bonneville should check ODFW's weekly escapement data — when the spring run drops below threshold, regulations often shift to protect remaining fish. Summer Chinook, sometimes called "bright fish" for their ocean-fresh condition, begin clearing Bonneville in meaningful numbers through June and July. These fish travel fast and hold deeper than their spring counterparts; back-trolling divers with Cut Plug herring or anchoring bait near channel structure are time-tested Columbia summer salmon approaches.

**Sturgeon**: Late June into early July is historically a productive period for Columbia River sturgeon before peak summer heat pushes fish off preferred feeding holds. The full moon this week amplifies tidal influence into the lower and mid-Columbia's freshwater reaches, and the strongest bite windows typically bracket peak and slack tidal flows. Eel, shad, smelt, and sand shrimp remain the preferred baits. Oregon's slot limit governs retention year-round; the retention window can close or shift mid-season, so keep ODFW's Columbia River Sturgeon page bookmarked before you head to the ramp.

**Summer steelhead**: The summer run is building in the system. Summer-run fish entering the Columbia in late June hold deep through the heat of the day, then become more active at dawn and dusk when water temperatures ease. On tributaries known for summer steelhead, dry flies and surface plugs are effective during low-light windows; side-drifting roe or shrimp near the bottom covers the midday hours when fish are holding tight.

**Temperature and timing**: No current water temperature readings are available from monitored gauges. Mainstem Columbia temperatures at lower-river gauges typically approach or exceed 68°F — the threshold at which salmon physiological stress begins — by late June in most years. If that pattern holds this week, the most productive windows across all three species will be early morning and late evening. Weekend anglers should pull USGS gauge data and ODFW's sport fishing report for real-time conditions before launching.

Context

Late June on the Columbia River has long been a transitional moment that experienced anglers recognize by feel as much as by the calendar. Spring Chinook runs — which once numbered in the hundreds of thousands annually but now depend heavily on hatchery supplementation and variable ocean survival rates — typically peak at Bonneville Dam between late April and mid-May. In strong run years, spring king fishing above Bonneville stays productive through the Fourth of July weekend; in leaner years, the mainstem fishery thins by mid-June and anglers pivot earlier to summer fish and sturgeon.

White sturgeon are among the longest-lived freshwater fish in North America, and the Columbia River supports one of the continent's most significant populations outside British Columbia. Wired 2 Fish's recent report of a 1,200-pound sturgeon on the Fraser River underscores how large these animals can grow when protected over decades. The Columbia's sturgeon fishery has operated under slot-limit management since the 1990s, protecting the largest breeding fish while allowing retention of mid-sized individuals — a model credited with stabilizing what was once a severely depleted population.

Summer steelhead represent one of the Pacific Northwest's most celebrated fisheries. Unlike fall hatchery fish, summer-run steelhead enter the Columbia while it is still running warm, then hold in deep, cold lies through the heat of summer before spawning in late fall or winter. The Deschutes River confluence below The Dalles is among the Columbia system's most storied summer steelhead reaches.

No source in this week's feeds provided comparative run-strength data for the 2026 season relative to prior years. Bonneville Dam's public fish-count data, updated daily by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and ODFW's weekly Columbia River salmon and steelhead reports are the authoritative real-time benchmarks for how the current year's runs compare to historical averages.