Smallmouth hitting peak on the Columbia while salmon anglers track rising temps

What's Biting

What's Next

With water already at 65°F on June 16 and the summer solstice arriving this weekend, expect temperatures to continue climbing through late June absent meaningful rainfall or cloud cover. The low-snowpack context Outdoor Hub documented for Oregon drainages — record-low snowpack and moderate-to-extreme drought across much of the region — extends into Washington's Columbia watershed, which draws from the same Cascade snowpack reservoir. In a low-snowpack year the cold meltwater buffer that typically keeps Columbia tributaries several degrees cooler through late June is diminished. The 68°F threshold where salmonid stress escalates could arrive ahead of schedule if the warm pattern holds.

For smallmouth bass, the coming days look as good as it gets. Mid-60s water is the sweet spot for aggressive summer feeding across the Columbia system: fish are past the post-spawn transition, pushing warm flats, basalt ledge structure, and mid-channel current seams. Crankbaits covering water efficiently and swimbaits worked through current breaks are the natural play. Expect fish to push shallower during low-light windows at dawn and dusk — the waxing crescent moon this week provides dark-sky periods that can briefly concentrate surface activity before sunlight puts fish down.

Walleye in the Columbia's slower pools and tailwater stretches should remain active on bottom-oriented presentations through the weekend. Early morning and evening are the most reliable feeding windows; midday heat pushes fish into deeper, cooler lies where slower, finesse approaches tend to outfish fast retrieves.

For summer Chinook the picture is conditional. Run timing on the Columbia typically peaks late June through July, but warm water compresses the productive bite window significantly. Plan to be on the water before 9 a.m., well ahead of afternoon temperatures climbing toward the stress zone. Before heading out, verify current open-river status and hatchery-mark retention rules with WA WDFW — temperature-triggered closures and restriction changes can come quickly when gauges climb. If cloud cover or a cooler weather system arrives mid-week, conditions for salmonids could improve heading into the weekend; if the warm, clear pattern holds, warmwater species are the more reliable target.

Context

A reading of 65°F in mid-June on Washington Columbia tributaries sits at the warm end of the seasonal range but is not dramatically outside historical norms for this point in the calendar. The Columbia and its Washington tributaries typically begin their fastest warming phase in late May and June as snowmelt contributions taper and sustained heat builds. Mid-June readings for lower-elevation Columbia tributaries have historically ranged from the upper 50s to the mid-60s, placing June 16 at 65°F at the top of that window rather than well outside it.

What sharpens the significance this year is the regional drought signal. Outdoor Hub's coverage of ODFW's 2026 advisory describes Oregon entering one of its toughest fishing summers in recent memory, driven by record-low snowpack and moderate-to-extreme drought conditions across most of the state — a regional pattern that almost certainly extends into adjacent Washington drainages sharing the same Cascade snowpack source. In a heavy-snowpack year, cold meltwater contributions often keep Columbia tributary temperatures several degrees cooler and flows measurably higher well into July, providing salmonids with thermal refuges and holding lies in faster, well-oxygenated water. That buffer appears significantly reduced this season, which is consistent with the 975 cfs flow and 65°F reading on June 16.

No specific comparative catch-rate or run-strength reports from Washington sources were available in the current intel payload to quantify how this season's salmon or steelhead returns compare to prior years. WA WDFW's creel monitoring program publishes week-over-week data on their fishing and stocking reports page, and that resource is the most reliable place to track how summer Chinook and summer steelhead returns are shaping up relative to historical averages before committing to a trip.