Artificial Lure here with your Columbia River and Portland fishing report for Friday, September 5th, 2025.
Let’s start with **conditions**: this morning brought a crisp sunrise at 6:47 AM, and anglers can expect sunset tonight around 7:38 PM, giving you a solid window for chasing those river giants. Tides are always a key player on the Columbia. For today, you’ll see a high at roughly 2:07 AM, a low at 8:06 AM, another high peaking at 2:29 PM, and falling out to an evening low around 8:38 PM, per tide-forecast.com. Working your trips around these turns is going to maximize your chances.
**Weather’s looking decent**—expect cool early, giving way to comfortable late-summer warmth by midday. Layer up for those early runs, then peel it off as the morning fog burns away.
Now, for the **fishing activity**—we’re right in the heart of fall Chinook migration, and action is heating up around Portland, especially from the mouth up through Warrior Rock. Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife checked 391 boats between Warrior Rock and Rainier recently, with a whopping 412 Chinook, 37 jacks, 5 coho, and 7 steelhead kept, plus plenty more released. The Gorge section is less red-hot but still saw some Chinook and jack action. The Portland to Warrior Rock stretch gave up five Chinook and one jack kept out of 59 boats—odds are better upriver or down near Rainier right now. Bank action has been slow, so boaters are having most of the luck.
**Tuna chasers:** Remember, the albacore season extends through September 25th, with no catch limit, so if you’re itching for something different, those offshore trips can be white-hot right now, per Washington Coast outfitters.
**Halibut** is on the menu too—Columbia subarea’s open all-depth Sundays through Fridays until September 30 or quota’s filled, so keep those big rods ready if you’re venturing out the mouth.
**Lures and bait:** Pulling spinners and herring-wrapped Flashers remain top tactics for Chinook, especially on the outgoing tide. Chartreuse and metallic greens are killer colors lately. If you’re fishing coho, don’t forget those smaller spinners or twitching jigs. For the steelhead crowd, wobblers and sand shrimp are classic Columbia producers. Halibut will hit on herring or squid, fished right on bottom in deeper holes.
**Hot spots:**
• Warrior Rock to Rainier is absolutely lighting up—if you want numbers, this is the place.
• Troutdale is putting up good catches, especially for those running herring behind flashers early in the day.
• For those without a boat, the docks at Cathedral Park in North Portland and the Sauvie Island Bridge can produce, but bank action lags behind the boat scene right now.
• Offshore for albacore if the ocean lays down—book a charter or buddy up for those wild bluewater runs.
Don’t forget to check the latest ODFW updates for any in-season regulation tweaks, and be cautious—there’s an active fish consumption advisory for parts of the Columbia due to mercury and PCBs. Fish look and taste normal, but check the guidelines, especially for kids or pregnant folks.
That’s a wrap for this Friday. Thanks for tuning in to the Artificial Lure report! Be sure to subscribe for week-to-week river intelligence, and tell a friend.
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