When May rolls around, the spring Chinook fishery kicks into high gear as more and more fish begin filtering into the “Big-C.”
While most of the effort will shift to tributaries in May, the Columbia River mainstem spring Chinook fishery opportunities both above and below Bonneville Dam still remained up in the air as of this magazine’s publication deadline.
All decisions on whether the Columbia River mainstem reopens later in May and possibly into early summer are left up to joint Washington and Oregon in-season management decisions. To keep track of updates, the public is encouraged to sign up for WDFW Columbia River Compact mailing list notices at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/lists.
The 2025 forecast for Columbia upriver spring Chinook is 122,250 fish, more than the 116,332 that returned in 2024, but lower than the 10-year average of 139,676 fish.
Several factors influence the arrival of spring Chinook, including flow patterns, which can change on a daily basis. These fish are known to work their way up the maze of channels and will follow bottom structure in the river. They will avoid turbulent water and are known to stall below dams when abrupt changes occur at the tailrace and fish ladder channels.
The initial spring Chinook fishing seasons for the Columbia River mainstem were set in late February, with end dates in mid/early April for below Bonneville Dam and late April upstream. It is usually soon after that when the run begins to ramp up. In recent years, the timing of the run has been later and later.
As of mid-April, the spring Chinook fishing success was just starting to build in the lower river. The number of fish seen at the Bonneville Dam fish ladder was also sporadic. Anglers can track daily fish counts by going to Columbia River adult salmon counts at https://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_Adults.htm, which is key to knowing when to go fishing.
It’s also wise to not wait to go fishing once the run begins to peak, as you’ll likely miss out on the best time period. “For 2025, the corresponding harvest rate tiers are determined by the Snake River wild abundance estimate. Following that, we apply a 30% buffer applied to the forecast until we get a run size update, this is then used to determine the harvest rate,” said Ryan Lothrop, Columbia River fisheries manager with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), which he referred to as step one.
Next, fishery managers calculate the allowable catch. Lastly, fishery managers apply the commission guidance of proportion of the Endangered Species Act splits by sector and area.In 2025, recreational anglers are projected to harvest approximately 5,200 adult spring Chinook below Bonneville Dam in the Columbia mainstem, and 550 spring Chinook from Bonneville Dam upstream to the Washington/Oregon border.
“Fortunately, we were able to provide additional quality April days of opportunity downstream of Bonneville Dam this year, given there was a substantial balance remaining,” Lothrop said. “Upstream of Bonneville Dam, increasing catch rates in recent years have led to early closures, resulting in fewer open fishing days before this year’s in-season run size update.“
However, if the run size update is large enough or if there’s remaining catch allocation, additional fishing time is likely. ”Fishery managers will monitor the fisheries, dam counts, and hatchery returns as the season progresses and adjust as necessary. The U.S. v. Oregon Technical Advisory Committee typically provides a run size update in mid-May. Based on the 2025 preseason forecasts, anglers can expect to find a decent number of spring Chinook in the Cowlitz, Kalama, and Lewis rivers. Tributary fisheries are managed based on hatchery spring Chinook surplus.
Places like the Cowlitz experienced closures a few years ago, but with a forecast of 13,310 (4,580 and 8,822), a closure isn’t necessary in 2025. The Cowlitz spring Chinook forecast to the tributary mouth is greater than the recent five-year and 10-year average return of 5,300 and 9,800, respectively. In the Kalama River, the spring Chinook forecast to the tributary mouth is 2,900 (1,840 was forecast with an actual return of 2,310 in 2024).
The Kalama spring Chinook forecast to the tributary mouth is similar to the recent five-year and 10-year average return of 2,200 and 2,500, respectively.In the Lewis River, the spring Chinook forecast is 3,060 (3,270 and 2,553). The Lewis spring Chinook forecast to the tributary mouth is similar to the recent five-year average return of 3,700 and greater than the 10-year average return of 2,600. During May a lot of the spring Chinook fishing attention also shifts to tributaries above Bonneville Dam such as Drano Lake, and the Wind and Klickitat rivers. The best way to gauge when it’s time to go is by watching the fish counts at Bonneville Dam.
The Wind forecast is 4,900 (4,200 forecast and actual return of 4,604 in 2024) and is greater than the recent five-year and 10-year average return of 4,100 and 4,000, respectively. In Drano Lake (aka Little White Salmon) the forecast is 7,600 (5,300 and 7,863) and forecast is similar to the recent five-year average return of 7,400 and less than the recent 10-year average return of 8,100. The Klickitat forecast is 1,200 (1,300 and 491) and is similar to the recent five-year average return of 1,300 and less than the recent 10-year average return of 1,500.
In Drano Lake, the best action happens in the area referred to as “Toilet Bowl,” a popular spot where anglers troll in a tight circle near the entrance of the lake. While most are Drano Lake stock fish some of these fish are known as “dip-ins” as they first enter the lake before migrating further up the Columbia River. There isn’t much space to troll so make sure you’re following the same path as others and are good at handling your boat and keep your lines right underneath to avoid getting tangled up with others. If someone nearby hooks a fish stay clear of them.
If you plan to fish Drano Lake, be aware the Columbia River outside the mouth of Drano Lake is closed. There is a marked boat fishing boundary area in Drano to allow for some bank angling to occur near the mouth. From the shore cast spinners or Wiggle Warts. Anglers also fishing for springers in the Wind River must stay within the fishing boundary of the river itself and not stray into Columbia River mainstem area. Spring Chinook tips and tactics I could list a hundred different ways to successfully catch spring Chinook and what to use varies depending on river location, flow patterns and water clarity but the most important factor to keep in mind is patience.
Earlier last month, I had a friend who spent six days and nearly 50 hours on the water of the Lower Columbia River and managed to bring home one hatchery-marked fish.
As for fishing gear, don’t skimp on the rod and reel and spending money wisely will be an investment toward catching more fish. The rods of choice are usually a 9 ½ to 10 ½ foot of 15 to 25 pounds with a lot flex and soft tip. Oftentimes these fish will grab the bait and turn away so flexibility in the rod will allow for a proper hook-up. Let the salmon pull your rod tip down a few times before gently setting the hook and don’t jerk hard since usually the depth of water you’re fishing isn’t very deep to begin with.
Line counter reels are the norm nowadays and enable you to find the sweet spot by aligning the depth on your fish finder to the area where the fish are lurking. Many like to use braided line, but I’m old school and will stick with monofilament line for a bit of stretch and give when the fish bites. The standard setup for trolling is a three-way swivel with 10 to 18 inches of 15-pound monofilament to an eight- to 15-ounce dropper weight, depending on current and flow.
On the other end of the swivel is 24 inches of 30-pound monofilament line to your fish flash and then another 40 to 50 inches of 30-pound monofilament line with a swivel halfway down the leader to allow the bait or lure to spin freely and eliminate the line from twisting and tangling. Often I’ll go “naked” and not use a fish flash which creates less drag too.
The traditional bait is a green-label herring, whole or cut-plug, with the proper tight spin. Many will soak their bait in a brine mixture to toughen them up. After bouncing off the bottom a few times or running into debris they’ll tend to get blown out or will lose their quality spin. To get the right spin on a whole herring, I like to insert a toothpick in the anal vent of the herring and bend the herring to a 45 degree angle. Then take the top hook and insert it under the lower jaw and out through the hard spot between the eyes. About halfway down the side of the body insert and pull out the trailing hook so it dangles freely.
Others like to pin a plastic bait helmet – Krippled Herring or Rhys Davis – to avoid wear and tear on the herring. Before dropping it down, add some scent and make sure it has the right spin. Other top choices are a 3.5 spinner and prawn, flat fish wrapped with a sardine or a Brad’s Super Bait. Downsizing to smaller Kokanee Cut Plugs, or a 2.5 or 3.0 Spinfish filled with tuna to tandem trailing hooks are effective in warmer water conditions and when it gets crowded during a slow troll like at Drano Lake.
Colors are also key to catching fish. Be sure to carry a wide variety but usually chartreuse, silver, orange and red work well. The scent of bare hands can be a deterrent so keeping some environmentally safe liquid soap, clean hand towels and elastic nitrile gloves will enable you to stay in the game of catching fish. Have a small bucket to wash down your lures and be sure to keep your rod handles and cranks on the reel clean.
Be sure to check the WDFW website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/ for current daily limits, other area-specific rules, any emergency rule changes, and closures or openings that tend to occur during the spring Chinook fisheries.
Tight lines, and I’ll see you on the water very soon!
(Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Communications Manager. He was also the outdoor reporter at The Seattle Times for 28 years.)
