Steelhead fishing is a popular activity among anglers in Oregon and Washington. Steelhead are ocean-going rainbow trout known for their stamina. They can be found in the area’s rivers all year-round. Anglers who want to keep steelhead are required to catch fish with a clipped or healed adipose fin or another fin that identifies it as hatchery-raised. The Columbia River and its tributaries are known for having some of the biggest steelhead runs in the Pacific Northwest. Steelhead migrate in the summer and winter. In the summer, steelhead are often caught from boats and sandy shores along the lower Columbia River and where major tributaries join it. This is the fishery I use when I guide steelhead.
Columbia River Steelhead
Several summer steelhead migrate up the Willamette, although most anglers avoid the lower stretches of the river. Most steelhead fish are found near the Clackamas River’s mouth. Experienced anglers frequent the waters of the Clackamas, and other tributaries like the Santiam, McKenzie, and Middle Fork Willamette rivers. Good news is that 2024 brought a welcomed recovery of steelhead runs on the Willamette after several disappointing seasons.
The Wilson and Nestucca rivers are great for summer steelhead. On Oregon’s North Coast, you can find lots of them, and the young summer steelhead are planted there each spring and summer.
Winter steelhead fishing is also a popular quarry in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, where the smaller rivers and streams provide better winter action than the main Columbia River.
In Oregon, the Sandy and Clackamas are popular winter steelhead rivers near Portland. On the Oregon Coast, the Wilson, Nestucca, North Fork Nehalem, and several smaller streams all have hatchery-reared winter steelhead.
In Southwest Washington, the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers are top prospects for both winter and summer steelhead, with several smaller streams also productive at times.
All Pacific Northwest steelhead are rainbow trout that live most of their lives in the Pacific Ocean, where they grow larger and stronger than any trout you can catch in a lake.
I have many different lures and baits to entice steelhead to bite during the summer run in the Columbia River. These summer steelhead are more active and slightly larger than their winter counterparts.
Here’s some helpful info on summer steelhead. Summer steelhead range from five to twenty pounds, with some even larger than that. They like to make long, peeling runs and acrobatic leaps from the water. All these factors make steelhead a great fight on lightweight tackle.
At Marvin’s Guide Service, we offer steelhead fishing from June through September. We often fish throughout the Columbia River from Portland to Hood River. Please be sure to bring your camera, because the scenery is amazing.
