Fishing Opportunities

Fishery:	Spring Chinook Salmon	Lower Columbia Sturgeon	Columbia River Fall Salmon	Tillamook Bay Fall Salmon
Targeted Species:	Spring Chinook Salmon (aka Springer or Spring King)	White Sturgeon	Fall Chinook Salmon (aka King or Tyee if >30 pounds) and Coho Salmon (aka Silver or hooknose)
Average Size:	15-19 pound	Keeper: 45"-60" Oversize: 6-12 feet	20-25 pound (Chinook)	25-30 pound (Chinook)
Largest Fish Typically Landed During Fishery:	30 pound	12 feet!	50 pound (Chinook)	50+ pound (Chinook)
Sidewinder Charter's Largest Fish:	36 pound	18 feet - 700+ pounds!	52 pound (Chinook)	53 pound (Chinook)
When:	mid-March through April	mid-May through July	August through mid-September	mid-September through October
Where:	Lower Columbia River near Cathlamet, Washington	Lower Columbia River near the Astoria-Megler Bridge	Maine Area 1 in the Pacific Ocean or Buoy 10 in the Lower Columbia River	Tillamook Bay Bubble Fishery in the Pacific Ocean near the 'Jaws' and in Tillamook Bay, Oregon
Launch/Marina:	Port of Wahkiakum #1 in Cathlamet, Washington	Deep River Launch and the Port of Chinook, Washington	Port of Chinook, Washington (Deep River Launch if conditions warrant)	Garibaldi Marina in Garibaldi, Oregon
More Details:	More Information	More Information	More Information	More Information

Lower Columbia River Spring Chinook Fishing

Our guiding season generally starts in mid-March when fishable numbers of Spring Chinook Salmon (aka Springers) return from the Pacific Ocean as they make their way upstream to their natal streams. As some of these fish will travel 100's of miles and spend months in fresh water without feeding they enter the Columbia strong and filled with rich layers of fat. Many salmon connoisseurs consider Spring Chinook to be the top quality Chinook and the Columbia River fish the best of the best. Fishing out of Cathlamet, Washington we intercept these fish just after they leave the salt water when they are in their peak condition.

 

For additional information about Springer Fishing please click here.

 

Lower Columbia River Sturgeon Fishing

In mid-May we move downstream to the Astoria-Megler Bridge area at the mouth of the Columbia. There we concentrate on fishing for the abundant sturgeon. Sturgeon are also an anadromous fish native to the Columbia system, but have a much longer lifespan than salmon and can grow to enormous sizes. If you have not experienced a hot sturgeon bite, then book some dates in mid-May through June and join us for this fantastic fishery - we may hook 25 fish and the largest could well be longer than you are tall! With the flexibility of using launches at Chinook and Deep River we can get to the hot spots with a minimum amount of running time.

For additional information about Sturgeon Fishing please click here.

 

Buoy 10 - Astoria-Megler Columbia River Salmon Fishing

August marks a return to concentrating on salmon fishing in the lower Columbia with Chinook (King) and Coho (Silver) salmon being the targeted species. Fishing predominantly out of the Port of Chinook, Sidewinder Charters will fish where the fish are, whether that is running out to Marine Area 1 in the Pacific Ocean or staying inside the Columbia River for the Buoy 10 fishery. With a typical Columbia River Fall Chinook salmon weighing 25 pounds with a shot at a mint bright 40+ pound fish you can begin to understand why so many knowledgeable anglers plan their summer vacations around this fishery. Feisty Coho salmon averaging 8-10 pounds add variety.

For additional information about Lower Columbia Salmon Fishing please click here.

 

Tillamook Bay Salmon Fishing

Just when the Columbia River Chinook run begins to wind down the Fall King run at Tillamook Bay is just getting started. Fishing from mid-September into October out of Garibaldi near the mouth of Tillamook Bay initial angling efforts focus on the  'Jaws' either outside the jetties in the Pacific Ocean in the Tillamook Bay Bubble Fishery or just inside the Bay. As the season progresses we will follow the fish inside. We concentrate our efforts on the abundant Chinook Salmon which average  25-30 pounds. As with the Lower Columbia King fishery, there are enough large Chinook around that a 50 pound fish is not out of the question and catching the fish just in from the ocean assures they are top quality.

For additional information about Tillamook Bay Salmon Fishing please click here.

Spring Chinook  Sturgeon  Columbia Fall Salmon  Tillamook Bay Fall Salmon

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Last modified: 02/06/07