Local Columbia Fishing Report: Light Action
- Anglers near Camas saw light fishing action last week around the Columbia River. - Just one spring Chinook was retained among eight boats and 13 rods in the stretch. - Broader Lower Columbia and nearby tributaries produced more fish, so locals may need to travel for better odds (nwsportsmanmag.com).
Spring Chinook fishing was slow last week in the Camas-Washougal stretch of the Columbia River, where eight boats fishing with 13 rods kept one salmon. (nwsportsmanmag.com) Those counts came from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s preliminary sport summary for April 13-19, posted April 21. In the next section downriver near the Interstate 5 area, two boats with four rods also kept one Chinook. (wdfw.wa.gov, nwsportsmanmag.com) Catch rates improved west of Camas. In the Vancouver section, 77 boats with 172 rods kept 31 Chinook, while Woodland anglers in 39 boats with 82 rods kept 14 and Kalama anglers in 30 boats with 87 rods kept 19. (nwsportsmanmag.com) Nearby tributaries also produced more fish than the Camas-Washougal mainstem reach. The Kalama River’s 21 boats with 55 rods kept 13 Chinook, the Lewis River’s 28 boats with 55 rods kept nine, and Wind River’s 25 boats with 47 rods kept six. (nwsportsmanmag.com) Managers built the 2026 season around a forecast of 147,300 upriver spring Chinook, down from the 154,703 that returned in 2025 but above the 10-year average of 126,248. Washington and Oregon approved the season in February and said they would adjust openings as counts and catch data changed. (wdfw.wa.gov) That adjustment already happened in April. Oregon’s Columbia Zone report said an additional lower Columbia extension was announced for Saturday, April 18, after earlier in-season changes to the spring Chinook fishery. (myodfw.com) The broader lower river showed why the season stayed open. Oregon’s April 16 report said weekly checks found 76 Chinook kept from 128 boats between Portland Airport and Warrior Rock, 47 kept from 85 boats between Warrior Rock and Prescott, and 54 kept from 132 boats between Wallace Island and Buoy 10. (myodfw.com) For anglers launching near Camas, the latest numbers point to a simple pattern: the fishery was open, but the better odds last week were downriver or in tributaries rather than the local stretch. (nwsportsmanmag.com, myodfw.com)
