Columbia River Fishing Report: Steelhead Bite, Tidal Conditions, and Gear Recommendations

**ARTIFICIAL LURE'S COLUMBIA RIVER FISHING REPORT**
*Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025*

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Well folks, it's your boy Artificial Lure coming at you with today's Columbia River fishing breakdown. We're looking at a solid day out here on the water around Portland.

**TIDES & CONDITIONS**

We've got some decent tidal movement working for us today. High tide hit early this morning, and we're heading into that mid-day low around late morning. If you're planning to get out, aim for those slack water periods when the current isn't ripping – that's when the fish feed best. The downstream sections near Astoria are showing stronger tidal swings, so keep that in mind if you're heading that direction.

**WEATHER & LIGHT**

Sun came up around 7:30 this morning and we're looking at a 4:30 PM sunset. You've got a solid window of daylight to work with today. Conditions on the Columbia River Bar show a small craft advisory is in effect until early afternoon, so if you're near the mouth, take it easy.

**WHAT'S BITING**

We've had some solid reports of steelhead activity in recent weeks throughout the Columbia system. The milder weather we've been experiencing has fish more active than you'd expect for early December. Chinook are still around too for those targeting them.

**GEAR & LURES**

For steelhead, bring your standard winter arsenal – spoons and spinners in silver and brass are working. If you're throwing plugs, go with darker patterns given the water conditions. Live bait? Fresh roe and smelt are your money makers. Don't sleep on jigs either – they're productive in deeper holes.

**HOT SPOTS**

Hit the deeper pools around the Sellwood Bridge area – solid holding water. The St. Helens stretch upstream is also firing right now with good depth and current breaks.

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This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease.ai.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI