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Willamette River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Willamette at Salem: steelhead, spring Chinook and coho, smallmouth bass and walleye, shad and catch-and-release sturgeon, by ODFW's count.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
6,910 cfs
Air / High
45 / 61 F
Wind
SSE 1 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 14191000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Willamette River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 6,910 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 1 mph, falling pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 61. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:51 AM-11:51 AM and 10:21 PM-12:21 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

SteelheadExcellent

Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

WalleyeExcellent

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Chinook salmonFair

Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Tomorrow: Similar at 65 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Oregon requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $50.00 for residents. What a Oregon licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing steelhead here? Check the size and bag limits with ODFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Oregon, read off the agency, are on the Oregon seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Willamette River at Salem.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 14191000.

6,5506,7556,9606,910 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 110 years of October 23

At 6,910 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 14191000 (Willamette River at Salem) is at the 23rd percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 110 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 11,250 cfs; the highest was 78,400 cfs and the lowest 2,950 cfs.

p10 3,534median 11,250p90 20,760

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 14191000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp45 F
High / Low61 / 36 F
WindSSE 1-5 mph
Pressure1025.5 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:38 / 18:13
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Willamette River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Willamette River, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:51 AM-11:51 AM and 10:21 PM-12:21 AM
Minor period
4:17 AM-5:17 AM
Sun
07:38 to 18:13
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 5 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Willamette River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Great Lakes tributaries from fall through spring; West Coast rivers have both summer and winter runs

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the Pacific or the Great Lakes to grow, then return up rivers to spawn; unlike most Pacific salmon they can survive spawning and spawn again. Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Seasons follow the runs: spring, summer and fall runs on the West Coast, and late summer into fall in Great Lakes rivers

The largest Pacific salmon, caught by trolling and mooching at sea and by drifting and plunking in rivers as adults return to spawn; also stocked in the Great Lakes. Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

When to come: the Willamette River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Steelhead
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Chinook salmon
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Willamette River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Steelhead led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Steelhead led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 76 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Oregon requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Oregon angling license. Fishing for salmon, steelhead or sturgeon, even catch-and-release, also needs the Columbia River Basin Endorsement, which applies to all Willamette Zone rivers; keeping salmon or steelhead needs a Combined Angling Tag. Seasons and limits change in-season: see ODFW's Willamette Zone regulations and report.

Access

ODFW refers bank and boat anglers to Oregon Parks and Recreation for public access sites along the river; Willamette Falls is at Oregon City.

About this water

The Willamette River main stem in western Oregon; this page is set at Salem, Marion County.

Fishing Willamette River: the full guide

One river, many runs

ODFW's Willamette Zone report lists steelhead, spring Chinook, coho, bass, walleye, shad and catch-and-release sturgeon for the main stem. This page is set at Salem, where USGS gauge 14191000 (Willamette River at Salem) reports the flow.

Salmon at Willamette Falls

ODFW counts adult salmon and steelhead at Willamette Falls in Oregon City; the final 2025 spring Chinook run was 50,572 fish. In its October 1, 2026 report ODFW said wild coho were staging below the falls before heading to the Yamhill, Molalla and Tualatin, that wild coho could be kept at two adults and five jacks a day, and that the two-rod validation was extended through December 31 above the falls. In-season rules like these change; read the current report.

Bass and walleye in the middle river

ODFW points summer anglers to smallmouth bass between Salem and Albany and to bass and walleye from Buena Vista up toward Peoria, with Hyak Park as a place to try. The reach from Albany to Harrisburg is open all year for trout. The agency calls the river ideal for canoes and kayaks and says Oregon Parks and Recreation lists the public access points.

Eating fish from the lower river

The Oregon Health Authority's advisory covers resident fish from the Sellwood Bridge to the Columbia, and Multnomah Channel to the Sauvie Island Bridge, because of PCBs. It recommends no meals of bass, carp or brown bullhead and up to two meals a month of black crappie. Salmon, steelhead and shad are migratory and are not covered.

Common questions

When do coho reach Willamette Falls?

ODFW says late September to early October is typically the peak of the wild coho fishery above the falls.

Where should I try for smallmouth?

ODFW reported good smallmouth catches between Salem and Albany in fall 2026, and bass and walleye from Buena Vista toward Peoria.

Are there advisories?

Yes, for resident fish in the lower river from the Sellwood Bridge down: the Oregon Health Authority advises against eating bass, carp and brown bullhead from that reach.

Is fishing good at Willamette River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Detroit Lake42 miSiletz River46 miNestucca River47 miTrask River50 miSandy River52 miWilson River56 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 14191000 — Willamette River at Salem
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 16:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 44.9400, -123.0400 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.