Best Fishing Guides for Columbia River
Fishing on the Columbia River.
Fishing trips on the Columbia River give anglers the chance to reel in a diverse selection of popular fish species including salmon, bass, walleye, steelhead, sturgeon, and more. Locals and visitors flock to the river during the fall for a chance to catch Chinook.
Fish Species in the Columbia River
The Columbia River is home to several types of fish. Some of these species originated in the Columbia basin, which indicates that they are descendants of ancestral fish that lived thousands of years ago. Along with these species, there are others that have been introduced to the Columbia River by humans during the last 200 years.
Native Species
Lamprey Family
The Columbia River contains two different types of fish that are members of the lamprey family: the Pacific lamprey and the western brook lamprey.
Sturgeon Family
The Columbia River is most famous for hosting the white sturgeon of the sturgeon family.
Salmonid Family
The Columbia River is home to a wide assortment of fish in the salmonid family, including the mountain whitefish, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, rainbow trout, steelhead, bull trout, cutthroat trout, and Chinook salmon,
Minnow Family
You can expect to find several fish in the minnow family while fishing on the Columbia River, such as the chisel mouth, redside shiner, pea mouth, northern pike minnow, speckled dace, and longnose dace. In addition, the leopard dace, Umatilla dace, tui chub, Oregon chub are minnows that have restricted or unverified ranges in the Columbia River.
Sucker Family
You may come across four different fish that are members of the sucker family while fishing in the Columbia River, such as the largemouth sucker, longnose sucker, mountain sucker, and bridgeslip sucker.
Cod Family
The Columbia River hosts one fish that is a member of the cod family, which is known as the eelpout.
Stickleback Family
The three-spine stickleback fish is the only member of the Stickleback family has been caught in the waters of the Columbia River.
Trout-Perch Family
The sand roller fish is the one member of the trout-perch family that is present in the Columbia River.
Sculpin Family
The Columbia River contains a great array of fish from the sculpin family, such as the prickly sculpin, torrent sculpin, mottled sculpin, reticulate sculpin, margined sculpin, and Paiute sculpin. In addition, the reticulate sculpin, short head sculpin, slimy sculpin, and coastrange sculpin are all sculpins that have restricted or unconfirmed ranges in the Columbia River.
Human Introduced Species
Herring Family
The Columbia River is home to one member of the herring family of fish, which is known as the American shad.
Salmonid Family
The lake whitefish, brown trout, brook trout, and lake trout are all members of the Salmonid family that have been introduced in the Columbia River by humans.
Pike Family
The northern pike and grass pickerel are two types of fish in the pike family that you can anticipate catching in the Columbia River.
Minnow Family
The goldfish, carp, and trench are three members of the minnow family that have been added to the Columbia River during the past 200 years.
Catfish Family
The Columbia River is home to several types of catfish, including channel catfish, yellow bullhead, brown bullhead, tadpole madtom, and black bullhead.
Consult with These Top Fishing Guides for The Best Columbia River Fishing Experience
Optimize the potential of your next experience with the assistance of a professional fishing guide who knows everything there is to know about the waters of the Columbia River. Reach out to one of the options on our list of the top fishing guides to ensure the success of your upcoming fishing trip to the Columbia River.