Total Fisherman Guide Service is a local Portland fishing guide service specializing in fishing the beautiful and productive waters in and around the greater Portland, Oregon area as well as all of NW Oregon.
Guided fishing in the Portland area provides great opportunity for Chinook salmon for several months of the year, fantastic sturgeon fishing all year long, and don't forget our beautiful summer and winter steelhead!
Portland Oregon's close proximity to both the Columbia River and Willamette River make it a hub for some of the North West's finest fishing!
We provide all of your tackle, bait, and fish filleting. All you need to bring is a smile, your lunch, a fishing license and something to take your fish home in!
Portland Fishing Seasons
The best time to fish in Portland is whenever you have the opportunity, there is always something to fish for here so let us know what the time frame for your fishing trip is, and we can let you know what your best options are.
Our fishing seasons in the Portland, Oregon area go year around but in general break down into the following seasons.
Portland Sturgeon Fishing Season
Sturgeon are the largest game fish in North America and wow do they fight hard! Not only are they great fighters but they are great biters, sturgeon love to eat and catching them in large numbers is a lot of fun and a great way to spend the day!
Portland fishing charters for sturgeon run all year long, however there are times when the fishing is catch and release only and keeping them isn't allowed.
During the fall and winter our sturgeon fishing in Portland is best on the Willamette River. The Willamette sturgeon population is very large and high numbers of fish are caught during this time! 15 to 30 fish and higher is an average catch for the boat.
During spring months we are running Willamette River catch and release trips seven days a week, as well as catch and keep trips on the Columbia River on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Come join one of our charters and catch the largest game fish in North America!
Portland Salmon Fishing Season
Salmon fishing in Portland, Oregon isn't just something we do ... it's who we are!
Chinook salmon are an Oregon icon and the people that live here and the anglers that fish here wouldn't be the same without them. When the salmon are running, they're the talk of the town! From the newspaper, to the evening news, coffee shops, and restaurants, everyone has salmon on their mind!
Spring Chinook Salmon
Our first salmon run of the year begins in February and runs through May into June with March, April and May being the best months to catch these fish. We start our guided spring chinook trips in mid March.
Spring Chinook also called "Springers" average 14 to 25 pounds and are the finest eating salmon in the world. They stay chrome bright until their spawning period in August and September and they are the crown jewel of Portland Oregon's salmon runs!
Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon
Fall Chinook "Kings" and Coho "Silvers" enter the Columbia River starting in August and continue through October.
Our fall salmon runs are the largest of the year with some years having a combined run exceeding one million fish!
Trolling is our primary technique for catching salmon. As Portland Oregon fishing guides we have found over the years that trolling is one of the most effective and fun ways to catch salmon.
Our fall Coho Salmon average 12 to 15 pounds and these silver acrobats are a blast on light tackle!
Columbia River fall Chinook average 20 to 35 pounds with some exceeding 50 pounds!
Come join professional Portland fishing guides Kevin and Lacey for a fishing trip of a lifetime!
Please make sure you check out our whole web site to see more about the incredible guided fishing trips and charters that we provide, and please don't hesitate to call us with any questions that you may have. We love talking fishing!
EST.Total Fisherman Philosophy2000
We believe that:
- Spending your life doing something you love is the secret to happiness.
- Attention to detail and being absolutely driven, catches fish and creates success.
- A focused effort catches more fish and bigger fish. Just going through the motions is for other people.
- Spending extra time and effort toward making your day successful is important and makes a difference.
- We believe that cutting corners on expenses and effort isn't something you do, even if nobody else will know.
- We believe we should expect the most from every day on the water and hold ourselves to a higher standard.
- We should give back as much and as often as we possibly can.
- It's our job to act as stewards of the resource and as consummate professionals who know that our actions speak louder then words.
Giving 100% every day is the norm, because Buoy 10 or Estuary sturgeon or whatever season we happen to be in only comes around once a year, and in a few weeks it will be over. Let's be realistic ... every one of us has to have a last day on the water. We never know when that day will come, so we are absolutely going to make every day our best day.
We don't have gimmicks like "Fish Catch Guarantees". We won't tell you that we're catching 50 pound salmon every week, or tell you the fishing is red hot when it's not, or any of the other assorted things that guides tell prospective clients to get them on their boats. We're honest and we have integrity.
We provide high quality fishing trips at the median price for guides in the NW. We could charge more or we could charge less, but we don't want you to come fishing with us because your decision is based on price. We want you to come fishing with us because you think we run a first class operation, that we are going to treat you well, and because we catch fish.
We're not the Dollar Store of fishing guides and we certainly aren't the Four Seasons. Our pricing is middle of the road. We believe in charging enough so that we can use high quality equipment, maintain this equipment, and not have to cut corners. We also believe that charging the average price will hopefully allow you to come back more often.
We really take fishing seriously, it's our passion and we certainly want to catch fish just as much as you do; that's why we go during the best times to the best locations and spend extra time, effort, and money to make your trip the best that it can be. We want you to have a successful trip so you come back fishing with us, we also want to be successful so we maintain our reputation as top notch guides.
We take a lot of pride in our fish catching ability and we do everything in our power to put fish in the box, while at the same time having fun, and keeping you safe.
Our approach to life and to fishing isn't standard, and it would certainly be "easier" for us if we weren't worried about these things, but the easy route and the safe bet aren't what we're after. We care about you and we care about your experience on our boats.
We believe our customers, peers and fellow fishermen know that we hold this philosophy close to our hearts and that they know we are out there every day living it. We believe it's important to not let them down.
Kevin, Lacey, Chris & the whole Total Fisherman crew!
Kevin Newell & Lacey DeWeert - Team Total Fisherman
Who is behind Total Fisherman?
Kevin Newell & Lacey DeWeert are the Total Fisherman team!
Total Fisherman Guide Service was founded in 2000 and we have enjoyed every minute since!
Sign up for our Newsletter!
