Salmon fishing has picked up on the lower river. Most adult coho and chinook have been caught below Nugent Park with spinners. Bait fisherman have been catching primarily jacks.

With cooler weather and an end to irrigation season, the Umatilla River is beginning to receive fall Chinook, coho, and steelhead in good numbers. It appears the brood needs for fall Chinook will be met from the run return that currently numbers just over 2,000 fish. Coho have returned just over 1,100 fish so far. The coho return is expected to be in excess of 3,000 fish for the year.

There is now a new regulation in place with a hook gap size that may not exceed 3/8 inch in the section of the Umatilla River above the CTUIR reservation. This new regulation is to protect bull trout and decrease the chance of hooking mortality. As a reminder, if you catch a bull trout, recognized by its white spots, please keep it in the water and release it as quickly as possible. No targeting of bull trout is allowed in the Umatilla River.