72 Microseasons of the Pacific Northwest

Spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) — universally known as "springers" to Pacific Northwesterners — begin entering the Columbia River in numbers by late March, embarking on remarkable upstream migrations to spawning grounds hundreds of miles inland. Unlike fall Chinook, springers enter freshwater months before spawning, carrying enormous fat reserves that give their flesh a deep orange color and exceptional flavor prized by commercial and sport fishers alike. These fish will travel as far as 800 river miles to Idaho's Salmon River tributaries before spawning in late summer. By late March, early vanguard fish are ascending the Columbia and beginning to enter the lower Willamette near Portland and the Snake River. At Bonneville Dam's Bradford Island Visitor Center (open daily), the fish-viewing windows below the dam offer a remarkable opportunity: watch individual spring Chinook — adults averaging 15–25 pounds, some exceeding 40 — pass by in the underwater viewing gallery, their muscular silver bodies moving with purposeful power. The dam's fish ladder counter tracks passage numbers updated daily online, providing real-time data on the run's progress. The cultural significance of the spring Chinook return cannot be overstated. For the Columbia River Tribes — the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce nations — springers represent the first salmon of the year and are the centerpiece of First Salmon ceremonies that have been practiced for thousands of years. The run is visible from public bridges and river access points throughout the Columbia Gorge, and eagle watching platforms that hosted bald eagles feeding on winter salmon carcasses just weeks before now offer a new spectacle: the first fish of the new year moving upriver toward distant mountains.