The last week has been note worthy on several regards. The first things coming to mind are the perfect steelheading conditions, the numbers of very hot fish that we could not hang on to, and on the variety of fly rods that my guests have brought to the game.
P.J. is a new client from the Bay Area electronics industry and is passionate about connecting to the traditional roots of steelheading. His rod of choice was a 7 foot 3 inch bamboo restoration.
Joe fished with a 10 wt. graphite cannon, P.J.’s friend brought a 2 Wt. (which I denied!), and Dwayne and Ron brought an armory of spey guns and switch rods in the 5 to 7 weight range. While the rode divergence is extreme, each fisherman was passionate about his favorite rod and was successful in taking steelhead! Here is one of Dwayne’s fish from today:
I think the foundation to this successful rod diversity lies in the heterogeneous nature of the middle Klamath. We are not fishing the same kind of water from dusk till dawn. That 10 wt. of Joe’s did just fine in the deeper pools and runs, the bamboo rod worked best while casting from the boat, the spey rods of course did well on the waded riffles and the switch rod worked well from the boat and the waded runs. The side-line to this story is that it illustrates the typical fishing day for us. We do not need to spend 8-9 hours on the fishing dark-side, eyes glued to an indicator, and fending off fishing induced mental decay. Yes, I too use an indicator under dire circumstances of extreme cold winter conditions and tight fishing quarters, but the capacity to cast with impunity, in a constantly changing mix of riffles, plunge pools, tail-outs, boulder gardens, pocket water, and cut-banks makes our day varied, interesting, and simply great fun.
So, how has the fishing been? In a word: PERFECT. The fish have been hot, hot, hot. Check out this half pounder reaching to 5 feet out of the water before re-entering the atmosphere.
The frequent lost adult fish from the last week speak to the high-octane level of the current Klamath fishery. River temps are consistent at 58 degrees, the flows are stable near 2200 cfs, the clarity is good, the weather is ideal with broken skies and periodic light showers. And the guide is knowledgeable, sincere, effervescent, remarkable good looking, and quite humb……ble. That was HUMbbbble. On this note I’ll say good day. The river is calling and the breakfast bacon must first get fried!~ Doug