A fair portion of the client base for our Klamath River fly fishing guide service is a more elderly sportsman who no longer wishes to risk wading in the river. I enjoy the company of these gentleman sportsmen and I cherish the friendships they often develop into. The poignant and sometimes emotional point to the relationship is when the long term client/friend realizes that they have now aged beyond the capacity to manage a boat assisted fishing trip. I have had the pleasure and honor of witnessing these swan-song fish outings for several friends who know that the ends have come for their fishing careers.
Hugh now lives on the East coast in assisted care, and was able to manage a final flight out to the Klamath for his swan song trip to the Klamath River this last week. The days were glorious, filled with good memories, laughter, plenty of steelhead, and long farewell hugs. Thank you Dick, from the Oakmont, for helping Hugh to manage the travel and for sharing his last adventure. We’ll see you on the river, Hugh:
Here is a shot of one of the fish from Hugh’s trip:
And here is the CRAZY gull that attacked our fish all afternoon….what a wild day that was:
So, how is the fishing now? Classic. We have 49 degree water, flows in Orleans of about 2500 cfs. Sprinkles or showers nearly daily, and fresh fish showing up. I am seeing more salmon redds in November than I remember from previous years, so we are targeting a lot of the steelhead residing behind the redds. Oh, and the fishing pressure is typically light. I have not seen another boat on the river in days, and my son Peter saw just one other guide boat (pulling plugs) on the Ti Bar run today. If you want a private fishing day….great conditions…fresh fish…..and aggressive sea-gulls…give us a call! See you on the Rio, Doug