Page 15 - Demo

Marcel Siegle photo
Marcel Siegle photo
The Klamath
is enjoying a resurgence in steelhead activity
HALF A CENTURY ago,the Klamath River from it’s mouth near Klamath Glen to well above Happy Camp was world-renowned for phenomenal half- pounder action! “Half-pounders” are juvenile steelhead that spend only months in the salt before returning to fresh water. Most ranged from fifteen inches to two pounds.And once in a while a fall monster about 4 or 5 pounds would be landed.Those same fish were found in prodigious numbers in the main and south forks of the Trinity River. Every camp ground on the shore of both watersheds was filled with trailers and campers who made an annual trek to the Klamath and Trinity each September and many didn’t pull up stakes until the cold weather arrived in mid-November.
The draw was the sport, and it wasn’t unusual for vet- eran fly fishermen to land and release dozens of those fish every day.
In the ‘70s and early ‘80s the owners of The Fly Shop® kept our doors open by guiding the Klamath in the days before the fishing petered out. The productive runs weren’t decimated by pressure or over harvest. (“Half Pounders” have a diet that produces a substance called geosolin and don’t taste good). In fact, a series of disastrous winter floods and successive summer droughts took their toll in the final two decades of the last century.
Three years ago that began to change, and as hard as we’ve tried to keep the superb fall fishing on the Klamath under the radar, the word has spread quickly that the number of half-pounders in the river from Kla- math Glen to Happy Camp is showing signs of return- ing to historic levels.
The time to be there is September, October, and early November.The weather is pleasant and, if this past season repeats itself it is well worth putting on your fly fishing calendar.
There is a dearth of accommodations and a shortage of talented experienced guides available. Again, we rec- ommend that interested anglers make their plans well in advance and contact us early for fall 2019 reservations.
Michael Caranci photo
Michael Caranci photo
phone 800-669-3474 15