klamath steelheading

Klamath River steelhead fly fishing highlights for 2011

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 04:54:00 GMT

I started carrying a small camcorder with me on our fishing trips this Fall, and was able to build a "highlights" video for our 2010 season, which I will post here. I had enough fun with this project, that I think I will make it an annual project. I hope you enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA8BzS-sRWo

Loquatious (but not redundant) Steelheading

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:57:00 GMT

OK, as past president of the Somes Bar Department of Redundancy Located In Somes Bar, I take pride in the accusation (or accolade) from Brad Holst yesterday. As a professional communicator, Brad's descriptor of my guiding style as "loquatious" should in theory carry some weight.   However, this is the epitome of the "kettle calling the pot black".   Brad....is even more loquatious...and professionally trained to demonstrate said lucid oral deliveries.   What are we talking about? My 20 minute answer to Brad's question: "Why did the mountain slip to the river over there?"   The Klamath weather may be hot or cold, the fish may be bighting or not, the river may be flowing high or low, but the guarantee for mid Klamath fishing trips is always serene fishing, exquisite scenery, and even wit, flamboyant guide yarns, and abundant good conversation. Oh, and did I forget to shamelessly promote my wife's cooking at our guest ranch ?   Here is my new friend Brad, brother to my fishing compadres and fellow "soul soldiers" Dave and Monty Holst:

But how was the fishing you ask?   This week has seen a dropping river, clear water, moderate temperatures, and lots of fresh, hot fish.   We did not net any adults on our most recent outing, but the quantity of half pounders and their chrome bright ocean fresh complexions bode well for a push of new fish of all sizes. If you choose a week to come up and fish the Klamath this November, this next week may be the "prime lie" for the fish calendar. So, put down the remote control, and tell Mama that it's time to steelhead.

As usual, the Holst clan demonstrates quality in delivery of fly lines.   Here is a cool shot of David:

Thanks for sharing the good times Dave, Brad and Monty, and we will see you next year.
Doug

Steelhead Politics

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:21:00 GMT

This past November 2 was Election Day. During the course of our steelhead fishing trips, the topic of discussion has often turned politics. Now I generally try to avoid the topics of politics, religion, and other personal topics during the fish day. It too often detracts from the up-beat gratifying topics of new fishing gear, and lifted trucks.

In a recent riverside discussion on the topic of politics, my guests and I reviewed the life history of steelhead to try and determine a probable political alignment for the species.

Recall, that steelhead are abandoned at birth and left to fend for themselves. Lacking parental nurturing and care, the few that survive early childhood begin a nomadic life style that takes them to unknown global climes. They just don’t stay connected to a home fish community, or contribute in any way to local fish culture. Instead, they travel the world in roving pods of aggressive gangs, often returning as juvenile delinquents to terrorize the homes of otherwise sincere mature spawning adult fish. These half-pounder pre-adults have a propensity for body piercings and eagerly move to sharpened steel if it has just the slightest bit of flashy dubbing or exotic feather wrapped on a cold steel shank.

The sad truth to this scenario is that these renegade fish learn to live on the programmed dole offerings of big-nature. Now we all know how big-nature moves without any concern to the greater development of individualist fish character. It’s all about just passing along the best genes without any regard to the individual in the interest of the “greater fish good”. The net result of this is the most common steelhead character flaw of hedonistic feeding, voraciously consuming any and all prey animals that they can fit their mouths around. They seldom give up the barcolounger sweet lie or remote control up-stream view. They may spend hours or days at a time to slurp passing detritus while refusing to move too far out of their fish lies to earn their meals. If this were not appalling enough, these homeless often nose pierced carnivorous anadramoids cannot keep a home even if they manage to locate their natal waters! As soon as they build a nest and create a family, they immediately abandon their offspring and return to the sea with the surviving bros- from – the – hood to perpetuate the cycle indefinitely. Its heart breaking to me.

Have we mentioned substance abuse? These poor saps are on the whole, addicted to power baits hawked by those low-life power bait pushers that skulk around dark river corners in untoward riparian neighborhoods. I feel like crying.

Well, I don’t know for sure if these steelhead even vote, but some may conclude from the above life history, that steelhead may be of a liberal politic. However, others have argued that based on their frequent attempts to jump to the moon, to conquer distant global fish niches, and to encourage big-nature to move unfettered by fish legislations, that they are conservative. I, However, feel that based on their propensity toward anger after a lip piercing of their own choice and volition, tend to view them as tea-partiers. They just seem to get too pissed off when they are called on to accept the consequences of their choices. After all, peer pressure from the steelhead pod is no excuse for their willful choice to pierce their noses with Japanese steel. And what’s with those rosy cheeks? Are they embarrassed by the whole “spawning” scene? I mean, we all know what they are really up to. Perhaps we need to secure our boarders and patrol for non-native steelhead to preserve our national steelhead stock & culture.

So, I hope this discussion of fish politics hasn’t offended too many of my readers, but I didn’t write this sad story, I’m just passing it along for your own evaluation and consideration.

Till next time, your fish politic analyst, Doug

Klamath River October fishing report

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 04:12:00 GMT

The mid Klamath River is fishing nicely and we are enjoying a healthy run of steelhead this year.   Current water temps are at about 60 degrees, the flow at Orleans is at 1800 cfs see the Klamath River Report

The amazing thing about the Klamath is that is gets so little fishing pressure.   The scenery is world class, we are netting an average of 15 steelhead on a guide day, and we have a world class fishing lodge to support the fishing. I suppose the Mid Klamath is just too remote for some people.

We guided our new friends from the American Fly Fishing Shop and had a wonderful two days.   Here are some of the highlight fish and images. Note that Al Bunch forgot his American Fly Shop hat, and the Earl his guest got the bigger fish.   Earl also has a personal promise to never smile for a fish picture until he gets his first 20 pound steelhead. Yea, I know, and yes, I told him he may be frowning a while...we shall see:

See you on the river, Doug

Where have all the big boy's gone?

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:26:00 GMT

This is a two pound steelhead typical of some that we are catching lately. As pretty as this fish is, it lacks in size compared to the adult fish that we expect to see in October and November. I have a concern over the seeming reduction in numbers of 7 - 10+ pound steelhead that the Klamath should be producing. Are they just late this year?   Are they waiting for higher flows? Is the slow start to Winter precipitation a factor? Are they being taken prior to arrival in the mid Klamath?   I just don't know. We have recently seen a nice push of half pounders come through, and I had been hoping to see more of the 4 - 6 pound steelies and some of the bigger fish as well, but I don't see them in good numbers yet.

On a positive note, the river is in amazingly good shape for fishing. We are now seeing the cycle of storms followed by dry weeks. Here is the effect of some recent storms as it shows in Klamath River flows at Orleans:

I fished yesterday with Bruce and Bryan Krogstad. Bruce is a past Marble Mountain Ranch client and his son Bryan is an Alaska fly fishing guide now doing graduate studies in social work at Portland.   The weather was timed at the tail end of the recent storm. We had great water clarity, water temps at 48 degrees, there was snow on the higher peaks, and the fishing was average as fas as numbers.   We took 4 half pounders, one small adult shown above, and we broke off one un-seen larger fish. Yea, Bruce...lets talk again about "horsing" a steelie even with a 2-X tippet!...It was a great day, and frankly, I quite enjoyed hearing about Bryan's adventures fishing with the Alaska cruise ship guests and guiding with a shotgun slung over the shoulder to drive off the bear.   I guess that's the ultimate of "un-concealed carry". Here is another shot of a fish from yesterday:

The current weather forecast shows the next 10 days with clear skies or partly cloudy, but with no anticipated precipitation. If you can make the drive up during the Thanksgiving week, this might be a good guess at lining up the weather, river flows, and possible fresh fish arrivals.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!...My Hoopa Indian neighbor invited us over to be his "Token Pilgrim" at the Thanksgiving table, but we have guests here this week...Sorry Joseph!

Doug

Dave and Monty's most excellent Klamath River steelhead adventure

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:37:00 GMT

The classic fishing yarn almost always starts with a line like this: "Me and Bubba was a fishing up yonder on swillup crick....."

This tale, however, is deserving of a little more, hmmmm, editorial class: "It was a mystical morning, that first clearing day after the storms, as this Father/Son fishing duo strung their rods in anticipation of their continued search for the legendary Klamath River Steelhead."

The previous day had been stacked full of the powerful silver demon bullets, but the steady rain had pushed the intrepid duo to the limits of their physical prowess. (How's it sounding so far?)

But as the sun breached the limits of the ridge tops, burning the chilling cloud banks from the dark abyss of the canyon recess, the mighty Dave and Monty father-son team began their orchestrated and finely honed precision casting barrage that would taunt the helpless steelhead for the balance of the day. Take this you nasty steelhead!

and take this!

First one came to hand, then another came to net, and another, till double and triple digit numbers were racked up,

until finally the fatal karmic prideful comment was uttered by the younger of the Holst team. As the previously solitary fishermen drifted into range of the only other boat on the river, young David commented: "Look there!   Those boys are pulling plugs and tossin spinners!    Lets hook up to a big-un and holler up and down the canyon as we fish a big boy!!!"

Not much can destroy an otherwise perfect fishing day quicker the the soul searing flaws of vain and arrogant prideful fishing....It's that darned Y chromosome rearing it's macho head again and laying the groundwork for fishing wars and generalized, river dischord.

No sooner had Dave, this otherwise fine and upstanding general practitioner and good father from Mt. Shasta, uttered these fatal words, than the two elderly plug pullers connected with some form of un-godly hybrid between Orca, flipper, and Jaws. They beat us to the prescribed hoots, hollers, and echoing laughter of fishing Nirvana. Our spirits were destroyed, and the 30-plus half pounders suddenly meant nothing in comparison to that beast caught in the trebles.

"OK, lets pull up and move on" was my comment, as I continued to role play the spiritual advisor and began my sermon on prideful fishing....but first, if you are humble and repentant, we can quarter cast off of the starboard mid-ship and we will fish this seam as we pass....
FISH ON!! AND FISH ON!!   IT'S A DOUBLE HOOK UP!!!

Farewell - humility,     so long - compassion,    Drop anchor and grab a net!!!

The day ended with over 40 half pounders, three adult fish hook-ups, perfectly clear skys, and only one other boat for competition.   The hot-shotters did have a nice come-back in the end though:   "Hey, we got a double too!   it's a fish and a beer!!!" as the bow man held up his can with a wide grin.

Heck, I don't drink anyway!   That don't mean nothin.... Here's number 41.

And so ended the day.   Just another excellent adventure, with fish, bubba, beer, religion and testosterone.

Till later, Doug

Klamath River swan songs and bird attacks

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:25:00 GMT

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

Lunatic Fringe Fishermen, I know you're out there!

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:21:00 GMT

The Klamath River has finally entered it's Winter pattern of repeated rains followed by short periods of clearing. The flows have been up accordingly, and the river has been at times full of floating debris and suspended sediment. However, the last week has not given us any blown out days, just more challenging days in wet weather with lunatic fringe fishing compatriots. Here is the flow graph from USGS as reported at Orleans.

If I am fishing in water with large amounts of floating detritus, or in water that is off color, I fish with fly patterns that are easily distinguishable from the suspended trash.   Why should I tie on a brown/green small fly when there are billions of other small brown/green pieces of trash zipping by a steelhead and competing for it's attention?   Why not go with RED as the predominant fly color in this scenario?   Here is my proof:

A babine special, glow bug, polar shrimp or some form of contrasting and attention grabbing fly is my go-to pattern in these conditions.

Pete and I have fished most of the week with guests from all over the globe. We have had a couple from Germany, a steelheader from Colorado, an ex-fishing guide from Washington state, a hotelier from Eureka, a west coast beer distributer, and my long term returning father/son friends Bruce Sr. and Bruce Jr. (Bruce to the second power in mathematical terms) from the Sacramento and San Francisco area. The daily creel count has been consistent at about 8-9 half pounders and one adult in the mix.    The adults however, are seldom pushing past that 4-5 pound class and it makes me wonder where the big bruisers are this year.   There is a lot of press lately about sand berms at the mouth of the Klamath, Low Klamath River flows, and recently about possible abuses of gill nets by the Hoopa and the Yurok indians. I don't have any desire to point fingers in this forum, so I am going to contrast this discussion with a cyber HIGH FIVE and thank you to my neighbors the Karuk tribe for limiting their ceremonial and subsistence fishing to the practice of dip netting at Ishi Pishi Falls. This tactic is selective to the species desired, is more authentic in tradition than monofilament gill nets strung out with jet boats, and is nearly impossible to over-fish with.   You cannot leave a dip net out over night and drown a hundred salmon and steelhead by the time you decide to come back in a day or so.

Here is how the Karuk do it, and in my opinion do it right. This is Ron Reed, a neighbor of mine, who's son I taught math to at Happy Camp High.

My ancestral stock is viking stock from Denmark. This was a rather tough, brutal bunch of boaters that most of Europe built hundred foot castle walls to defend against, and frankly I am glad for the loss of this part of my personal cultural tradition. I carry on my viking fishing and boating tradition by catch and release fishing with a barbless hook fly while carrying a tasty deli sandwich in the cooler! No need to maraud, pillage, and plunder these days, thank goodness.   As for the Karuk tradition of Dip Netting, my thought is "go get-em" and please try to stay on the top of that slippery rock and out of the falls.

Here is a parting shot from this weeks released harvest of chrome:

Later, Doug

My days fishing the Klamath River with Paris Hilton

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:44:00 GMT

Now that I have your attention, I would like to spill the beans about the last several years I have spent fishing the Klamath River with Paris Hilton (the fly).   Nope, no videos are to follow, but it does smell a lot like fish here....lets start at the beginning:

One of my good friends and clients is Mike McGuire from the Peninsula Fly Fishers.   Each year prior to his arrival, he sends an e-mail and asks if he can tie me some flies, and if so, what would I like. Being the rather demented and twisted sort that I am, I have a tough time with simple honest and straightforward answers. Three or four years ago I responded to him with a request that I really didn't expect Mike to follow through with.

"Mike, I want you to tie me a dozen herniators with an added set of wings from a Silver Hilton, and tie me a dozen in the bead head version.....please.....and can you do them in both green and copper?"

Since Mike is the accommodating type, he gladly tied them and carried them up for that season's steelhead club outing here at the Marble Mountain Ranch. Of course, I put them to work on the first day I fished with Mike.   Obviously, since I am writing the story, the flies must have had some value. In fact, they were so effective, that I continued fishing the flies for the next year as my current secret "boat fly." I then began the search for a name for this new creation.

The first thing that came to mind was simply "Herniated Hilton." With each new visiting client, I continued to tie on my new secret boat fly and explain that it is flashy, skinny, sexy, often floats by on it's back, and is lightly dressed. (please forgive me here)...so, finally one guest responded..."Oh, you mean you fished with Paris Hilton?".....and that was the end of the name search.

Now, all you minions of loyal readers of this blog.   Here is your payback.   Allow me to introduce, Paris Hilton - the fly

and yes, the copper version was named the BFF (best friends forever).   I claim ignorance of what the BFF actually stands for, since I threw out the family TV 15 years ago when we moved to Marble Mountain Ranch....you see, a friend of mine told me what a BFF is and how the Nicole girl was ....never mind.

So, now the secret is out.   I have been fishing with Paris Hilton for 4 years, and I smell like fish. Her partner, a BFF has also been fishing with me, and she too smells like fish. I ask for forgiveness from my supporting wife and family and promise to not let this unfortunate event deter me from my continued service in the public sector. (excuse me while I wipe a tear from the corner of my right eye with the conveniently placed handkerchief in my breast pocket)

The following image of a bead head Paris Hilton stuck in the teeth of this poor, innocent, and hapless salmon is recommended for viewing by mature audiences only:

Well, I hope this blog entry doesn't get me sued.   Have a good night and get to work tying those new flies, courtesy of Doug and Mike.

Jaws on the Klamath River

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:11:00 GMT

When we target steelhead on the fly, we sometimes also get salmon to bite the fly. The does not often happen, but it does occasionally. When it does, and when the fish is fresh, you can imagine the river battle that erupts. Imagine, a strong 25-30 pound salmon on a 6 wt fly rod. Mike Pinelli (from the Peninsula Fly Fishers) was fishing with his son Andy in my boat when we targeted steelhead at a tail-out and amazingly connected with this King Salmon. The fight lasted 27 minutes, the salmon pulled my boat through a downstream rapid, and Mike took the biggest fish of his life. We had just moments earlier upgraded his leader, and put a fresh knot at his fly to enable getting this fish in the net. There is seldom a dull day in this business.

Here is another shot:

We have also continued to find steelhead in what is turning out to be a remarkable October. This Fall has been stellar for weather, good company and shared adventures, and great fishing conditions on the Klamath. Here is one of this week's steelhead.

Peter, my son is also a great addition to our guiding staff this year. Can it get any better than fishing for steelhead with family and friends? Sometimes life just seems too good to be true. OK< wipe that tear from your eyes! I'll post a picture of Peter for you all to see sometime next week. Doug

A Guide's prime directive

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:41:00 GMT

I often have guests that are world traveling fishermen. While I get a lot of fishing days under my belt, they are all concentrated on the streams that are within reach of our lodge/ranch. I fish the Klamath, Trinity, Cal Salmon and that is about as far as I get to go due to my life constraints and guiding logistics. As well traveled fishing guests spend the day with me, the conversation sometimes goes to the topic of that incredibly great guide on the SUCH and SUCH river, or that horrendous guide on the So and So river. The obvious questions I have are: "Why was one a great guide and the other a poor guide?"

It seems that once you get past competence to put a client on to the fish, the most common responses relate to poor public relations and non-professional aspects of the service. Other issues some mentioned included poor lunches and dodging the game wardens after confessing that the guide was not licensed. The poor guides often have a sense of arrogance and intolerance of the guest's fishing weaknesses, they may provide only limited service in the day, or cut the day short, and might actually fish in competition to the guests who have paid to be there.   These things are all amazing thoughts to me and somewhat hard to understand.   It seems only fair to assume that if a client has paid to have me guide them, that they demand every conceivable talent and asset I might posess to assist in the success of the day, and that we darn well better have an enjoyable day.....regardless of the weather or if we have fish in the stream.

I've been in one form of the guiding business or another since I was 14 years old (1968) and it is my career choice as well as my passion. I love my job and I have a clear vision of what I think my guiding priorities ought to be.   So for the record, here we go:

Prime directive:   SAFETY - I require all of our fishing guests to wear a life vest in the boat, and it is a comfortable fishing vest that is easy to fish while wearing. All of my guides have CPR, First Aid, and are fully licensed and bonded.

Second directive: Put the guests on fish without being overbearing, arrogant, or demanding.   In other words - Just relax and have fun.    Have LOTS of fun mixing up the day with varied fishing tactics and good conversation.

Third directive: Professional courtesy to all neighboring fishermen, local residents, and any people encountered in the trip.   I give a hearty smile and thumbs-up to that wade fisherman who happened to be in my favorite fishing hole with a fish on the line.   No fishing spot or different fishing tactic or divergent politic is worth losing the good karma of a perfect fishing day.   It's fishing and it's supposed to be enjoyed rather than argued about.
OK<   so how has the fishing been?   GREAT!   During the last two days we picked up around half pounders/boat and connected with 1 - 2 adult fish in the 5 pound range.   Wind has been somewhat nasty, but we have managed.

Here are some pictures of the days:

Later, Doug

The Devine Cast

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:48:00 GMT

I have just finished guiding a week with some very proficient fly casters. The spey rod was their tool of choice, and frankly I was a bit concerned about how the days would go as I choreographed casts to target waters that required being in my drift boat. It took short minutes to figure out how to efficiently spey cast from the decks of my drift boat. I don't think I have ever covered so much water in as thorough a fashion as by combining strategic boat placement with precise spey casting. I thoroughly enjoyed the days being on the water with two steelheaders that are on top of the game. Did I say that the casting was devine? Check this out. I have actual photographic evidence of the source of the cast.

On a side note, the competition for the best fly box collection was ramped up to a new level this week. We couldn't even fit all of Dwayne's boxes on the log to stage this photo.

The fishing over the last few days has been tough. Weather conditions were ideal, but the bite was a bit off. To make it even tougher, our largest fish always seemed to be one shake of the head, one jump to the sky and one charge to the boat ahead of us. The biggest fish we had on the hook, were never put in the net. Oh well, the day's were filled with classic steelhead adrenaline adventure and Fall magic.

The Klamath is stable at 2100cfs in Orleans, river temps are 56 degrees, skys are filled with partial clouds, and the leaves are brilliant yellow, orange, and reds. Our typical days over the week have produced 6-15 half pounders and 0 - 3 adults. Till later, Doug

Casting with impunity through the Middle Klamath

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:29:00 GMT

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

good, better, best fishing reports

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:43:00 GMT

Most fishing guides have some sort of web presence and many post a fishing report or blog. The savvy fishing client has the ability to cruise through these blogs and glean information about fishing conditions on their rivers of choice. However, a river guide with a need to fill empty guide days, can feel pressure to bias the reports to encourage prospective bookings. I feel that a good report should be brutally honest and post both quantifiable and objective information as well as subjective and anecdotal observations.

One of my favorite places to start in evaluating the Klamath River is the river flow, measured in cubic feet per second (cfs) at Orleans. I choose Orleans only because it is the closest guage stations to our home base in Somes Bar. I prefer to fish in water that is under 5000cfs and ideally between 2000 and 3000 cfs for the swung fly presentation.

We have recently had our first significant storm come through the North State and it has pushed much of the Summer algae and early Fall leaf litter downstream. The water temperatures are perfect for steelheading (mid 50s), and the river is in a clearing, dropping flow, and generally improving condition. Here is how the graph looks as taken from USGS:

In an ideal world, I would have a graph that had a blue line for cfs, a red line for river temperature, a green line for clarity, and a black line for steelhead density. Yeah right! The reality is that I get a USGS map showing stream flow rate, I take my thermometer down to the river and get a reading, I take a step into the river and check if I can see my feet, and then count fish taken during a guide day. Oh yea, I also get a pretty good idea of the river clarity by watching our canal diversion from Stanshaw creek. This diversion brings us water for our hydroelectric plant, and it gives me a good idea of main stream Klamath river quality. If my penstock diversion line is muddy, and full of leaves, I can count on the river being off color and full of debris.

Well, the bottom line to all of this is that for the next 10 days we appear to have an improving river, that is cleaner and cooler than the previous weeks. My anecdotal fishing creel count indicates more bright, aggressive steelhead are waiting to wrestle with my fishing guests. So, lets go get em!

Doug

Oct 5-7 fishing reports

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:35:00 GMT

The last few days have been remarkably consistent. The main stem Klamath has been flowing around 1900 cfs at Orleans with 300 additional cfs released at Iron Gate Dam. The temperature of the main Klamath has lowered to around 57 degrees, but has some additional moss in the system. And, the number of our caught fish have daily been around 6 half pounders and two adults.   Here is a sample of a typical adult from the last few days. This mis Michael Caranci, from the Redding Fly Shop. That rod on his arm is a "switch" rod. It's the hybrid of a spey and a single handed rod. It was interesting in one particular regard, in that he was easily able to spey cast while working from a boat deck. But, I suspect Michael could spey cast while standing one legged on a slippery boulder, mid stream, with wind in his face, a gnat in the eye, and with bear fishing alongside.

During the last two weeks there has been a sand bar develop at the mouth of the Klamath that has stopped up-stream migration. I suspect that it is the reason for the slower fishing we are seeing on the lower Klamath, since there would be no fresh fish moving upstream through the riffles, while already arrived fish have spread out over the reaches of the mid and upper Klamath.   The sand bar has moved, fish are now entering at the mouth, and we have a large rain pattern predicted for next week. This should make fishing difficult during the rising river, but ultimately produce some quality fishing for the balance of October.

Here is another picture from the earlier part of the week:

See you on the rio.   Doug

Bringing a knife to a Steelhead gun fight

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:15:00 GMT

Ken Fortson has been a guest at Marble Mountain Ranch for the last three steelhead seasons. This however, was the first year he hired me as his fishing guide. Ken is remarkable in the preparation that he brings for his Klamath River steelhead hunt. Most people I know tie a few flies, or stop in at the local fly shop on the way in. Ken is different. He starts planning next years return visit during his current fish trip. Take a look at his "fly box" for this trip. It looks like a tray from the shelves of the local fly shop! All his flies are traditional classic patterns that look great in the box, or the jaws of a steelhead.

Yesterday we fished with Ken and his friend Jeff. We took two steelhead in the first hole, both on a Ward's Wasp. Then things got quiet for us as we fished prime water for hours without any luck. After lunch, the cloud cover increased, the temperatures dropped, and the bite came on. We only connected with 4 half pounders, but we got into some nice sized adult fish. Ken's friend Jeff was a first time steelheader and is now re-living the loss of his first adult (probably a 30 inch fish) due to an undersized tippet, and a death grip hold onto his fly line at the time of the hit. That fish hit, jumped into the air and Jeff was slammed forward into the front of the boat as his tippet snapped. Yes, you cannot expect to land the big boys with light tippet, tight drags, and tight grips onto your fly line....live and learn Jeff! Don't bring a knife (the 6 - 8 pound tippet) to a steelhead gun fight.

Ken took a nice adult in the 24 inch range that was so hot that I didn't think he would be able to net it. By the way, he had just upgraded to a 12.5 pound flourocarbon tippet. Here is the fish:

That is one of Ken's "purple perils" in the corner of the fish jaw. Jeff's connection with that run-away Klamath Steel was on a #6 Freight Train that I furnished. This morning at breakfast, Ken and Jeff committed to booking two guide days next year, with a rest day between them. They said I wore them out! Hey! That's what you paid for!

So, the Klamath has had a remarkably fast drop in temperatures and by my thermometer read 58 degrees yesterday. There is still a lot of moss in the river, so keep an eye on your flies for contraband river salad, and bring gear sized for the largest fish you might hope to take!

Monday and Tuesday we fish with the editor from the Salmon Trout steelhead journal and the Redding Fly shop.....more adventures await!

Doug

Where the fish are/are'nt on the Klamth

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:40:00 GMT

Today we fished the Lower Klamath from Coon creek to near Blue Creek, and I have to say that I think the better fishing right now is upstream on the mid Klamath. The fish seem to be on a fast passage through when they are in the lower stretches. This makes sense to me as I imagine them in their migration upstream to their natal waters. So, I think that the best success in the Lower Klamath is going to be when your presence as a fisherman, coincides with the migration schedule of a group of fish as they pass through your chosen riffle. By contrast, if you fish the mid - upper Klamath or the Trinity, you might be fishing to more fish that have slowed the ascent upstream as they stall nearer their spawning sites. These upstream stretches also have more in-river structure that might tend to provide longer term cover, but simultaneously make wadding more challenging. Tomorrow I am taking the drift boat upstream to the Coon Creek - Persido Bar run, and we shall see how we do! Here is a photo of one of our steelhead making a short detour to the bank prior to the return to spawn:

That's my boy!

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:22:00 GMT

This past Summer my first son Peter left San Leandro, left a career path in law, and returned home with his wife and two children to partner in Marble Mountain Ranch with Heidi and Me. Pete comes with a deep love of the river, but a less than favorable opinion about horses. However, the willing heart and desire to see a family business succeed has led him to new appreciations of our business and services. Pete is now also fly fish guiding with me. I don't often get into the pictures on this blog, since I am usually behind the camera. But on today's Father/Son fish outing I was able to be led to the fish, have my picture taken, and do the classic "grip and grin". Hey check this out! That's me holding the fish this time! This nice fish came to a #6 herniator on a slow swing.

I don't know if I was more proud of Pete taking me to the fish, or just happy to see a good looking steelhead. So, we have some cooler weather, mildly cooler water, and increasingly short days. Obviously, we also have some bigger fish starting to show up too. Well, tomorrow I am going to fish below Weitchepec and heat up the jet boat engine. Maybe we will heat up our fly reels as well. As they say: tip up and a tight line to land the fish. Doug

Cooler weather on the Klamath, and more fish

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:33:00 GMT

The recent cooler weather and today's rain are welcomed changes to the steelhead fishing conditions here on the Klamath. This week's typical fishing day produced 1-2 small adults, 4-6 half pounders and a dozen or so trout and smelt. River temperatures were still 67-68 degrees in the main stem Klamath and in the 65-66 degree range near the creek mouths.   Guess where we focused our fishing attention!

I got to fish this week with a long term Marble Mountain Ranch guest, Carl L. and his daughter Heidi.   Carl is pushing 80 years old and is still wade fishing. However, his knees and ankles are not quite what they have been in years past, and so now I am honored to have him and his daughter as fishing guests on my boat.   I thoroughly enjoyed trading stories about favorite fishing holes, flies, and how he has always fished with a rod no bigger than a 4 wt. He actually did quite well landing a nice adult with the noodle of a 4 wt, but his daughter Heidi caught her largest ever adult steelhead on my Sage Z axis 7 wt.    So, Carl did finally admit that there might be an argument for a rod larger than a 4 wt for Klamath steelheading.   It was also good fun, having Carl catch his adult on one of my secret "boat flies" I call the "Paris Hilton"....more on this fly in some other entry!

I do not think that today's rain will be sufficient to flush out the summer moss, but we are getting some cooler and shorter days, and a bit of rain.   I look forward to increasingly productive days here on the Mid Klamath and Lower Klamath Rivers.   Doug

Hot Klamath River Temps, Hot Weather, Not So Hot Fishing

guestranch@marblemountainranch.com (douglas cole) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:31:00 GMT

I just finished a three day fishing hire with a great couple out from Philadelphia. The weather was in the low 90s, the Klamath river temperatures were in the high 60s, (67 by my thermometer) and the fishing was average to poor. All of my usual "secret spots" we non-productive, but the classic choppy water steelhead riffles produced the most consistent fish. In the three days we caught 2 adults, about 12 half pounders, and 30+ trout and smelt. The trend was for each day to be a bit slower than the previous day, as we stacked up yet another consecutive hot weather day.

The extreme heat motivated me to move to shallow shady stretches along the banks and fish with dry waking flies and terrestrial patterns rather than some of the classic swung wet flies. We were wet wading, since a set of waders might have been lethal to the fishermen in the heat! I think we actually enjoyed the switch to dry patterns and the take of smaller fish more than the hunt for the intended steelhead. We did actually get one of the half pounders on a small "bomber" that we were skating across a shaded riffle. FUN!!!

My thoughts on the past three days are that I wouldn't expect to see dramatically improved fishing until we get some cooler weather, and that some of the smaller resident trout can be great fun with light gear and various dry fly patterns. I usually don't talk too much about mid-klamath dry fly fishing, since my usual game here is to target steelhead in cooler weather conditions with a swung wet fly. Well, live and learn! Here are some pictures from the past days, I hope you enjoy them. Doug