October is a huge month for Steelhead

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

It is a great time for chasing Steelhead on the Lower Feather, Klamath, Trinity, Rogue, North Umpqua, Deschutes, Grand Ronde to name just a few.

In October its not too hot and not too cold, yet.

**If you can't get away then go hit our Lower American River as it seems to have a run of half-pounder Steelhead in it this fall.

**I heard the Klamath was very good recently. Some of our friends are headed there in October.

**Spey guide Jason Hartwick said the Trinity River was getting fish in now and with some rain yesterday morning they hooked two nice fish. Jason is up on the Trinity River now guiding for two months and has some open dates after October 15th which is prime time on the Trinity/Klamath Rivers for swinging flies on a floating line.

http://steelheadonthespey.blogspot.com/

http://www.steelheadonthespey.com/Site/Welcome.html

[wjorg]

Be careful, even the middle Klamath is still warm and hazardous to fish recovery after being landed. I could see the frustration on the gear guys faces as the fish scattered. I found a nice pod but you'll probably be shot at going after it...

Trinity was tough for many last week. Rain didnt seem to materialize like it should. More of a drizzle on Tuesday Jason?

[Jasonh]

WJORG,

Yes, the water is still a little warm on the Klamath but it is cooling considerably as we speak. I will be fishing the mid-lower klamath the next two days and will report back. There are both half pounders and adults around but they are still fairly spread out from Weitchpec upstream. As for getting shot at on the Klamath, I have been fishing over there for a number of years and have never had one issue. Just talking to people and bringing some of the locals beer/whiskey every now and then can do wonders! I have been asked to leave spots but never shot at.

The Trinity is seeing some nice fish entering the system. We had some small showers yesterday morning and cooler weather over the last couple of days that has improved fishing. The fish are spread out but as usual many do concentrate in certain areas. We are seeing fish to the fly pretty much everyday and it should only get better.

Off to the Klamath. Will report back on thursday pm.

Jason Hartwick

[wjorg]

Oh, the shooting isnt "at you" but more at the branches of the trees above you.

Yeah, every hour or so you would feel cold water then warm then cold the warm etc a the shade moved around the river. Seemed a good sign...

Here is a link to my favorite Klamath River Shootout Story, at least thats public. It's a very entertaining read.

http://legalpad.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/05/why-were-talking-about-a-judges-shootout-back-in-06.html

By the way, beer and whiskey have done wonders for the Native Americans, havent they? When I fought fires there all it took was a smile and good conversation to get along.

[wjorg]

JASON,
Go look at the blood trail on the River Right side of the Weitchepec bridge and tell me nobody was shot. That is one hell of a blood trail.....

[stevie steelhead]

I was at the same spot where the shootout occurred in 2006, but the day before.
I had heard that some bad meth dudes were steeling Toyota trucks, and since I have a Toyota Tacoma, I did not venture far from my truck.
I crossed the river and about an hour later I saw 2 vehicles pull of the road and came down to the river bar where my truck was parked. The 2 people were walking circles around my truck, so I decided to return to my vehicle and see what was up. They took off immediately after seeing me come across the river.
The next day, I heard about the shootout with the judge. I know the judge after living here for 25 years, and I was shocked that he had the poor judgement to try to shoot it out with 2 meth'd out hardened criminals. The story the sheriff told me was that the judge was just lucky that he did not get killed, the culprits were armed to the teeth, but under pressure were obviously bad shots.
BTW, the Klamath is still warm and mossy, and the water looks green!