Klamath river drift questions...

[Ryan]

Hey all... I have a few questions about the Klamath river. First I've heard something like you aren't allowed to fish out of a boat. Only wading but u can use a boat to navigate the river? Is this true? Next is there a shuttle service available? And lastly does anyone have any drift recommendations? Thanks in advance for any responses...

[Jeff Putnam]

The Klamath is a long, long river (incredible river, one of the finest fisheries on the west coast!)... never heard that you cant fish from a boat and I see anglers doing it all the time, I always wade and swing flies so its not an issue. You'll want to know the entire river and break it down into 3 sections... that will determine where and when to go. You could begin at the upper section with us and learn it quickly while the fishing is great! (Here's an idea of the timing, changes slightly depending on flows, ... lower river fishes well from July/Aug-Oct, mid fishes well from Sept-Nov, upper fishes well Nov - summer as there are a lot of resident fish just below Iron Gate.. along with steelhead now, dont tell anyone though :) JP

http://www.jpflyfishing.com/groupclasses/KlamathonSpeySchool.index.htm

[bubzilla]

No restrictions on fishing from a boat. Upper most part of the river has essentially two floats: Iron Gate to Fish Hook (takeout right below a restaurant of the same name), and Iron Gate to Klamathon Bridge. Former is pretty short; latter is fairly long for a day if you are getting out and wading at all. Drift is not technical, but there is lots of nasty ledge rock. First time through, be prepared to bang and perhaps even hang up until you find the lanes. You can get a shuttle by stopping at or calling the Fish Hook. River in that area is crazy crowded with salmon anglers from Mid-September through Mid-October.

[Ryan]

Right on guys those responses helped out a lot... Great info on the time of year for certain parts of the river... Very helpfully thanks!

[Craig Nielsen]

Ryan:

Just a heads up that the flows out of Irongate Dam dropped a bit this week and the top float from the dam to the Klamathon Bridge takeout is very bony. If you are unfamiliar with the float you may end up dragging a few spots.

I have been on the river several days a week for the past few months and still managed to hang up yesterday in a skinny spot I have been running without a bump. So... if you are familiar with it, you may end up dragging as well. It was any easy spot to get out of the boat and drag off of safely but not all are so.

At these low flows boating can get a bit more technical, particularly on drifts downstream from I5. Feel free to ring me for details. I hope to see you up here soon, the fishing has been awesome and the catching has been pretty good too! ;>).

PS: Shuttles are not always available at the Fishook. You can also call Sheri's Shuttle 530-475-0931.

[Ryan]

Thanks Craig. I appreciate the heads up! If I'm going out there I'll definitely make sure the flows aren't too low when I go... And having two shuttle options is always a plus when I'm drivingall the way from Vacaville. Definitely not trying to hitch hike back to the put in lol