Klamath flows/steel

[Pupa]

Heading up to the Klamath River Club on the 17th. Anyone have any recent intel on winter fish in the system? How about ideal flows? Looks like most other rivers are running pretty low at this point. I suppose alot can change in 10 days...

Thanks in advance!

[Andy]

There are fish around, some shiny some not so much. Flows should be good absent a big rain on the snowpack. Good Luck!

Andy

[Smitty Fish]

Just a heads up. There is a rock slide just below Happy Camp. 96 is closed just past Happy Camp. I think you could still fish around Orleans. Not sure witch part you want to fish. Good luck!

[Pupa]

Thanks guys. We'll be mid way between Happy Camp and 5, so hopefully no slides in that area. Curious to know if there a general guideline for productive flows at at certain gauge on the K (wade vs float)? Will post upon my return.

[Andy]

Irongate gives the dam release and generally fishes well up to 1800, a sudden rise may be cause for pause. Seiad gives a sense for what is coming in from streams below dam so a big rise there with stable flows out of dam means side streams are adding a lot and likely means fish up high, over 2000 at Seiad is tough. If Shasta River gauge bumps big usually means all the upper creeks are ripping which means find something else to do.

Beaver Creek, which comes in right at KRC can get dirty with a rain event as there was a big burn there not too long ago.

I recently stayed on the North Umpqua below I5 and it is amazing how much a river that isn't completely locked down by dams rises during a rain event. Hopefully with dam removal the Klamath will become a real river again up high as the artificially consistent flows from Irongate and the Shasta are killing the river.

Best,

Andy

[Larry S]

Andy,

You're spot on about rate of river rises. Many seasons on the Smith taught me that!
The Smith was(is) also one of the quickest clearing streams.
Best to all,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[hwchubb]

Is 96 closed at that slide? When I was up there in November the signs said it was closed, but they were actually letting controlled traffic through. Has that changed?

[Bob Smith]

The slide is still active on US96 west of Happy Camp and it has been both open to one way traffic and closed as well over the past week.

[Pupa]

Had a great trip on the Klamath. Flows and weather were perfect. We stayed at the Klamath River Club and walked/waded/speyed from Beaver Creek to Seiad. Floated for a day from Iron Gate. I was in a group of 9 fishermen and 3 seasoned guides from Wildwaters (Chuck, John, and Carl). Swing action was running about a few bumps with an occasional fish per day. Nymphing from boat was about 5x productive with rubberlegs, eggs, copper johns and pt's on the menu. I enjoyed honing my jv spey casting skills and pulling in the occasional steelhead (18-22"). Amazing how inactive winter spey fishing is compared to combat summer fishing on the likes of the Pit. The solitude and silence was deafening...until the whiskey and cigarettes began to flow

[Smitty Fish]

Glad to hear you had a good trip and hooked into some fish!