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I have heard about this quiet remote stretch and it's salmon fly hatch but never fished it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFgBSdHqqYo
Anyone fished it?
Roe Outfitters has been around southern Oregon for years......family operation.
https://roeoutfitters.com/
Lol can't be that secret if it's on the internets. I would love to try the Williamson someday .
Many years ago the Williamson river and Klamath Lake were very popular destinations.
Joe Shirshac use to take his travel trailer to Walt's Cozy Camp near Chiloquin, Oregon for the month of June.
He waked and waded the Williamson river that has very large Rainbow trout that come up out of the lake.
Joe fished a #7 line fly rod with a floating line, leader and leech or mouse pattern.
Many of us Baby Boomers went up there to fish with Joe.
Jon Knapp fished the area a lot and finally had a big home built below Spring Creek on the far side of the river.
Don Childress of Davis, California fished it back then too.
Guide Al Perryman was based out of Take It Easy Ranch and guided many on the Williamson river below Chiloquin from a drift boat.
He like to fish a 6 weight outfit with a WF6S type 3 line, leader and small leech pattern.
Stillwater guide, instructor and writer Denny Rickards had an RV Campground Marina, Rocky Point Resort, on Klamath lake.
Later Bob Quigley moved to Chiloquin and opened a small shop with flies and guiding.
There is lots of history about famous people fishing that area in the early 20th century.
I have taken a look at that water a time or two but do not profess to really know it.
It is not clear which part they are fishing in the video but that road they are on is most likely
Topsy Grade Rd.
So they are fishing between Klamath lake and Copco, that water is considered two sections:
The Keno stretch and the Boyle stretch.
I suspect they are in the Boyle stretch which runs from the J.C. Boyle power house down to Copco lake.
The Lower part is in California.
It is a very prolific fishery, but it has many challenges.
Some parts are very far down in the canyon making for a long walk in and out.
Some parts (most) are like the Pit river (murky water and very tough wading) only worse cause it is much bigger water
The water level in the Boyle stretch changes daily due to power generation.
https://www.pacificorp.com/community...ath-river.html
but all that combines to make for a great fishery with very little angler pressure.
And the salmon fly hatch can be amazing.
Getting a guide for this water is a really good idea.
Looks like Darren knows some easier to access water than I have seen on that river.
I have also fished the lower end of the Keno Stretch where it meets J.C. Boyle reservoir which is easy access at Bill Scholtes Sportsman Park
A buddy of mine used to fish it often from a two man inflatable kayak to make access easier.
Roe Outfitters often rafts that water on his guided trips I believe.
Thanks Steve for the great information....
Over my 50 years in the fishing business in Sacramento I would hear little stories about these sections but for some reason they never got popular.
Never fished it but maybe 4-5 years ago Northwest Flyfishing had a pretty comprehensive article on it. I cant seem to find it but i am certain there are more saavy people on this forum than i am!
In the May/June 2013 issue of Northwest Flyfishing, there's an article by Chip O'Brien on the JC Boyle reach of the Klamath.
This section starts in OR and extends down into CA.
Brandon Worthington is a compatriot of mine and is the man on the upper k!!
I fished that stretch of the Klamath way back in the mid 70’s. I remember a rough dirt road and a small wooden sign at the Oregon/California border. It was primitive camping and never saw another soul.
What I really remember was getting broken off numerous times before I finally landed a trout that looked to be two feet long. Well, maybe 18 inches.
The other thing I remember is that the water level was fishable in the morning till about 10:00 am when it would rise several feet. You did not want to be on the other side when that happened. Same thing happened in the evening. The river was much more fishable when the water was lower.
The go to fly for me was a #6-4 black body, grizzly hackle woolly worm with a strip of orange chenille along the underside of the body.
We caught several nice native trout on that trip. The evening hatch brought up some big trout and sm bass also. I actually think it was the bass breaking me off.
Always wanted to get back up there and just might do that as I now live about 45 minutes away on the Oregon side of the border. Just have to break away from those Rogue steelhead!