Friday May 2nd
Wally Johnson checked in to report that the spring salmon run is a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. The bite is by no means fast yet but a few boats have been scoring fish on the lower river at Blakes and Starwein riffles just upriver from Klamath Glen. Most of the springers are taken on the anchor with spinners on a spreader set up. These salmon and feisty and very tasty and I might mention the only salmon you can take right now in the entire state. Wait a couple or three weeks for the action to pick up as late May through June is usually the best time to be here for springers. Wally will be running trips later this month as will Kenny Armstrong. We will resume regular reports later this month as guides start to run more trips. With the Klamath being your only real California salmon fishery this year you will want to make reservations NOW for the Fall run. We will see a very generous sport quota and we are expecting to see a lot of big 4 year old this season.

Klamath Springers, Summer Steelies and Fall Run Kings
While the coast is shut down to salmon fishing this year (and likely next) the Klamath river will be open and in-river sport anglers are going to see some of the best fishing the biggest adult quota in the past decade this fall. The quota for adult fall run salmon  this season is an incredible 22,500 fish and with the ocean shut down and the expected closures of the Central Valley rivers the Klamath will be the only salmon fishery available to sport anglers this year other than the Smith. We do expect above average fishing pressure as anglers converge on the Klamath in August and September but it's the Spring salmon run that will happen next and is a fishery that is under the radar of most.

The springers start to return in mid May and their numbers build with peak fishing on tap in mid June. This is an anchor fishery where boats anchor in the travel lanes on the edges or seams of the river and drop back spinners to intercept salmon. These are tough fighting an arguably the best tasting fish with most running in the 10 to 18 pound class.  The best fishing is usually in the early morning hours and will last through about noon. Springers tend to move through very quickly and a couple of hours of dead action can often be followed by 15 or 20 minutes of fast and furious action where boats in one stretch get several take downs apiece. A typical set up is pictured right.
 
In mid July the summer steelhead run gets under way. Summer steelies come in two runs. The larger fish start to show in mid July with most running 5 to 8 and often to 12 pounds. The half pounder run follows in mid August and peaks on the lower river in early September. It's the early steelie run that is often overlooked by anglers due to the lack of salmon in the lower river at that time. The past few years have been very productive for July steelie anglers with catches running from 5 to over 20 fish per boat and bankies seeing lots of five plus fish days. On light tackle these fish are a challenge and readily gobble roe with a Fish Pill, glow-bugs, flies and both spinners and spoons. Most guides side drift with roe and some offer fly trips as well. Best areas are the riffles and holes from Klamath Glen to Blue Creek.
In mid August the half pounders ( 1 to 5LBs) arrive in force. The best action is in the early morning hours before the sun is on the water and the boat traffic picks up. From the bank glow bugs in pink (best), orange and red are top producers but some anglers do very well on spoons and spinners. I'm more of a bait and glow bug swinger myself but some locals are very proficient hardware pounders. One of the best is Tommy  at Little Rays Tackle in Klamath Glen. You will often find Tommy on his favorite riffle Blake's early in the morning and if the shop is closed it's an excellent sign that the fishing is good. If you have any questions or need gear stop by the shop. Tom and his dad Ray or his brother Owen are always more than happy to give you tips and the how, whys and wheres of the lower river fishery
In late August, guides start to run their lower river salmon trips. Nearly all boondoggle or side drift the deeper slots and faster riffles with roe and Fish Pills catching a combination of salmon and steelies.  Some also troll spinners down at the mouth early in the run in August but the best counts are found during September as the fish start to push up. Over the past several years counts of 10 to 20 fish landed per boat were common and in the high returns years  (95, 97, 99, 2002) counts can go to as high as 40 to 60 plus fish hooked per boat in a single day.
Bank anglers in late August and the first two weeks of September will find great action at the mouth tossing yarn and beads. The numbers of fish moving through the mouth on a given (early September) day can be mind bending. Anglers who have never experienced this fishery before often say there is no way that a bank angler can hook 20 or 40 fish in a single day. Then when they happen to be there on those wide open days they are telling others when they get home " you won't believe this .... I hooked 25 kings from the bank in one morning".  They aren't believed either until those told the "fish story" also come to the Klamath and see it for themselves. Once you see this river in full salmon mode you too will be hooked.

Kenny Armstrong, Wally Johnson and Pete Sparacio are taking reservations of the 2008 salmon and steelhead seasons. Regular reports will resume here when the spring salmon run begins in late May. Kenny will be offering Springer trips beginning about May 15th.Wally is running springer trips and also Sac striper trips through mid May. Pete will be concentrating on upper Sac rainbows through the summer with side trips for stripers

Guides:
Wally Johnson Guide Service
steelheadguides.com

Kenny Armstrong
norcalriverfishing.com

Kamp Klamath Located on Klamath Beach road is one of the most beautiful and quiet campgrounds on the lower Klamath river. Kamp Klamath is secure and has a friendly staff and the entire campground has a wireless net connection. They also have reduced rates for weekly and monthly visitors. The crew here at USAFishing has set up a fish camp here for over 15 years. The telephone number is 707-482-0227 or toll-free 866-KLAMATH. Their e-mail address is kampklamath@msn.com

In Seiad Valley sits the Klamath river side  park a quiet little RV park right on the banks of the Klamath for anglers looking for a quieter stretch of the river away from the crowds
Friends of the Cal Ore Fish. This organization supports hatcheries in California & Oregon and lobbies on behalf of anglers on many issues. We here at USAFishing want to say thanks to this great organization for all their hard work. To learn more and to contribute to their cause please visit their site. cal-orefish.org