Jet Stream Guide Service
Alex Fulton, Owner and Guide
Phone: 530-629-4696
Salyer California
Email: JetStreamGuide@Hotmail.com

The Klamath basin is a land of great extremes and even greater diversity in almost all aspects. The fisheries are just one notable example of this diversity. To only focus on the fishery would fail to provide any reasonable understanding of this unique place. The Klamath and all her tributaries are so different that for the purpose of a reasonable summary I will stick to the mainstem Klamath and the largest tributary: the Trinity River. The Klamath River begins in southeastern Oregon as a collection of smaller streams draining into Upper Klamath Lake. Crater Lake, at nearly 2000 feet deep is one well recognized source of the water coming into the upper lake basin. As the lake outlet constricts and begins to flow, it becomes the Klamath River as we know it. This is a high desert, spring fed system that gets the bulk of its water from underground aquifers and spring snow melt. It is extremely fertile, nutrient rich water and flows ice cold in winter and downright hot in summer. Historically the lake was ringed by thick marsh land that acted like a giant filtering sponge, slowly releasing nutrient rich water throughout the summer. As the river continues downstream, the marsh systems of the Lower Klamath Lake area also contributed to the filtered input of the Klamath River's headwaters. Nowadays these fertile marsh areas have been drained and diked for agriculture and no longer function as they once did. This rearranging of the upper marshes has contributed to water quality and quantity problems that plague the Klamath in low water years.

Downstream of these marsh areas the Klamath River becomes a churning whitewater river with rapids up to the class five rating. These upper Klamath River runs are coveted whitewater boating areas loved for their intensity and unusual lava bed character rapids. As the Klamath crosses into California the current slows and stalls as it goes through the Copco/ Irongate reservoirs and accompanying dams. This is as far upstream as sea run fish can go, as their access to the upper basin was cut off by the dams in the early 1900's. Below the dams the Klamath crosses under interstate 5 and assumes the character of a Pacific Northwest river. This is the east/west line between inland high desert and coast mountain habitat types. Furthermore, north of the river are the beginnings of what is considered the Pacific Northwest, while to the south lies the more arid California zone. The flora and fauna reflect the diversity of this four way habitat type split, with one of the most diverse plant communities in North America and one of the highest rainbow trout subspecies diversities on the planet.

Though the Klamath River downstream looks much like a Pacific Northwest river the water is still very rich and has wildly varying temperature gradients. As it slides downstream the cold clearwater tributaries add to the volume of the river, cooling and diluting the warm nutrient loaded mainstem. Mount Shasta makes a significant contribution in the form of water from the Shasta River. Next in line are the tributaries from the south, draining the alpine wilderness of the Marble Mountains. The Scott and Salmon Rivers are the largest of these tributary streams. The Salmon River also marks the influence of the Trinity Alps and one of the last strongholds of the native spring run Chinook salmon. The north side streams drain from the remote Siskiyou wilderness area. These wilderness streams and their landscape represent some of the most untamed country of the lower 48 and the last areas to be settled, if they ever really were… eagles, elk, mountain lions, bobcat and bear are at home here as are more mysterious creatures such as fisher, mink, golden eagle and quite possibly wolverine, lynx, wolf and maybe even sasquatch. It is just wild enough here for these creatures to escape our gaze and there has been more than one credible person who swears on their life they exist. This is a land of deep mystery where nothing can be ruled out.

Soon we reach the Trinity River confluence, a mighty and mysterious river in its own right, but the Klamath still continues for another fifty miles. This is the thick of salmon country. The runs of the Lower Klamath can rival some of the best Chinook salmon rivers of Alaska with runs exceeding 200,000 fish. The waters down here can boil with salmon, and the most amazing part of this is the fact that the current run size is a mere shadow of its former abundance. Before contact with white settlers in the 1820's, the runs quite likely numbered in the millions.

The last stream to enter the lower river is Blue Creek. All of these smaller streams are closed to fishing but provide a stronghold for native salmon and steelhead, and some have fairly significant runs. As the river approaches the mouth, it slows and flows into a very dynamic estuary where the fresh and salt water mix, allowing for an incredibly rich place for outgoing juvenile salmon to feed and returning adults to acclimate to the freshwater environs. The lower thirty miles of river is where the bulk of the fishing takes place in September as the fall run of Chinook salmon and steelhead trout make their way into the river.

The Trinity River is the largest tributary of the Klamath, and even though it is smaller it gets a fish run of similar size. The steelhead run of the Trinity River is also very large for the size of the river with many different stocks of wild fish as well as one of, if not the largest, hatchery run in the state of California. The Trinity is a very clear water stream compared to the Klamath which has a murky, coffee color due to the nutrient rich high desert water. The Trinity River below its largest tributary, the South Fork Trinity River, is a wide gravel bar, coastal type river with a couple of narrow bedrock canyons and quite a few small tributary creeks. The Lower Trinity is a curious stream because it has a very coastal, rain controlled influence from the South Fork as well as the alpine snow controlled influence of the upper mainstem. What this means is that when a winter storm comes through, the mainstem goes clear due to the snow and freezing temperatures in its headwaters while the South fork gets high and muddy. When the weather warms and the rain stops the South Fork drops and goes clear while the mainstem rises and goes off color due to the melting snow. So in effect the Trinity River is both a coastal river and an inland alpine river. Above the South Fork the mainstem Trinity River is dominated by tight bedrock canyons and faster water with the Burnt Ranch Gorge being the epitome of this type of water. Because of the high elevation headwaters and the effect of Trinity Lake and dam, the river above the South Fork tends to run much cleaner in the winter and a bit cooler in the summer and fall. The next tributary above the South Fork is the New River, an extremely remote and inaccessible stream with a very healthy wild steelhead run. Above the New River the ratio of hatchery fish to wild is much higher, as the South Fork and the New have the two healthiest wild runs on the river. Above the Burnt Ranch gorge are miles of road- accessible canyon type water until the North Fork Trinity River comes in from the north. The North Fork has some of the highest drainages in the basin and also a significant wild steelhead population. The North Fork is the quintessential alpine stream with ice cold, crystal clear water deep into the summer. It drains the heart of the Trinity Alps at heights over 9000 feet. The gorges of the North Fork are so steep and rugged that they are only navigable by steelhead, otters and extremely able and possibly crazy boaters. Canyon Creek is the next high alpine tributary above the North Fork and enters in the burg of Junction City. This section of the Trinity River is a very popular fishing area for both boaters and bank fishers and has lots of river access in an area where the fish tend to hold up better than they do in the lower canyons. From here up the Trinity River flow is most affected by the dam and will remain clear even during winter weather. This is a much smaller river above the tributaries and has more hatchery fish. Though the conditions can be very clear and there are less fish than the lower river, the fishing can be quite good as the access is very good for both boaters and bank fishers. In fact most of the fishing pressure on the Trinity River is centered on this upper section from the North Fork to the dam at Lewiston. It is also one of the last rivers in the state to go muddy during heavy winter rains. It's just a matter of going upriver until clean water is found. There are always fish present. It's just a question of if you can catch them.

Trinity River steelhead;
Trinity River steelhead are an interesting lot. Not quite like any other steelhead they are more trout-like than salmon-like. On the coastal streams the opposite is true. They have a long way to go in this river and behaving like a trout allows them to comfortably be there for a long time if need be. And adult steelhead can be in the river for many months on their spawning runs. In fact a large percentage of them go to sea and return without spawning at least once in their lifetime. This is called a “half pounder” run due to their smaller size upon returning that first time. No one really knows why they do it. They just do. What that means to the sport fisher is that upon returning to the river as adults they are more likely to feed in the river and can be very quick to react to a well- presented bait or lure. It also can mean they may be more wary. Think fight or flight.

Trinity steelhead are known to take flies well and even dry flies at times. This is probably due to their increased time in the river feeding on bugs. The Trinity is not a particularly food rich river, so terrestrial insects form a larger portion of their diet. This low food density may also contribute to a competitive streak. This is something to play to when fishing for them.

Another factor to think of is how easy it is for them to flee. In the low flows of fall or in narrow channels a fish may have a hard time leaving its lie without exposing itself or giving up its prime spot to another fish. Remember, they are competitive. In those conditions irritating a fish into attacking may be the best option, because to try to get it to pursue a bait or lure may alert it to your presence. Trinity fish are generally pretty spooky, so a fisher generally has just one chance per fish or per fishing spot to get a hookup.

The other option is to attract a fish into pursuing your presentation. This is usually done if you can cast to the fish without spooking it. I would choose this method if the fish could easily go away from my lure if it wanted to. The examples I would use to illustrate these points are the use of plugs versus bait. In the low flows of fall or extreme low winter flow it is very hard to get any kind of bait to the fish without them getting wise to what is happening. In this case getting a small diving plug into the prime lie is the best option. They can't easily leave a low water slot, and as long as they aren't alerted to the fisher persons presence (typically a drift boat in the case of plugs), they won't want to leave their resting spot and would rather attack the intruder than move. In this case your plug is the intruder. The other option in this low flow case is to run a tiny bait through the spot under a float in the hope of triggering a competitive reaction between two fish without spooking them. The faster fish gets the food. In this case the rig goes through quickly so the fish must react fast or miss their chance. In other words they don't have time to think about it.

Another time to use the attraction method is in the winter when the fish can easily go find some other place to rest if a plug is a little too threatening. At this time side drifting roe from a drift boat is not as likely to spook a fish and the good smell of the bait is enough to get a fish to come for it, possibly from a long distance away. This is a real benefit in the winter due to the greatly increased size of the river. The fish could be anywhere and getting them to come to you really helps narrow it down. To distill it down a bit, Trinity River steelhead are highly variable fish and can be caught in many ways but only a few methods will be notably effective on any given day for the conditions. This is a way of looking at things to try and find a pattern. The question is: do I try to piss them off and trip the attack trigger or do I give them something that they will want to eat because it seems like food. The approaches are really quite different.

Trinity River salmon;
In a sense the Chinook salmon of the Trinity River are much easier to target than steelhead. They jump and splash and generally make their presence known. They also don't seem to care so much what a lure looks like. The problem is that they smell in parts per billion and if your roe is not of top quality you are basically out of the game. They also only willingly bite in a few of the deepest holes on the river. You may see hundreds on a ten mile drift but only have a chance at catching them in a couple of holes. They can also bite very quickly and softly, so if you aren't feeling things on the business end of your line, strikes may go undetected. Often the line will just go slack for a second and that is the only opportunity you get. One way of making up for this is to use sliding floats. This allows one visually to see the bite. It is still very subtle, but at least the guide can see it too and holler to set the hook. Sometimes they just don't want the bobber fished roe or the spot doesn't lend itself to that technique. In that case backbouncing roe can be the go to technique. This requires a lot of ability on the part of the fisher both in getting a good presentation and feeling the bite. Backtrolling bait wrapped kwikfish plugs is another option but can prove difficult due to the deep slow current of the salmon holes in my favorite sections of river. River salmon can be just plain fickle compared to their ocean brothers or even steelhead for that matter. Fortunately the lower Trinity has such a good steelhead run that they tend to steal the show anyway. On any given day there are both steelhead and salmon present, so if the salmon show themselves it is always worth a try, but if they are being overly fussy a whomping hard steelhead bite pretty well lets one forget about them.

The saltwater;
The Klamath /Trinity basin continues on out into the sea. Where do the fish go out there? The answer is everywhere. But more specifically the big concentration of salmon range from the Columbia River to the San Francisco Bay and out as far as the California current where warm water meets cold. As for the steelhead, no one knows. It is one of the great mysteries of sport fishing but some evidence indicates that they head way out to the middle of the pacific. They rarely show up in sport or commercial catches of any kind. The section of coastline that I am most familiar with is from the Klamath River mouth to Cape Mendocino. Salmon range over this whole area with some definite hotspots, while the ling cod live on the rocky reefs with the most productive being those of the Cape Mendocino/Blunts Reef areas and the reefs surrounding Redding Rock straight out from Orick and Redwood National Park. This section of coast is incredibly productive and reasonably accessible. The reefs are about a one hour run to get there. But given the exposed nature of this area, the seas must be calm to make such a long trek. Patrick's Point out of the Port of Trinidad is a much closer option, but the fishing is not nearly as stellar, though it certainly has its days. Salmon fishing is much easier and the lines are often in the water within twenty minutes of leaving the dock. Most of the salmon fishing takes place out of Eureka due to the easier access and consistent fishing. Later in the season salmon fishing out of Trinidad can be worth the effort as some real trophies are heading for the Klamath and tend to concentrate here. Most of the salmon fishing in these North Coast waters is done with downriggers and light line “noodle” rods. Compared to fishing for river salmon, ocean trolling is downright easy. It is mostly a matter of putting yourself in the right place at the right time and keeping all your gear in top working order. Once the depth range for the day is determined it is a matter of a school of hungry fish crossing paths with your gear. The real trick is in reading the ocean for signs of activity, such as diving birds, slick lines and current breaks. The rest is up to intuition. Ling cod fishing is not too challenging either, aside from going the distance to get to the good spots and knowing where they are. Lings are rarely fussy but they do go completely off the bite from time to time. Really murky water can put them off the bite as well. When they are on it can be so fast and furious that all rods will be hooked up at all times until we are all sick of it. I use medium weight salmon rods with braided line so the fish can really show their stuff. I have heard some say that bottom fish don't fight well, but usually that is because the rods and reels were better suited for three hundred pound halibut than thirty pound lings. So far the boat record is thirty six pounds but I'm sure that record will fall soon as several fish much larger than that have been lost at boat side. Halibut are a distinct possibility as an incidental catch while ling fishing, but I don't usually take charter trips for them because the catch rate is pretty low.