Fall marks the return of the Chinook — or King — salmon to the Klamath River.
This year, returns are expected to be very good. Based on last year’s jack salmon return, the California Department of Fish and Game expects this year’s return to be close to 500,000 salmon. This may be an extravagant number, as last year’s expectation was for 300,000 salmon, and just more than half that actually made it into the river.
The Klamath regulations for sport fishermen and tribal net fishermen are very generous. Sport anglers may retain three salmon, one of which must be a jack salmon less than 22 inches. One adult steelhead may be kept if it is a hatchery fish with a clipped adipose fin.
Yurok tribal fishermen are allowed to net the Klamath River — at this point, the nets are out of the water and may be finished for the season. The tribal net quota was set at 24,720 fish, which could be sold on the commercial market, and an additional 4,200 were caught for subsistence use, according to the Yurok Tribe 2009 fall harvest management plan.
So far, sport anglers are having success.
“We hooked 15 fish, and landed three jack, three steelhead and eight adult salmon while drifting roe and Fish Pills.”
This report came from the Lower Klamath River, as river guide Kenny Armstrong fished with clients aboard his boat.
The guided jet boat trips start at the lower river in Klamath Glen and may run upriver 15 miles in search of salmon. At times, anglers see schools of 50 salmon swimming up riffles and holding in the pools. This is exciting fishing along a pretty river.
“I am getting tons of orders for more Fish Pills as the Klamath River bite continues. This year the cotton candy-colored Fish Pill is the hot color,” reported Arcata’s Jimmy Davis, who manufactures a favored fishing lure for Klamath River fishermen.
The interest in salmon fishing is a great boost for fishermen and the local economy, Jimmy also reported: “The guides are consistently getting limits of salmon with a few steelhead in the mix — some days are better than others.”
The season on the Klamath will continue to produce fish into winter as the fish migrate upriver and anglers follow them. The Trinity River is a major tributary to the Klamath, and a large percentage of these fish will also move into the upper reaches of the Trinity. This is a beautiful, remote area with great camping spots and nice fall weather.
I hope you have a chance to try some fishing on these North Coast rivers.
Mike Baxter has fished in the Monterey Bay Area since he was a boy and has been a licensed charter boat captain for more than 15 years. Contact him at [email protected]. He also hosts a fishing show on radio station KSCO (1080) from 7:06 to 8 p.m. Thursdays April through September.
