Gotta join in here and say thanks for sharing. the pics, the fish, and the happy family with a great Dad. the more us, the better! Glad you were rewarded with that nice trout.

Keep me in the loop or PM me. I live near Santa Rosa, so C.L. is doable. would be fun to hang with all of you and listen to all that fish-related BS for a whole day!

well, 4 Hunter, you got me thinking about it. Went to the Klamath in early September; got skunked and not a lot,if any fish. I know about the Smith for steelies; knew there was also a salmon run but this one sounds strong. Might make the drive from Sebastopol. Are you drifting or throwing from the bank?

I hear ya; it gets tougher and tougher. For me, it 's mostly a perspective issue, but I can usually find something-the water, a boulder, to offer just the right contrast. Even so, I notice it takes me a while to re-rig after breaking off at the swivel. But as stated above, fighting a robust trout on line that light is a blast!

Someone sent this to me, and I thought I'd share the humor.

This is very interesting to me. I was going to do a post about 3 weeks ago, after coming back from the Klamath River, legendary northern Californian fall salmon run. This post has inspired me.
While fishing pretty damn hard for about 2 days solid, it was evident there weren't many adult fish in the river. As a matter of fact, we were wondering where all the half pounders (steelhead) were. During that time, I only saw one fish caught; a jack salmon at the end of my brief stay. I was wading; boaters did a little better, but that's not the point. I'm not complaining about coming home empty handed.
Talking with my fellow waders, who were veterans of the fishery-including one who had grown up on the river, whose father owned the local tackle shop, and now he did-everyone said, in their own way, "Something's wrong." Speaking personally, what really bothered me was how dramatic the decline was in just a 20 year window, which is very tiny, speaking biologically/evolutionary. It really saddened me, to see the impact of the countless times the natural cycle has been interrupted.
Salmonoid species in particular, which is pretty much exclusively what I target, need cooler water, just for starts. Not only for spawning, but to thrive. Bottom line, it's habitat destruction/degradation. Of course, an increased human population increases the impact we have on other species, and unfortunately as we've learned, the damage.
...a well known fact is that hunters and fishing people are among the biggest "conservationists" around...

Thanks for the reply. I did go up there; found out the mouth was closed, and fished Blake's Riffle for 2 days consistently. only saw one jack caught; we all were sad remembering the days when "Fish on!" was heard every few minutes. Really bummed me out, to see how badly the natural cycle has been interrupted, and the obvious effects fo that in just 20 odd years

Hi, everyone. Anyone here live near the Klamath or has fished it recently? The fall salmon run is just starting; going to head up there tomorrow, I believe.
I've fished there before, and come home with fish. Curious about the mouth/spit area, and also upstream near the boat ramp or Blake's Riffle.
Any report would be welcome.
tight lines, Alan

35 lb sturgeon, San Pablo Bay, northern California March of '04, I believe
25 lb fall Coho salmon, caught on 12lb line, Klamath River, Calfornia...I think that was Sept. of '08
Head to the Klamath this week to see what I can do!

Hey, Steve, let me start off by saying you seem like a wonderful, fun, gentleman, and a good sportsman to boot.
I can understand you reacting to whatever BS you've been subjected to, and in fact, good to let the rest of us know.
I agree with all the comments about what the true purpose of this site is.
all those other people that somehow feel it is important to state their agenda...I know it's irritating, to say the least. hard to ignore if it's some kind of consistent stream.
I only logged on to make this post, Steve; busy as hell and often have only a minute or two to scan the daily sheet. but your posts I just about always check out, because of the great, friendly vibe you put in them, the obvious joy you get out of taking others with you, and how much you enjoy sharing all that with us. so, please, buddy, keep up your consistent rays of sunshine, and let the fog blowers just blow.
or as I say to the fish, "Bite me!"

Smoke? I just got routed out of my area in northern California; was fishing near Mt. Lassen. Smoke got so bad I had to leave; it was downright unhealthy to be out in it, let alone hiking to a stream or clambering over rocks!

I know Hat Creek well; love that area; also Deer Creek, Battle Creek, Pit River, and Burney Creek. Where on the Hat did you get those? Near Cassel, or closer to Old Station, or...?

that really is a great smile, that a lot of us can relate to. what can I say, some people just don't get it.
but I can usually shut them up telling them stories of other predators grabbing my prey off the line as I'm bringing it in. so much for "compassionate killing" in nature, I tell them.

that really is a great smile, that a lot of us can relate to. what can I say, some people just don't get it.
but I can usually shut them up telling them stories of other predators grabbing my prey off the line as I'm bringing it in. so much for "compassionate killing" in nature, I tell them.

it was nice up there; at the foot of Cow Mountain. unfortunately, close to where it burned last year...