Klamath River Fish Report for 7-10-2011


by Scott Caldwell
7-10-2011
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The Klamath River and McCloud Reservoir are fishing really well right now. My client Rob Karsh of Carmichael, CA. fished the Klamath River for two days and McCloud Reservoir for one day this past week. We started with the Klamath on Thursday and boated 17 Trout, and then on Friday we fished McCloud and boated 18 Trout (15 Rainbows and 3 Browns). On Saturday, we were heading back to the Klamath when Rob decided that 20 fish was the goal for the day. He said 20 sounded much better than 19 and he wanted to land a 20-inch fish as well. We drifted the river from the Irongate hatchery to the Fishhook restaurant and by lunchtime we boated 14 Trout and one 17-inch Steelhead. After lunch, we drifted down to the Klamathon Bridge looking for that 20 incher and 5 more Trout. Unfortunately, we fell short of the 20-inch mark, but had no trouble reaching the total of 20 for the day, and so on Trout number 20 (a fat 2-pounder) Rob said he was satisfied the goal was reached. We then enjoyed the rest of the drift just floating and checking out the scenery. The river is in excellent shape now after having been too high to fish since February with flows between 3000 and 5000 cfs. Currently, the flow is 1100 cfs and very clear. Plunking worms in the deeper holes and backtrolling rebel crawdad and hotshot worm combos were the most effective methods for catching fish on the river. We also backtrolled and swung zonkers landing a few fish. McCloud Reservoir has been fishing pretty well the last month trolling Seps dodgers with worms or flies and jigging buzzbombs made for easy limits. The weather is pretty warm now reaching high 80’s to mid 90’s but if you get an early start you can get in some good hours of fishing beating the heat.