Klamath River Rainbows

F
fishfry
No its closed all summer where I fish and opens Oct 1ST to June 16th. Also these rivers have no steelhead runs due to dams or they don't reach the ocean so there are no steelhead. Steelhead is defined as a sea run rainbow over 20 inches and ( you are correct ) in some areas of the northwest and southwest zones rainbows over 16 inches. I appreciate you looking out though. It is always good to know the rules of your specific location before fishing it.
 
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B
beaverfan
Hmmm I can't seem to find any of that. I looked because if it's open I'm thinking about a trip down that way towards the end of January. When I look at the regs this is what I read, what am I missing? You can keep 2 fish a day in streams only one of which can be over 20 inches. Rainbow trout over 16 inches are considered steelhead in streams and streams were open from May 22 through October 31 unless otherwise noted in the special regulations. When I look for Klamath River in the special regs I don't see it listed.

I knew I was missing something, I was looking in the SW zone and where he fishes is in the SE zone.
 
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F
fishfry
Ill pm you the info :) if u make it up here let me know and well have to hook up. I keep a close eye on the water lvls since they can change daily and effect the fishing.
 
B
beaverfan
Sweet will do, I think we're planning on being down in that area from jan 20-24 so I'll let you know when it gets closer.
 
F
fishfry
Well im headed back down again today so wish me luck :) ill post up this afternoon. Should be good even though we got allot of snow the last couple days.
 
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F
fishfry
Got lots of snow dropped on me today. River lvl was good but water was a little murky. Still ended up catching seven nice bows between 15 and 17 inches so not a terrible day. Ill put up a couple pics of the river in a bit.
 
B
bigsteel
very nice fish,i can't wait to get down there and fly fish that river
 
brandon4455
brandon4455
bigsteel said:
very nice fish,i can't wait to get down there and fly fish that river

your gunna have a blast with those big bows,, that will be just like catching a steelhead on your fly rod,, i bet $50 you are drooling right now LOL
 
F
fishfry
Yes you will deff have fun! The bows in that section of river are fatter and fight harder inch for in than anywhere else I've fished. Average is around 15 to 16 inches with some big hogs sprinkled in the mix.
 
F
fishfry
More Bows on the K

More Bows on the K

Well I went out last Friday again and ended up landing 8 nice bows. Two were just over 20 inches, one weighed in at 2lb 12oz and the other (exact same length) at 4lbs even lol. Couldn't believe the weight difference in the two. Needless to say that 4lber was fat! Water was up and a little more off color than I like but not bad. Had quite a bit of snow down there. I'll throw up some pics :)
 
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brandon4455
brandon4455
great fish bro, 4lbs is fat for a 20incher!!! wait mtill you fight those on a fly rod, it will be even funner



brandon
 
F
fishfry
cold cold cold

cold cold cold

It was -10 when I got up this morning and worked around the ranch so I could head out on the river. Hit up the Klamath again for a great day. It was cold and the water lvl and color were good. The dropping temps threw the fish off so they were hard to come by but I still ended up with four. 17-23 inch bows. Black and Gold CD7 rapala worked best today catching a 21 and 22 3/4 inch bow. All in all it was a great day.
 
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T
Throbbit _Shane
good way to end the year! nice fish again :D
 
F
fishfry
Ty. My brother caught his personal best yet again to with a 21 1/2 inch bow. He may just catch up with me yet.
 
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W
waco
Man how come you always catching monsters!!!!???? :think: :shock: you should post a pic of those lures that you use!!! :whistle:
 
F
fishfry
Lol. Thnks Waco. Probably always catching them cause im out puttin in the time and fishing in conditions or places that ppl only frequent in the warm weather months or not at all. Good idea though. I will post some pics this afternoon along with how I work them.
 
brandon4455
brandon4455
great fish once agaiN! you are blessed with those beautiful trophy bows down there :D
 
F
fishfry
Pics of my favorite lures for my area

Pics of my favorite lures for my area

K so here are some of my favorite lures (the only two I use really) for my area. I'll give a run down on how I use them and what kind of spots. Before using lures like the sinking rapalas it is good to get to know the holes you are fishing a.k.a. the bottom. Rapalas are spendy and busting off a few can put a damper on your fishing (at least in my case). I like to learn the holes/bottom using much cheaper spinners etc. which you can still catch fish on while learning where the shallower/big rocks are.

For rivers like the Klamath that are fast moving with deep holes my favorite (and most productive) when water clarity is fair to good would be the sinking CD7 black and silver rapala in the first picture. The german brown colored one works very well as does the gold and black, but silver and black is my favorite since it more closely resembles what they are feeding on. I use this lure in the deep pools and along dropoffs/rock cliffs. I cast it out and just let it sink to the appropriate depth (where i'm fishing usually 3-5 seconds). I then start giving it some twitches mixed with a slow retrieve. The colder the water the more I try and slow this down. My second favorite for this kind of water is a #15 (1/2 oz.) panther martin. Either black and gold (my personall fav) or sometimes yellow and silver. If the water is more off color than usual and I feel they may have a hard time seeing my rapala I'll just go right to the panther martin. With these spinners I throw them out along the rock cliffs on the opposite side or as far as I can into these deep pools. I let it sink down as far as possible then start it spinning with a jerk on the rod. I then begin my retrieve, just slow enough to keep that blade spinning and to keep it off the bottom and thats it.

For slower water thats not quite as deep like the Sprague River where I live my all time #1 go to lure is the floating (jointed) J-7 black and silver or german brown colored rapala (in the fourth picture). I look for the deeper water especially below slight rapids (since we dont have any real rapids here). I work this water much the same as I do with the sinking rapalas. I'll cast out across these deeper pools and begin a slow retrieve. As I make my slow retrieve I give it some twitches as well as some pauses. I'll vary up the speed and twitches depending on the bite. A rapala knot works well and gives the rapalas more action while they swim.

These are what produce for me and I'm sure will produce for everyone else in their area. On the rapalas you may have to play around with the color and size to match what bait fish are in your water. If you haven't used rapalas before play around with them. Swim them in front of you and give it some twitches so you can get a feel for what they are doing on your retrieve to help you visualize it. Hope this has been helpful and wish you all some happy hunting.
 
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S
skunk
Very nice, thanks for sharing the pics and the info. It is always helpful and appreciated when someone has something dialed in and shares with others. Keep catching them!
 
S
steelhead_slayer
i love fishing rapalas in the winter. i catch big browns over here. thanks for the info. i'm going to start using that rapala knot and see if my catch increases
 

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