By John Garrett
The Klickitat is a river I have come to know as an old friend, a confidant, so to speak. So it's personal when it comes to sharing my story. The "Klick", as we often refer to her, has seen the best I've had to offer and even my worst. But through it all, she's stuck with me like any good friend and made sure that if I take care of her, she'd return the favor. Over the past two decades the Klickitat has done just that. Which is why I've got mixed emotions about writing about it.
Years ago I made a pact with myself. A promise of sorts. I told myself that I would never write about or do an outdoor television show featuring the Klickitat River. For the past 20-plus years I have kept that promise. Until now. Not because it's a "secret" river or that folks have never heard about it, but because I've been somewhat spoiled over the years and for the most part have had it to myself. With the exception of my good friend and fellow long-time guide, Tracy Zoller, there has been very little pressure on this stunning river. Certainly there are folks who fish it and other guides who guide on it, but only a few can call it their "home water." I feel fortunate to be able to do that.
So, why break the promise now? Why risk drawing attention to the Klickitat after all these years of silence? Why would I want to possibly create more competition for myself? Well, to be totally honest with you, it's not about me. It's about sharing an awesome river and a magnificent fish with those who love to experience both.
Over my guiding career on the Klickitat many clients have said that this is their favorite river to fish. The breathtaking scenery, especially in the fall, combined with a steelhead fishery that is so versatile and addictive, it's easy to find yourself dreaming about your next "Klick fix."
The Klickitat's headwaters start in the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Mount Adams and flow just over 95 miles to where it meets the Columbia River at Lyle. It is one of the longest undammed rivers in the Pacific Northwest. Despite all it offers the Klickitat is not the easiest river to fish for steelhead; however once you learns its tendencies you'll likely find yourself in the same situation as me: hopelessly in love with it.
Because it is glacier fed, the Klickitat's visibility will vary in clarity throughout the summer and fall. It can run air clear or with zero visibility. You have to pay attention to several things such as heat and rain patterns. The heat during the summer months can drop the visibility of the water with several days of temperatures that reach 90 degrees or above. The river can "hold" and be fishable if the nights are cool enough to slow the melt off from the glacier. The Klickitat will "cycle" when temps are high during the day and cool off in the evening. In other words, the river will be milky from the melt off from the heat of the day before, followed by a clearer, less milky window from the coolness of the night before. I have had days when this happens that I haven't launched the boat until 9 or 10 a.m.
A good resource for information regarding the rivers condition is to give the Klickitat Trader a call before you head out. (See Guide Post). There's nothing worse than getting excited to fish and driving for an hour or two to find the river out of shape. Also, be aware of rain patterns over several days. Watch the river level and if it is on the rise sharply you may want to wait to make the trip. I have caught fish in almost no visibility, but it is difficult and you work very hard for each fish. Again, give the Klickitat Trader a quick call for an honest river report.
When there are a number of other worthy steelhead streams to fish why would you want to fish the Klickitat? Certainly there are other rivers that aren't affected by glacier run off, ones that aren't located several hours from your home, ones that might have stronger returns, ones that are easier to fish. Possibly for the challenge or a change of scenery? Maybe it's discovering new water or maybe it's because these fish are smokin' hot, and will take a variety of techniques well. Put the Klick on your "Bucket List" and do yourself a favor, face the challenge.
Speaking of challenges, the Klickitat is not a river that you should take lightly when it comes to floating it or wading it. Bank access is sporadic and can be found up and down the river by following Highway 142. If you're going to float the river I recommend that you're an accomplished rower. You can find five main floats to choose from.
Stinson Flats to Slide: The most scenic float is from Stinson Flats to what we refer to as the Slide. All told it's about 12 miles long. Due to the lack of roads or houses on this stretch it is an absolutely stunning drift. Stinson is a rough launch site, but it's not too bad.
Slide to Ice House: This is a short 3 mile float thatfishes well. There's enough water here that you can spend an entire day or hit the best stuff for a half day. Slide is a rough launching site.
Ice House (campground) to the town of Klickitat: This is another 3-mile float that fishes well and has the best launch site. Also has a toilet facility.
Town to Pitt: Yet another short float, about 3 miles, that has a fair amount of good water. The launch site at Pitt is somewhat rough.
Pitt to Milepost 5: A 5-mile float with some fishy water for sure and launching is somewhat rough, but not too bad. The boat ramp is located at mile post 5 on Highway 142.
I recommend mixing up your floats to extend your drifts if you would like. For instance you can float from Stinson Flats to Ice House and have yourself a sweet little 15-mile run. Or you can fish Ice House to Pitt and you're going to row about 5 miles. There are lots of options for you. You could campout and do a multi-day trip floating from Stinson to Milepost 5, which would give you a 22-mile float (give or take a bit) or use it for a side-drifting bonanza, hitting all the sweet spots as you drift along.
While side-drifting is one technique to use, and it's pretty effective, it's not the only method to use. In fact, some of the techniques I am about to share with you are not new at all, however they are mentioned here because they are effective and are worth mentioning. I will also share a few "little things" that help make them even better.
Diver/Bait combos: This is not a new technique. It's been around longer than I have been fishing for steelhead. I believe Rick Johnson, who has since retired from guiding, started it. This deadly effective technique has brought thousands of willing steelhead to the boat. This technique requires back trolling a diving plug such as the Brad's Diver, which is a copy of the original Hot-n-Tot with a leader and baited hook(s) attached to the belly swivel. This is where a rod like the G.Loomis SAPR982C really shines.
Before I rig this set up I remove the hooks from the Brad's Diver. Then I attach a 3- or 4-bead chain swivel to the belly split ring. Then I snap the Brad's Diver to my main line, which is 30- or 40-pound braided T.U.F. Line. From the belly eye of the plug I will attach a dual 1/0 hook set up with either a Corky or Spin-N-Glo and a 4 ½ to 5-foot leader of 20-pound fluorocarbon line.
For bait, you have a number of choices. You can use the most popular, which is sand shrimp, eggs or prawns. You can also use a 3-inch Berkley Big Gulp Ghost Shrimp. A tip that helps this technique become even more effective is to pre-set the distance you let the lines out below the boat. This is accomplished a couple of ways. You can count pulls from your reel to the first guide of your rod. I count 25 pulls and then at the face of the reel tie a knot on the line using orange Dacron line and then super glue it to keep it from sliding up or down. An easier way to make sure everyone is out the same distance is to have reels with line counters on them. This puts all the baits out at the same distance creating a wall of offering and gives each angler a fair chance at a fish.
Another important note is when you get bit do not react too quickly. Normally a steelhead will bite this technique with a couple quick jabs followed by a big one that buries your rod tip. This is when you give them the business.
Plugs: Pulling plugs is favorite method that is guide-tested and approved throughout the Northwest. For good reasons. It's effective. I, personally, don't like to plug or diver/bait fish if the fishing is slow. On the other hand, if they are biting either of the two techniques, I am seriously down with it. I won't pull plugs all day if they aren't biting them, but I give them a fair shot. The thing about pulling plugs is that you know fairly quickly if they are the ticket.
Just the other day the fish were aggressive and we hooked 10 fish. I was fishing a party of 4 and we caught steelhead on 4 different techniques. The water was right and it had that "steelhead green" color. We ended up hooking 5 of the 10 on metallic pink Tadpollies. My favorite steelhead plug hands down! Other effective colored plugs are the cop car, silver with orange bill, metallic greens and blues and the Michael Jackson. I snap my plugs directly to my T.U.F. Line mainline and have had great success.
Bobber/jig/bait: Years ago, before fishing a bobber and a jig was the craze, we fished bobbers and eggs. This is still a favorite of mine and a lights-out technique. There are times when one will out fish the other. To determine which is working better, you have to have both on board. When the Klick's visibility is a couple feet plus, jigs work well and you won't have to mess with the bait. If the clarity, is less than optimal, eggs are a better choice. When the river is clear, jigs will crush a bait fisherman.
I can remember a few years back I was fishing a father and son and we had come to my all time favorite spot on the river at that time. There was a fisherman already in the run and he was meticulously drift-fishing eggs. We decided to anchor above him, have lunch, and watch him. He would make six or eight casts, pull his anchor, drift down about a boat's length and re-anchor, repeating this the entire run. This run happened to be about 150 yards long. After we had finished our lunch he was only halfway through the run so we decided to fish bobbers and jigs behind him.
While still anchored from lunch, I told my clients to free spool the bobbers right out the front of the boat. Dad's bobber didn't go 15 feet downstream and before a steelhead grabbed his jig. "Bobber Down!" We repeated this, hooking a dozen fish behind the fisherman below us who was drift-fishing eggs; and had not hooked a single fish. Was it because we were better fisherman? I'd like to think so, but I doubt it. I believe the fish just preferred jigs that day over eggs.
When you master the art of bobber fishing you will become one of the 10 percent who catch 90 percent of the steelhead. Although, I would be willing to bet that the 10 percent statistic has increased because of the number of fisherman who have become masters at it. My advice is not to show up on the Klick with out your bobber rods.
Fly/Spey: The Klick is a fly fishing treasure. It doesn't matter which technique you want to fish: swing them, nymph them, floating line, sinking line, single handed rod or the popular Spey rod. Under the right conditions they will all take steelhead. Because the Klick is fairly easy to wade, I love fly fishing for steelhead.
I want to end with this. I'm a firm believer that steelhead "don't bite until you get there," and this is true. Although, it is nice to have first water, I have made a living fishing behind other people. It's seldom that I have not had someone fishing in front of me.
Why do I say that? Bragging? Not at all. Just because rivers are becoming more crowded and steelhead are becoming the major target, don't get all caught up in trying to be the first down river. I have had plenty of fishermen catch fish right behind me, and vise versa. Don't get jerked out of the game by worrying who is in front of you. If you end up river running, you will soon find out you've ran out of river.
I had a day one time a fisherman launched in front of me, and was looking over his shoulder the whole day worried where I was. As soon as he would see me he would run to the next spot. He wouldn't let me pass so I took advantage of this. He was only fishing half the runs. I would start fishing where he left off. When plug fishing often times you won't get bit until the end of the run. In effect he was pushing the fish halfway down the run for me and I was hooking them when they reached the tailout.
At the end of the day we came to the take out just as he finished putting his boat on the trailer. He was discouraged and came up to my clients and was complaining about how it was a horrible day of fishing and that they hadn't hooked any fish. My clients, quick to brag said, "Really? We hooked 13 today." I began to share with this fellow fisherman that he didn't need to worry about me. He should focus on what he was doing and not on what I was doing. I gave him a few effective plugs, he said thank you, we said goodbye, and he never did that again. He let me pass by, thanking me every time he saw me, and he caught fish.
Getting to know any river intimately takes time and patience. If you are willing to learn the ins and outs of the Klick and apply these techniques you will score more often than not. It has taken me years to "dial it in" as it will you. And if you don't catch fish, it is not my fault because these techniques have proven themselves over and over and over again.
John Garrett has been guiding on the Klickitat River for almost 20 years. He lives in Lyle, Washington with his wife and six kids.
GUIDE POST
GETTING THERE: The Klickitat River is located in southwest Washington near Lyle and is only a 90-minute drive from Portland. Take I-84 East to Hood River, then cross the Hood River Toll Bridge into Washington State. As you cross the bridge you will come to a stop sign. Turn right on to Highway 14 headed east. You then drive about 10 miles on HWY 14 until you cross the bridge over the Klickitat River, then take the first left onto Highway 142 North. The lower river parallels HWY 142 for nearly 19 miles. The small town of Klickitat is located just 12 miles up on HWY 142 off of HWY 14.
LODGING: There are a number of great places to stay within a 30-minute drive to the river. Best Western, [541.386.2200]; Sunset Motel In Hood River, [541.386.6322]; The Shilo Inn of The Dalles, [541.298.5502]; Klickitat River Front Inn, [509.369.2035].
CAMPING: There are several places to "rough" camp along the river, with the most popular spots being at milepost 5 or the Ice House at milepost 15, and further up the river at Stinson Flats.
SEASON: The Klickitat River is open for summer steelhead June 1 and closes November 30. There is a 2 fish limit for hatchery fish.
RIVER REPORTS: The Klickitat Trader, [509. 369.3601]. They will give you
SHUTTLE SERVICES: Canyon Market [509.369.4400].
RIVER FLOWS: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv/?site_no=14113000&agency_cd=USGS
GUIDES/FLY SHOPS: John Garrett of Garrett's Guide Service, [509.427.4057] or [www.ggs4fishcme.com]; Tracy Zoller of Adventure Fishing, [509.369.2366] or [www.adventurefishing.net] or The Gorge Fly Shop of Hood River, [541.386.6977] or [ww.gorgeflyshop.com].
TACKLE BOX
WHAT TO BRING: You've heard the saying: Dress for success. This is true and is key when it comes to fall fishing. Surprisingly cool mornings and sometimes warm afternoons require that you dress appropriately. I layer my clothing so I am ready for any situation. Be sure to bring a rain jacket, hat, waders, boots and wear clothing in layers.
LURES: All listed are a part of my daily arsenal.
• Plugs: Tadpollies, Hot Shots, bait wrapped M2-SP's (a.k.a. Mag Lip) or your divers & bait.
• Spinners and spoons: Silver, gold and brass colored spinners/spoons work very well in the summer when water conditions are right. They are a great choice for hitting the pocket water in between the "sweet stuff."
• Bobbers and Jigs/eggs, shrimp: There are as many jigs on the market as grains of sand on the Oregon coast. My personal favorite jigs are the Angler Advantage Jigs because their heads are painted with Teflon paint. This allows the jig to be fished for longer periods of time without major damage to the paint. My favorite colors are pink and white, nightmare, and cerise and purple.
RODS: Back-trolling plugs, divers/bait: G.Loomis SAPR982C. This rod is designed to back-troll deep-diving lures, like the Hot Shot or Wiggle Wart, behind the boat. It has a relatively light tip that allows the plug to work easily and also let the angler watch the tip wiggle, confirming that the lure is working properly. This is an excellent all around rod for multiple uses including, trolling herring, spinners and back-trolling a variety of things. Side Drifting/Bobber-Dogging: G.Loomis STR1141S. This is a great 9 ½ foot rod. A deceptively powerful light-line steelhead spinning rod. It has the perfect action to handle light line and a subtle power that tires the fish very quickly. This also is an excellent small stream bobber and jig rod. Bobber/jig: Another great bobber rod is the G.Loomis STFR1321S. A longer 11-foot rod with better line control.
FLY RODS: Single Handed: 7 or 8 weight fly rod with floating and sinking lines are a must. Versa Tips are a great choice for quickly changing lines to match conditions. With a single-handed rod you can quickly and easily switch from swinging flies to nymph fishing by adding a strike indicator. Spey: 6 to 8 weight with versa tips for conditions. If water temperatures and visibility are good you can mostly use a floating tip. If glacial conditions occur and visibility drops you will want to use your sink tips.
FLIES: Nymph Fishing: Egg sucking leeches, Trout beads, October Caddis, Yarn eggs and more. Swinging: Leech patterns, Fish Tacos, Green Butt Skunk, Purple Muddler Minnow, After Dinner Mint and more.
REGULATIONS: Check the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's website for license requirements and up to date information on bag limits and seasons at wdfw.wa.gov/licensing. You can also purchase your licenses online.
--