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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Since You Asked: Dock will return to Lost Creek Lake ramp ... Governor Kate Brown reflects on 'unexpected' first year, future agenda ... Chetco ocean 'bubble' fisheries could be halved ... Since You Asked: Dock will return to Lost Creek Lake ramp ... Governor Kate Brown reflects on 'unexpected' first year, future agenda ... Chetco ocean 'bubble' fisheries could be halved ... MY ADVENTURE Going wild on the Klamath A fall float trip on the Klamath River leads to epic steelhead battles Comment By Carlyle Stout for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Carlyle Stout for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Carlyle Stout for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM --> SHARE YOUR ADVENTURE The Mail Tribune wants to share your adventure. We’re looking for accounts of hikes, climbs, river... » Read more X SHARE YOUR ADVENTURE The Mail Tribune wants to share your adventure. We’re looking for accounts of hikes, climbs, river runs, fishing trips, bike rides, ocean outings, camping trips, wildlife encounters and anything else you’ve done outdoors. Email your story (and pictures if you have them) to Mail Tribune features editor David Smigelski at [email protected] . » Social News The Klamath River offers some of the best fly-fishing for steelhead in the State of Jefferson. Sometimes regarded as the stepchild when compared to the Rogue or Umpqua rivers, the Klamath is really a Cinderella. Just south of the Oregon border, the Klamath has many advantages over its northern brethren: more wild steelhead, fewer boats, fewer anglers, and it's closer to Ashland and Medford than the Umpqua and many sections of the Rogue. Autumn and early winter are when these anadromous fish leave the Pacific Ocean and migrate hundreds of miles upriver to spawn. My brother, James, had raved about the steelhead runs on the Klamath, so in late October, my wife, Barb, and I booked a trip with Alan Blankenship of Three Rivers Guide Service. Alan, who has been guiding on the Klamath for 24 years, met us at the put-in at 8 a.m. with his 13-foot raft. It was clear and sunny, but cold, in the low 40s, so we put on layers under our jackets. Alan recommended 7 weight rods, as these fish are strong and often head for the swift current once hooked, so using a lesser weight rod would take longer to reel in the fish and stress it too much. Alan rigged up our rods with a triple fly set-up. It was a gorgeous autumn day. The willows, oaks and alders were turning yellow, red and gold along the bank while ospreys circled overhead. There wasn’t a breath of wind, and the water surface was like a mirror. No other boats were around, and we had the river all to ourselves. It was a slow morning, and Alan surmised it was because of the full moon, allowing the fish to feed at night. He switched flies a few times and changed the color of the egg pattern, but all we caught were some smolts (juvenile steelhead). We were searching for redds (salmon beds), as the steelhead hold in water behind the redds, feasting on the roe deposited by the spawning salmon. Then around noon we found a stretch of river with lots of redds and struck paydirt. Barb broke the spell by hooking a 22-inch, nickel-bright, wild steelhead. It blasted out of the water, twisting and turning, trying to dislodge the fly. Barb whooped and hollered with delight as the fish jumped and started peeling line off her reel. She fought it for several minutes before reeling it up to the boat where Alan netted it. After high fives and photos, she revived the fish in the current and released it. We continued fishing the same run, and five minutes later I hooked into a big fish. It hit the fly with a savage strike, rocketed out of the river, bucking like a saddle bronc, then dove into the water and took a screaming run across the river. The sound of the reel singing as the fish stripped off line was a symphony to my ears. Once I started reeling, the steelhead began violently shaking its head back and forth, trying to spit the fly. It took another run and jumped twice more, but after an epic battle I got it close enough that Alan netted it: a 24-inch, chromium-bright, wild steelhead. After releasing this magnificent fish, I had to sit down and let my pulse return to normal. This is what classic steelhead fishing does to you, and it is more addictive than any narcotic. Ten minutes later, Barb had the angling experience of a lifetime. After she set the hook, a large steelhead leaped out of the water, with the bottom fly in its mouth. Suddenly, her rod was pulled down, the steelhead knifed back into the river and a salmon exploded into the air with the top fly in its mouth, did a flip, then headed down river like a freight train and broke off the line. We couldn’t believe what we had just seen. Alan was incredulous. For the next 30 minutes, we fished the run and it was non-stop action. Between us we hooked eight metalheads and landed five. After fishing out the run we pulled over and had a delicious lunch on the bank while watching kingfishers, great blue herons and ospreys cruise up and down the river. We fished the rest of the afternoon and caught two more steelhead. Barb had another double hook-up: a 15-inch steelhead and a smolt. All the fish caught that day were wild and all performed aerial acrobatics. It was a banner day on the Klamath, the Cinderella river in the State of Jefferson. Carlyle Stout lives in Ashland. By Carlyle Stout for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Carlyle Stout for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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