In October of 2007 I made my first trip to the Klickitat to fish
with Tracy Zoller. It is about an hour and a half from Portland, Oregon
on the North side of the Columbia River in Washington. The drive is
easy, and there is a Starbucks in Hood River about thirty minutes from
his home on the river. The scenic drive is full of juniper, sagebrush,
oak trees, and rimrock up the canyon. The river is about as beautiful
as any I've ever seen with dramatic canyons and classic pools, runs,
and tailouts! It looked like a miniature Deschutes - we hoped the
steelhead fishing would be as nice as the vista. It was.
My
good friend Kelly Reed and I floated about eight miles with Tracy. His
wife made us breakfast sandwiches with eggs, sausage, and cheese. They
were fantastic. We landed three steelies, two on flies, one on gear.
The biggest was about twelve pounds, the smallest was a six pound
hatchery fish. But talk about potential!! I have already booked my
return trip for next October. I plan to explore this river many times -
you can never have too much "research".
FISHING INFORMATION AT THE KLICKITAT RIVER
You will be fishing for native and hatchery steelhead, chinook and
coho salmon, and the occasional trout. Tracy is geared up for
spinfishing and baitcasting with plugs and spinners, but fly anglers
flock here each year as well. This is a glacial and fast moving river
and techniques are specialized to target these fish. A guide here is a
must as there is also limited bank access.
FISH AND SEASONS AT THE KLICKITAT RIVER
STEELHEAD - Fresh from the ocean these shiny fish start migration in good numbers June 1st through November. Pound
for pound the Steelhead is the hardest fighting fish in the world. It
is common to have these fish jump three to five feet over and over,
while screaming 40 to 50 yards of line off your reel.
CHINOOK - August 15 through October 15. The Klickitat King
Salmon are fresh from the ocean. These hard fighting fish sometimes
take an hour or more to get in. Every year we take a tremendous number
of fish weighing over 40 pounds, and you always have that chance for a
60 pounder if your arms don't wear out first. You might also catch the
occasional Coho/Silver salmon, a hard fighting acrobatic cousin of the
mighty Chinook.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES AT THE KLICKITAT RIVER
There is sightseeing and photography, but this is a true fishing
destination. Tracy offers some turkey hunting and there is whitewater rafting
available. There is some pretty good wine country within an hour or
two as well.
You fly into Portland, Oregon and drive about an hour and a half to Tracy's property. We will provide directions.
$175 per person per day.
