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Finally they have arrived. The Klamath River Springer run has finally begun and none too soon. For 6 agonizing weeks since the Smith closed, I have been suffering tragically from withdrawal pains. When you have a life-long history of Fishitis, days without fishing are barely survivable. Fishitis can be either active or dormant. When we are fishing it disappears temporarily, but it lurks somewhere in the back of our minds, waiting to flare up any time we are separated from our rod and reel. The disease manifests itself in many ways: erotic fishing dreams, total lack of patience with others, constant perusal of tide tables and the weather channel, and addiction to reading fishing publications for prolonged periods while sitting on the toilet. Combine this with an obsession with ordering almost any fishing gadget we see in a catalog and you have one very sick puppy. At last I can claim I'm out of the terminal stage and in remission. Despite a lack of clarity, an abundance of flow, less than optimum tide times, a bitter north wind, seals, and a full moon, we fished the Klamath today (5/18/03) and we scored. |
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Dan stopped at a spot he has been watching carefully at different flows, judging the placement of the channel and the probable fish lane. Soon rods were nodding to the rhythm of the spinning lures he made during his confinement. The sun finally lit the water and we were instantly warmer.
Springer fishing is pretty much sit and wait fishing or 'sitting on the anchor'. We watched a seal rip fish out of the Indian nets, his little round bowling ball head glistening in the sun. I'm sure his "cuteness" will escape the owner when he pulls it looking for his fish. Rods are left out until they get tangled with moss or river debris, and then they are cleaned, cast out, and returned to the rod holders. When the spring salmon and steelhead hit these lures, there is no doubt that there is a fish on. They yank down hard and keep it up until you set the hook.
Around 11AM we finally got a big hit. Kelly grabbed the rod, wrestled it out of the rod holder, and the fight was on. As we use barbless hooks per regulations, it is essential to maintain tension on the line. This fish fought hard enough to wrench herself loose, but Kelly had a real fight on her hands up to then. Anglers hate those long distance releases.
Despite the wind, the weather warmed up nicely and we were hugely grateful to find ourselves in the boat and once again on the hunt. The numbers of fish entering the system should be increasing daily. By next week we hope the river turns into a super highway of salmonids. We had a life saving injection of salmon angling today but who knows how long it will last. There will be more and more fish now. When you see the Dan Carter Guide Service boat on the Klamath give us a wave. We wish you luck, tight lines, and a great spring salmon season.
Joan Carter
Columnist Joan Carter co-owns, with her husband, Dan Carter's Guide Service.
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Dan headed the jetboat upriver with myself and Kelly and Mark from our radio station KCRE. It was dark-thirty when we slipped the boat down the ramp. At the mention of life vests, Mark blurted, "I don't even want to think about landing in that freezing water." The jetboat took off with a roar, flying up the river with silver spray exploding behind us. Sporting multitudes of "layers" of clothing, we hunkered down, pulled our hoods over our heads, and gritted our teeth as the icy air stabbed at our bodies like a meteor shower of Xacto knives. The Klamath is still rather high, which allows for faster passage upriver in the dark. Still we were counting the minutes 'til we would have a line in the water once again.
We turned the boat back down river and Dan appeared to be sniffing for scent as he headed toward the next ambush spot. As the sun rose so did our spirits as another rod went off. Mark grabbed it, rammed in the hook set, and I popped the anchor buoy and we were drifting down stream with the salmon. We landed her and she weighed in at 16 pounds. Dan pointed out the sea lice on her body. She couldn't have been in the system for very long, or they would have fallen off. This gal was fresh from the ocean. I retrieved the anchor and we moved downriver once again where Mark landed a small jack. No doubt about it, we are officially engaged in spring time battle.
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