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Oregon's Upper Klamath Lake

By Scott Richmond

Although it is not well-known by fly fishers, Klamath Lake holds some of the largest wild, native trout in North America.

elicans are not something you expect to see in an arid climate. It still surprises me to see them in central Oregon, even though they are as common as robins on Upper Klamath Lake. So when the big bird flew over our heads, I looked up briefly and admired the way the first rays of dawn glinted off its five-foot wing span.

When my eyes returned to the water, a different sight gave me a different thrill: a rush of water bulged behind the Seal Bugger Bob Jones had cast near shoreline reeds. The bulge chased the fly about five feet, disappeared, and Bob's rod went into a deep arc.

"How big?" I asked.

"About the same as the others we caught this morning," Bob said, his voice competing with the buzz of the reel as the fish ripped off line. "Five, maybe six pounds. Not especially big."

Some of the world's largest wild, native rainbow trout swim here. Fish exceeding ten pounds are not uncommon, and the lake is well-suited to fly fishing--although few people seem to know it.

Upper Klamath Lake is often the largest lake in Oregon. Its size varies depending on snowpack and rainfall. But even if you can cast 80 feet or more, it's a bit daunting to be confronted with almost 100 square miles of water. Further, the fish are highly migratory, and volatile conditions make it hard to come up with a set of rules for finding them. When you first launch a boat or float tube here, you might feel like a speck of intergalactic dust. Don't panic! There are lots of fish, and a little knowledge can help narrow the search.

Most of the fly fishing is concentrated in a few areas at the north end. Fish migrate between the lake and its creeks and tributaries, most notably the Williamson and Wood Rivers.

Species

Most of the catch is rainbow trout, with fish often going over five pounds, and many over ten. The Klamath strains of rainbows are now being used to stock other lakes because they are resistant to a parasite that lives in many high desert waters. Brook and brown trout are also available.

Best Times to Fish

The lake is open year-round, and a few winter trout are picked up at the south end, near Pelican Marina, but most of the good fishing is between May and October; mid-June to mid-August sees the most pressure, and some of the largest fish. However, the real answer to the question "When is the best time to fish Upper Klamath Lake" is: "It all depends." The trout are highly migratory, and they move often in search of food and better water conditions. It's a good idea to call Rocky Point Resort (541/356-2287) and check on current conditions.

Access

Hwy 97 skirts the west shore of the lake, but most of the useful fishing access is from Hwy 140, which follows much of the east side. Fishing from shore is not a good option; you need a boat or some kind of watercraft. See the map for roads, access points, and boat ramp locations.

Facilities and Services

See the map for campgrounds. Rocky Point Resort on the northwest shore has a restaurant, RV park with full hookups, and rooms and cabins to rent. The resort also rents boats and canoes, and has some fishing tackle and flies.

Klamath Falls has extensive visitor facilities, and there are also restaurants and motels in Fort Klamath.

Hatches and Other Food

The usual stillwater fare of dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, caddis, and Callibaetis are present, but leeches and forage fish make up most of the diet from ice-out to late June. The lake is rich in tui chub (roach), blue chub, fathead minnows, sculpins, and even lamprey eels.

Fishing Tips

1. Temperature and alkalinity drive fish behavior. Because this is a shallow lake in a sunny area, the water warms quickly in summer. With increases in temperature and alkalinity (and corresponding decreases in oxygen), trout cruise the lake in search of better conditions. This makes the fishing unpredictable. You might fish here in June and hit the jackpot with ten and fifteen-pound rainbows. The next year--or next week--you might fish the same spot in the same way and get skunked.
2. Most of the year, stay north. Water conditions are such that it is rarely useful to fish south of Eagle Ridge after mid-June.
3. Pelican Bay stays algae-free. Conditions in Pelican Bay are radically different than in the rest of the lake. As the season warms, the main lake becomes thick with algae. Pelican Bay gets weedy in the channel leading to the main lake, but it has several cool creeks and springs. Their inflows keep the bay clear of algae blooms, and trout tend to concentrate there as the lake heats up.
4. Pelican Bay best for tubers. Pelican Bay offers the best access and water conditions for float tubers and those without motorized watercraft.
5. Every creek and spring creates a mini-environment. The water flowing from each creek or spring has a different temperature. Some inlet creeks may run at 75 degrees, while less than a mile away a different creek might have water 20 degrees cooler. A trout's response to these conditions will vary depending on conditions in the rest of the lake.
6. Migratory trout head for the rivers. By late June, a few trout head towards rivers and creeks, such as the Williamson and Wood rivers. As the season progresses, more and more fish swim to the cooler, more oxygenated waters of the streams that feed the lake. This means that fishing near the mouths of the rivers and creeks gets better as the season progresses. By the first fall frost, trout head for the rivers in large numbers, searching for better water and a place to spawn.
7. Predatory fish. You don't grow ten- and 15-pound trout on a diet of size 22 midges. These fish like juicy meals such as leeches, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, and other fish. Flies that imitate these food forms do well, with black and dark brown the best colors; olive is productive only in clear water. Woolly Buggers and Denny Rickard's Seal Buggers are good pattern choices. Zonkers in white or with some yellow also work well because they imitate baitfish.
8. Intermediate line. The best fishing is subsurface, so a floating line is of very limited utility here. On the other hand, most sinking-tip lines and faster sinking lines drop too quickly. Therefore an intermediate line is the best choice, except perhaps on sunny, calm days in clear water; then a clear line, such as the Scientific Anglers Stillwater line, is a good choice if the water is deep enough.
9. Leaders. Use a 10-12 foot leader tapered to 3X or 4X in algae-tinted water, and a 12-15 foot leader in clear water.
10. Watch for signs of stress. The variable water conditions can leave the fish in a stressed state. If you catch a few fish that seem sluggish for their size, either move to a better place or stop fishing altogether.

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 08/01/1999.

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