Did anyone here spend any time on the Klickitat?

For those who haven't had a chance to fish on the Klickitat, it is located in South Central Washington where it enters the Columbia at the town of Lyle. From there, it's paralleled by the main access road, SR 142.

This river is a great destination for taking a steelhead on a fly. It is known as one of the State's better rivers for the summer steelhead run. Prime time for the Klickitat it typically September and August. Don't let that scare you off, though. The Klickitat can be productive in October and November.

Many anglers fish the Klickitat on Drift boats or rubber rafts. The river tolerates all anglers. Anglers have had success on Sand Shrimp, Plugs, and Salmon Eggs. You can even fish from the bank with a bobber in certain areas. You should also consider Spoons and Spinners.

If you plan on fishing from the bank, consider wading into the river. Starting at the Glenwood Road near the fish hatchery down to the Klickitat Wildlife Area at Soda Springs there are several good holes.

Both spring and fall Chinook as well as a late run of coho return to the Klickitat River. While the spring run is about over by midsummer, fall kings start arriving in late August and can provide some great fishing in September.

Hi guys and gals,

I was searching for some information about steelhead and stumbled on this great site.

I fish lots of the west side rivers but occassionally move to the eastern side later in the season.

It looks like the Klickitat could be in bad shape at the moment. The flows are fast and high. I haven't had a chance to get to the river today, but it appears the river is blown out. Hopefully it has a chance to settle before the season comes to an end.

I have had a successful season on the klick so far. Most of my time has been spent drifting as stated by Glock. I have been trolling warts and spinners most of the season.

I fished off the mouth out in the big river for coho a bit in October and early November; lost a couple but otherwise spent lots of time soaking prawns. Lots of boats--as many as 60 or more at times--not for the faint of heart but it's pretty orderly and there are a lot of fish.

I've fished the Klick on the bank for salmon and steelhead but have had only modest success. When I've gone, the silt has been pretty bad (July August) and so spinners--my typical first choice lure--doesn't produce well. I need to get better with the various methods of bait presentation.

The Klick is a great river to C&R wild Steelhead in the Fall. Beautiful river, beautiful fish. Based on my experience it's not a good option for those who want to take home a hatchery Steelhead. It's glacial and will get murky during warm spells. As the Fall progresses that's less of a problem.