KLAMATH FALLS, OKKGON, Sl'NDAY, APRIL M. 13
Edamath Anglers Brave Opening
Pay 'Snows' To Catch Wily Trout
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FOUR BEAUTIFUL FISH These four beauties, all over
15 Inches, were only a small samplinq of the fine catch
corning out of Howard Prairie on opening weekend of
trout season. Thousands of fishermen brought their fam
ilies and trailers and made a three-day stay out of the
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YOUNGSTERS IN THE ACT Even youngsters got into
ths act at Howard Prairie. Thii cute freckled girl took
these 16 inehers from the bank while her father went
fiihleis. I wonder what he'll tell the fellows back at the
lodge? Several kids with spinning gear reached produc
tive waters with ease and hauled them in with facility
that embarrassed their luckless dads.
opener. Both boat and bank fishermen were successful
using worms and salmon eggs. The brightest colored
salmon eggs were most appealing to the fish it seemed.
The dark colored trout on the right is a typical Howard
Prairie spawner.
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ONE IN HUNDREDS Loroy Pemberton, 3 2 7 North
Ninth Street, w the only angler out of hundreds that
Herald and News reporter, George Alotrico, interviewed
April 20 that had fish. Leroy displays his catch, the
larger rainbow was IS inches, at Spring Creek. The an.
gler said he caught the fish earlier at Crooked Creek.
Most anglers who took fish in Klamath County streams
made their catches quite early in the morning.
By GEORGE, ALOTRICO
After a hard winter of 40 and
sometimes 5n degree weather
spring finally broke, with IB inch
es of snowfall in the Klamath
Basin, and brought with it opening
day of trout season.
Opening day this year looked
more like one would expect it to
look in Cortina, Italy, during the
opening ot the winter skiing sea
son or at Lake Winnebago, Wis..
when the anglers first start to
drag their ice shanties out on
the ice for sturgeon spearing.
And how did this affect the spir
its of the local opening day trout
angler? That's right ... it didn't
in the least.
Opening day has that magnetic
kind of pull that makes Joe Uoaks
get up at 2 a.m., put chains on
all four snow tires on his four
wheel drive, arrive at his favorite
fishing hole behind 250 other in
trepids, and be as happy as any
half frozen man could be he-
cause he's glad he's "at least
beaten the crowd."
So it was with opening dav in
Klamath County, April 20, la,
as man and his pickup cut sw aths
through the virgin snows to l,akc
of the Woods, Fish Iike, Hyatt
Reservoir, Thompson Valley.
Crescent. Odell and the fish only
know where else.
Fishing was good on the open
ing weekend, by and large, with
the lakes winning handily over
the streams in fishing success.
Streams were, for the most part,
very cold, with Seven Mile, Fort
and Crooked creeks at about 3fi
degrees, Spring Creek at its usual
41 and some of the Williamson
tributaries as high as 44. Fish
feed very little when water tem
peratures dip much lower than 4(1.
Another thing that hurt stream
fishing was that the rivers were
only lightly slocked before the
opening, the major ones getting
between 500 and 1.000 land prob-
aoly closer to the lower figure!
The major rivers were to be
stocked again with legal fish this
past week. The county's alloea
lion is 00,000 fish. Art Gerlach
district state biologist, indicated.
Some areas that will still be
hard to stock due to the bad
weather include the Sycan and
upper Sprague and tributaries.
rew fish were caudit on Spring
Creek during the opener, b u t
there was a report that some
browns, one as big as five pounds,
were taken. Plenty of hatcherv
rainbows should be available this
weekend.
only a nanoiul of lish was
taken on the upper stretches of
Seven Mile, but again, some big
browns were caught trolling the
Seven Mile canal.
Success at Crooked Creek was
the best with quite a few rain
bows, both big and small, com
ing out of the stream below the
hatchery. A few fish were taken
out of Fort Creek, sizable browns
again, and some rainbows were
reported taken from the lower
Sprague.
Iikc fishing was better, and
Howard Prairie, with the Dead Hyatt and Thompson Valley ing in Klamath and Agency
Indian Road free of snow, drew re the next best producers, but lakes. Crescent Lake was slow,
throngs. Fishing success was ter- access wasn't quite as, easy. but the boys who knew how to
rific there and almost everyone A few big fish between four fish Lake of the Woods and Fish
caught several. and six pounds were taken troll- Lake took limits of rainbows.
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THE OVERNIGHT TROUPE These were just a few of the campers at Howard
Prairie during the opening weekend of trout season. The fishing was so good that
many stayed several days. Several of the camping parties pitched tents on the 10
inches of snow around the lakeshore. The park's facilities are quite adequate and a
lot of fishermen brought their families.
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SPRING CREEK HARDLY FISHED Only a sprinklina of anglers van
tured to Spring Creek for the opener and not many of those stayed very
long. The creek wasn't stocked before the opener and very few fish
were caught, but the state planned to stock the stream during the past
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week and angler success should soar in the cominq weeks. Some of the
most successful of the Spring Creek anglers fly fish using nymphs almost
exclusively. If there are any California anglers still in the area, stay a
while, and try Spring Creek again this weekend. Bring a big creel,
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ACTION FROM THE BANK Bank fishermen at Howard Prairie had plenty of ac
tion although most of the anglers were out in boats. Here a youngster watches his
father land a fat 15-incher. These fishermen were usinq bobbers to keep their worms
off the bottom, which is full of snags. Many boat anglers who were having slim luek
trolling beached their craft and took fish from the shore.
TWENTY TROUT IS PLENTY A group of bank agnlers were hauling them in fast and
furiously from a productive hole in Howard Prairie not 100 yards from the ramp
where anglers were launching their bouts to speed a mile down the lake to less pro.
ductive haunts. Most bank fishermen hid huqe bonfires roarinq in the 10 inches of
snow that fell durinq the week end when the sun came peeping out from behind thst
clouds it was plenty warm.
LAUNCHING SITE CRAMMED The launehinq si et Howard Prairie Reservoir
was jammed with boats of all descriptions as anqlers sought the wary trout on opon
inq day of fishing season. There were 1,700 cars checked in at the Jackson County
park last Saturday, April 20, and good portion of them were pullinq b o 1 1 end
campers. Some of the cruisers with duel 50 horse outboards looked capable of en At.
lantie crossing while some of the other ereft appeered better suited for bathtub.