Stoneflies on the Klamath River popped early last week and when temps dropped below freezing and some rain arrived it hampered the hatch. Warm weather this week should bring the hatch back into full swing. Water clarity has been an issue since February with visibility running from six inches up to about two and half feet this last week which is poor even for the Klamath, which is not known for clarity, though this time of year it typically is at its best at four to five feet. This will not help the dry fly bite.

Flows on the other hand are quite low and very fishable, though those without experience drifting the Klamath can easily find themselves perched on midstream rocks. The Irongate Hatchery, for the second season in a row, did not produce any steelhead smolts. They typically have released about 5,000 fish which in the past has provided not stop action on dry flies during this time of year. Fishing for spring run steelhead and juvenile wild fish along with the few half pounder hatchery fish that have returned will provide the bulk of the action this spring that considering these conditions, we don't expect will go down as a banner year.