Quick Klick Float

This weekend I was able to take my daughter Lillian out to visit our good friends Jeff and Jan Cottrell in Klickitat, Washington. Jeff's been fishing the Klickitat for decades and spending time with them has always been more then spending time on the river. Jeff and Jan have been like family to me for years. This last year my daughter got to spend some quality time with them. Last week my daughter asked me if they were going to forget her since they had not seem them in months. So of course with a weekend off and a boat in dry dock, I knew this was a great opportunity to get out.

















After eating the usual gourmet dinner at their place on Saturday, we slept in Sunday morning. The Klickitat River this time of year is crowded and this year it has been a downright zoo. There are over a dozen fly shops and outfitters both fly and gear that are guiding on the river these days. Though most of the Chinook Salmon are on the beds already, it prime time for Silvers. Whoopie, but the omelet hatch is on that thus the bobber brigade is out in force.

Now this is prime time to skate a fly. October caddis are out in force, water and air temperature is perfect, yet with the amount of pressure on the river, you got a chance in hell bringing one of them to the surface. Its a crying shame and the asshats trying to pump it with more hatchery Steelhead and non native Silvers, it may get worse.
















Photo: Jan Cotrell

At any rate we had a great little float. The Klickitat in the Fall is breathtaking and the weather was perfect. The best part of the day was seeing my daughter connect once again with my good friends and see that Mother Nature is fun for both girls and boys. It also nice to know she will always want to go back to Klickitat, which means I will indeed get some water time with her in the future.






















Oh yeah and the pumpkins, I don't know. There were scattered in every good nymphing and yes swinging spot on the river. I figure one of the fly guides was marking his spots for the newbie guides following behind him. It would figure anyway and yes Lillian took one home.