NEWS & STORIES
PHWFF Martinez Veterans Battle Steelhead on the Klamath River
By Gerry Ng and Brian Miller
After a couple of tough years for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, 2022 opened with a flourish! On January 3-6, PHWFF volunteer Gerry Ng led a group of Martinez veterans for a steelhead outing on the Klamath River. Joining him were Nick Beyer, Martin Coulson, and Fred Patton. They were guided for two days of fly fishing by guides Brandon Worthington and Craig Nielsen of Worthington Fly Fishing. Lodging was at the Holiday Inn Express in Yreka.
The trip started out with a snowstorm as they approached Mount Shasta and lasted until they neared Yreka. The weather was cold, but there was limited rain/snow on the fishing days. The group fished the upper section of the Klamath near Copco Dam and the canyon area west of Interstate 5 along Hwy 96.
Our guides Brandon & Craig worked hard for an absolutely awesome two days on the water, getting everyone into a lot of fish. Fishing primarily with rubber legs and egg patterns under indicators, the group brought in over 50 full size steelhead to the boat! They lost over 20 more with a few big ones lost right at the boat. Nick caught 15 fish with the largest at about 25 inches. It all came together beautifully for a great time and great camaraderie on the water!
“As we came into Dunsmuir, the snow was coming down in near whiteout conditions. All I kept saying was ‘are we going fishing?” Luckily these days were great with no snow with just a bit of sprinkles. Great fishing, great guides!”
PHWFF Martinez Veteran
