Fly Fishing the Williamson River with Paul McDonald
June 12, 20192 min read
The Williamson River holds some of the biggest trout on Americas west coast. The majority of the rainbow trout in the system are migratory and move up into the river as Klamath Lake warms up. The lake itself averages only 15 feet deep, fish move towards and up the Williamson river beginning in June and through September as the lake warms. The majority of the trout in the river are rainbows but there are two basic strains. The first is a native redband which has evolved to withstand warm water temperatures, and the second is a landlocked Klamath River steelhead. Williamson River run large with three to six pound rainbows being caught most days as well as some fish upwards of 10 pounds being landed each season.
Fishing is done from drift boatsbelow the confluence of the Sprague River at the town of Chiloquin. This is section that sees most guided fishing as fishing from the boat has obvious advantages. It's also targeting fish as they are moving through the lower section of the river.
The river above the confluence with the Sprague there is no fishing from the boat allowed. This is where we might break out the Trout Spey rods and swing flies. Preferred methods on the Williamson include swinging small streamers and nymphs on intermediate sink lines.
We also have the Wood river, approximately a 15 minute drive North of the Williamson which runs into Agency lake. Here I like to fish dry flies to rising fish and casting streamers towards the undercut banks can also be great. If your looking to do some lake fishing, Agency lake and Rocky point are other options. Want to do multiple days? We have you covered.
The Williamson River in Southwest Oregon is one of our absolute favorite regional fisheries.
