Sunday, June 17, 2018

Southern Oregon’s Williamson River is heating up! 

After a slow start we are starting to see a few more fish hitting the system, but the best is yet to come as the Lake warms. The cold water migration seems to be a bit later this year due to a couple of things.


  1. We had a wet spring and early summer. March dumped and early June added to the lake levels with some cold water. 
  2. The Klamath Tribes called water early to keep water in the lake, as this would help the juvenile Cwaam get to Harriman Springs before the summer sun heated it to dangerous levels. 
  3. The weather has been cooler than normal. The lake hasn’t warmed to the point of pushing fish up the river. 

These are three things that will make Williamson the July fishery to be on!  The rest of June can be great as well, all it takes is a week of harsh sun to push a big pod of fish up the river. If you have been waiting to fish the river I wouldn’t wait any longer. The crowds haven’t hit yet and the river is clearing fast. 


Hit the riffles until the river clears and the algae clears. Once the algae clears hit the deep stuff. 


I like to swing softhackles, and buggers at depths, to match the conditions.