Trout TV, Steelhead, Klickitat

Despite October being a busy month for me on the Grande Ronde I had a small window of opportunity to fill in as host of Trout TV on the Klickitat earlier this month. The first time I went to the Klickitat was back in September with a friend of mine. While it did not particularly fish well for myself my buddy Ty did tangle into a few nice steelhead which is always exciting to see the furry unleashed on a newbie. This time around I was going to be fishing with my friend Jack Mitchell of The Evening Hatch Guide Service who owns and operates a "Steelhead Ranch" on the Klickitat River.

Jack and I have spent some time in the boat together on the Upper Columbia chasing big Redband Rainbows but this time we would be chasing the big hot Klickitat Steelhead. Fishing on the Klickitat can certainly be fast and furious. The rivers fast gradient and big boulders creates all sorts of slots and buckets for steelies to hide in which can also make it entertaining when hooking 10+ pound pissed off fish especially on camera!

When filming for a television show there's always a little pressure to catch some fish and when you are dealing with steelhead that makes that challenge even more difficult. Luckily a handful of Klickitat steelhead cooperated and even a few Chinook salmon made some guest appearances. Jack and his guide's expertise on the Klickitat is second to none and their Steelhead Ranch is an awesome place to stay with a killer view Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood. I do highly recommend their services when in that area.

Look for the Trout TV episode on the Klickitat River to air next spring.