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Kalama River, WA ?
Greetings all,
Drove down to Portland for a birthday this weekend, and make a long detour to scout the Kalama. Nice looking river, and even saw some fish too. Kings must be running now that we have finally gotten some rain. Has any of our members floated the Kalama? I fould plenty of put ins, but am curious as to any challenging portions, and of course a traffic report! Looking for another place in the summer and fall for a change of pace and target species.
Thanks in advance, Jeff
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Tis my time on the water, in the mountains, and in my driftboat where I can see things as they really are.
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Hey Jeff,
A good friend of mine guides on the Kalama, but he's really free with his info. I'll give him a call and get US some information about the river. What sections did you want to float?
REE
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I have not floated it, but I have fished it several times. Always done pretty well for steelhead. I recall that below the catch and release section there is a rapid that is steep and impassable, but my memory is hazy and I could be thinking of the Trinity. ???
I was fishing there once and a guy waded acrosss near where I was fishing. I didn't even think you could wade across. He stood in one spot and caught four steelhead in as many casts. All nice fish. That guy knew what he was doing, and he knew exactly where those fish were going to be.
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REE,
A guide forthcoming in giving out information? That is like a lawyer with morals. I am not sure what the local names for the put ins are, but the three we scouted were as follows: THe first on we came to was across the first bridge as you drive up river. This looked like the take out, as there were a few rigs with trailers parked there. The next one was about 3 miles up the road, and was just above the lower Kalama hatchery. Nice one, and only had one parked rig. The third was upriver of the second bridge above a beutiful waterfall that fell into the river. All three spots looked great. I am not sure what this section is refered to, but this seemed to be the most popular spots judging by the rigs parked there. We only saw a couple of boats on the water, but it was past 4 PM.
Thanks for the reply guys. I already have the number to a place that does a shuttle service, so now I just need to go float it. I should bring my rods too, just in case http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gifWhen we go, I will let you all know how it went. New rivers are fun to float and fish, as it seems the explorer in me comes out thinking the best hole is just around the corner. I just hope I see it before we float past it!
Have fun, Jeff
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Tis my time on the water, in the mountains, and in my driftboat where I can see things as they really are.
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Jeff,
My buddy says to put in at Pritchard's Store (2d store up river from I-5) and float to Camp Kalama. Very easy all day float on a pristine river. No sleds or other motorized boats allowed above Camp Kalama so your only competition is going to be from drift boats and pontoon boats.
I'll drop you an e-mail in the next day or two with some pics and recipes of suggested flies for summer runs and cutts.
Heck, I just saw that your in Spanaway, if you get down toward Yelm or McKenna, drop me an e-mail and I'll give you some samples of those flies. Also, if you get a hankering to float the Cowlitz this fall for some SRC's let me know.
REE
[This message has been edited by NoahsBoyz (edited 24 May 2005).]
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