Klamath River (Upper California)
Hwy 96 corridor, Hornbrook to Happy Camp · near Happy Camp · Shasta Cascade
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Steelhead late summer-winter; salmon fall (quota-managed)
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+) PLUS a Steelhead Report-Restoration Card for steelhead/salmon. Klamath and Trinity share the fall Chinook adult quota - the season can close in-season when the quota is met. Reach-specific bait/barbless closures apply. MAJOR NOTE: the four lower Klamath dams were removed in 2024 (the largest dam removal in US history), so run timing, flows, and access are actively changing - treat run/season details as provisional and confirm current-year CDFW Klamath regulations. Respect Yurok/Karuk tribal jurisdiction on lower reaches.
What is here
- Features
- California's second-largest river · Free-flowing after the historic 2024 dam removals · Fall 'half-pounder' steelhead runs · Drift-boat and bank fishery in a wild canyon
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Fishing detail
- Water type
- river
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Fly · Spin · Bait
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- Steelhead (incl. half-pounders) · Chinook salmon · Wild rainbow trout
- Intl tip
- A historic river reborn after the 2024 dam removals - fall half-pounder steelhead are the classic draw. Requires a steelhead card; the salmon season is quota-managed and can close in-season. Run timing and access are changing fast - confirm current CDFW rules and respect tribal lands.
The guide
The Klamath is a river being reborn. In 2024, the removal of four lower dams - the largest dam-removal and river-restoration pr…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Klamath River (Upper California) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 41.93, -122.44