FISHING - CONSERVATION - EDUCATION
Flyfishing the Williamson River and the Upper Klamath Basin
The Sunriver Anglers will host Yancy Lind, an avid angler and self-proclaimed “fisheries activist”, at its February monthly meeting. Yancy will provide a “nuts and bolts” presentation on flyfishing the Williamson River and the Upper Klamath Basin. He is a prominent 17-year member of the Central Oregon Flyfishers (COF) currently serving as Programs chair. Yancy has also served as President, Vice President and Chair of key committee functions such as conservation, education and outings. The COF is the largest flyfisher organization in Oregon boasting nearly 500 members although the current pandemic has reduced its active membership to 300 or so. COF is a Bend based organization that promotes restoration of local fish habitat.
Yancy plans to describe the fantastic fishing in the Basin and the where and how to’s of places to stay, places to eat, places to put in/takeout, prime fish locations, and appropriate fishing gear for the most effective technique to employ on Upper Klamath Lake. That technique is a sub-surface style which utilizes slow sinking line, leech patterns and stripping back slowly until the big 20+” Klamath Basin red band trout make your day. As Yancy would say “the tug is the drug” for addicted anglers. These lake-bound fish grow rapidly and get quite large on the abundant aquatic insects in the Lake which was formed 100 years ago when the marshland was dammed. The Lake has a very large surface area (some 200 sq. mi.) but is typically shallow (6 ft. or so). Numerous cold-water springs dot the Lake which provide havens for trout in the summer when general water temperatures rise. According to Yancy, if you know their locations, you can do well perhaps landing a couple dozen trout in an afternoon. Fishing pressure on the Lake is minimal. Yancy recently fished the Lake over a 5 day stretch and encountered, at most, a half dozen fellow enthusiasts.
Yancy remains active in Deschutes Basin water quality and allocation issues. He maintains a blog and post advocacy articles on it regularly. He supports several conservation groups such as Water Watch as a board member, Central Oregon Land Watch, the Deschutes Land Trust and the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. He was the founder of the Deschutes Basin Chapter of the Association of Steelheaders and currently he serves on the ODFW Restoration and Enhancement Board. His blog can be found at www.coinformedangler.org
The February Sunriver Anglers Meeting will be held via Zoom on February 17, 2022 and will start at 7:00 pm. Anyone interested in participating in this meeting should contact Rynie Miyashiro at rynieSRA@gmail.com for permission and login particulars.
