Pacific Lamprey, locally known as "eels," are one of the most primitive living fish. With a cartilage skeleton rather than bone they cannot even be classified as a true fish, but they are an important resource of the Klamath River.
Lamprey, like salmon, are anadromous. They live most of their adult life in the ocean and then return to the rivers to spawn and die. The spawning migration usually starts in late fall and continues into late spring. It is during the spring that weather and water conditions are optimal for eeling at the mouth of the River.
The most common method of catching lamprey, historically and currently, is to use an eel hook. This device is nothing more than a slightly curved branch, preferably yew, three feet long with a stiff wire extension curved into a sharpened hook at the end. The lampreys are gaffed as they flounder in the waves near the shore. A dip net may also be used to catch eels.
Up-river on the Klamath near Weitchpec, many fishermen use eel traps woven of willow, a practice introduced in the late 1800's by the Wiyot Indian people of the Eel River. Many seem to prefer eels caught at the mouth of the River, claiming the up-river eels are too skinny, having lost weight during migration.
Lampreys are cooked in many ways. In the past, most were smoked and dried for winter use. Fresh they were roasted on the hot rocks of an open fire. With modern methods, and tourists joining the fishery, many people now fry and can the lamprey.
