The Klickitat is the Columbia Gorge's own summer-steelhead river — a glacial stream tumbling off Mount Adams through a basalt canyon to meet the big river near Lyle, and a genuine piece of Pacific Northwest swung-fly identity. It carries summer steelhead that come willingly to the floating line and the sparse fly, which is the whole appeal, but it has a glacial temperament you have to fish around: on warm summer days the melt off Adams clouds the water by afternoon, so the trick is to be on it early, in the clean light, before the day's melt grays it out. It's a river with deep roots — it runs through Yakama Nation ceded lands and is co-managed with the tribe, so the rules and access reflect that and deserve respect. The Mid-Columbia steelhead here are ESA-listed, so it's hatchery-retention-and-wild-release water. Swing a fly through the canyon runs on a clear morning and you're fishing one of the Gorge's true classics.

• Glacial

• Aquatic life: Impaired