Pergish Carlson | Photo: KCET
Pergish Carlson, a Yurok Tribe member, is a lifelong Klamath River fisherman and fishing guide who started the Blue Creek Guide Service in 2004. We spoke with him about salmon, tribal culture, and history at Requa, California, a small town at the mouth of the Klamath.
How long have the Yurok peoples been fishing the Klamath River?
Yurok been fishing since the beginning of time. Pue-lik-lo is the Down River people, that's where my people come from on the Klamath River. Weve been fishing all up along down the river. On the coast, and in all the villages above and below.
How important are salmon in your culture?
They feed us, they feed me. They take care of my family. Everything we take [from the river] were going to eat and it feeds us. Not very many people can say that they go catch their dinner and plan their dinner on what they catch. It not only saves us money to do other things, its actually good for us. Its what were supposed to always eat. When I get off the river from guiding I always tell my kids, Thank the river for this because thats how we got it. Where were at now is because of the river. Everything Ive got is because of the river. Everything I own.
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How did you become a fishing guide?
In the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, all the guiding was done at the mouth. It was ninety percent, maybe all Yurok guides. Id talk to all these older guides, a lot of them are gone now. They would always say, I used to guide down there when I was a kid. They would tell me their stories of guiding. It just kind of went away. We couldnt fish [and] they were fighting; it wasnt passed down and taught. I just got into it; thats what I wanted to do.
I had help along the way from other guides who went out of their way to show me things. And now, Im the only Yurok travel guide on the entire river. Hopefully I can open up doors for other younger kids that want to [fish and guide].
Pergish holding a drift net | Photo: KCET
What were some traditional methods of fishing?
The Yurok and the other tribes used a lot of dip nets, trigger nets, gaffs, and some gill nets. [With trigger nets,] the fish would come along and swim and theyd have it set up on a platform. The fish would swim into it and it would set off a little trigger, like a trap almost. It would break and close the door. Thats how it was in the old days. There were platforms everywhere along rock ledges that stuck out.
If we dont got water, we dont got salmon. If we dont got salmon, we got nothing.
It wasnt easier, but they had it down. They had to catch to eat, so they got really good at it. It would be cool to try and do it, but I was never really taught. It kind of just got lost. Everyone today uses nets, pretty much just gill nets.
Do you think that the way you fish now is the way your people are going to fish a hundred years from now?
Some things will change. But there are some [methods] that will always catch. There are techniques that I use, that guys figured out fifty, sixty years ago: rod and reel fishing. The number one way of catching is with spinners and anchoring. Being at the mouth and trolling a spinner. They did that in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. It still is one of the best ways to catch. People try new stuff, but they always go back to that because its the most effective.
More from Tending the wild
Keeping the River
It Ties the Ocean to the Mountains: A History of Salmon in California
What kind of fish come up the Klamath River?
Right now, weve got a mixture of steelhead and salmon. Steelhead is a trout, sea-run trout, that will spawn multiple times and keep coming back and forth. Theyll have their babies and go back out to the ocean. Salmon will be in the ocean for three to four years depending on what cycle it is. Theyll come up and spawn and die right there. There are also eels and sturgeon going up too, but were not harvesting them right now.
How do the Yurok people deal with overharvesting?
The Tribal Member Advisory Board votes [on fishing limits] and then it goes into effect through our fishery regulations. The rules will change based on the [river's] conditions, like if its a really low year and we dont have that much fish, were going to try to conserve. If theres a lot of fish, then were going to harvest.
This year, we have a self-implemented closure to let the river have a break because were supposed to have a low salmon year. Theres only a certain number of hours that you can [fish]. Weve had [closures] these last five or six years, but this is the first time its been four days in about five years and usually its only a one day closure a week.
Tell us about Requa.
Requa is at the south side of the Klamath River and it is where the river meets the ocean. Thats what Requa means: the mouth. This is where it all starts, where everything comes in, where everything goes out. Its a circle of life down here.
The rivers very vital. This is a vital spot because it not only cools down the river, it helps the fish that stop here and rest because the rivers so hot. They come from the ocean and its cold. They get up in the river, and the rivers kind of sick from being so hot, from people taking water out of the river, the drought, and everything just accumulating. This spot kind of helps them out a little bit. Its like a pit stop for them. They get recharged.
Watch Tending The Wilds segment on salmon, Keeping The River
But the river does so much for us. If we dont got water, we dont got salmon. If we dont got salmon, we got nothing. It not only brings us our food, it brings us everything we need. Everything comes through the river to us.
How does it feel when you fish on the river?
I feel privileged to be out on the water. On a typical guide trip, its still dark and Im driving up the river and thats my alone time. I just think Im pretty lucky t
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Pergish Carlson | Photo: KCET 
