Fall is Here!

The colors are beginning to change, temperatures are cooling and the air has that crisp feel in the morning. The steelhead are starting to show in good numbers and are settling into traditional holding lies. This is my favorite time of year in the Pacific Northwest and on the Trinity River!

In the last week or so we are seeing the plants and trees beginning to change color which makes for a beautiful setting while fishing the Trinity. Some salmon have been spawning and from what I hear there are more working their way upriver. We are also seeing more and more steelhead working their way up from the Klamath. So far this year the salmon and steelhead returns seem to be about two weeks behind which should make for some great fishing in November and even into December. Even with fewer fish so far from last year we have had some great fishing on floating lines.

Fishing this past week was a bit up and down. After the water dropped out of the dam to 350 cfs we saw tough fishing for a few days after that. Mid week we saw temperatures in the evening drop a bit and help bring water temps down a little and the fish perked up a bit. Thursday and Friday we headed out for some new water that recieves very little fishing pressure and it paid off. We found a few pods of fish and landed some very nice fish in the 7-12 lb range. Big fish honors of the week went to Will Johnson who landed a 32" hatchery hen. The other nice thing is that we are still seeing a lot of wild fish in the system. This is great for the future of the Trinity River fishery and is a bonus when you hook one as they go absolutely nuts!

We should continue to see some great floating line steelheading here on the Trinity for about another month. November can be a great month as we should see some more rain and more fish entering the system. I have open days available so please call or email if interested. Go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

Trinity Report

This past week has seen some up and down fishing throughout the Trinity River system. After cooler temperatures last weekend the water cooled a bit and saw some god fishing early in the week. While out with first time spey caster Joshua Schwartz, he managed five grabs and landed two big wild hens. Picture above is Joshua with a 8 lb wild hen.

Tuesday and Wednesday we were able to hook a handful of fish and bring three to hand. I could tell on Wednesday evening that the fishing might slow a bit as we saw high pressure move in with warmer air temperatures. Over the last few days the water had dropped a bit and warmed up. This has made fishing a bit tougher but there are still plenty of fish around. Friday, Will Johnson and I were able to hook three fish but none made it to hand. We are still seeing all our fish come to wet flies on floating lines. Once the water temps begin to stabilize a bit more we should begin to bring a few fish to the surface. A little rain wouldn't hurt anything either. Go for the grab!

Jason Hartwick

Evening Steelhead

Sorry for the lack of reports lately. I have been on the river the past week and the fishing has been up and down. Last weekend saw the first good rain of the season here on the Trinity and it was much needed. We saw over 1" of rain and the river came up from 680 cfs to over 1400 cfs in Hoopa. I was hoping it would bring a little color to the river, which it did but not by much. This helped bring in some new fish and get some of the fish holding in the gorges to move upriver. While I expected the fishing to be great after the storm it was actually pretty tough. In two float trips in the lower river we watched a couple hundred steelhead each day moving upriver and unwillig to take a fly. In two days we managed to hook a couple of half pounders and one adult for a brief second.

The last few days has seen a change in the weather and water temps. The last four mornign we have had temperatures near or below freezing and this has helped to bring water temps down a bit which has helped fishing. On Thursday we were able to hook two nice steelhead on wet flies but were unable to land either. We also saw a few other anglers hook up as well. This has been a change from the past couple of weeks which has seen tough fishing for everyone.

Today I was able to get out for a couple of hours and fish with my good friend Will Johnson. The first run we fished Will was able to land a nice 4 lb wild hen that took him way into his backing and came out of the water more than a few times. I was also able to hook a fish in the same run but cam unbuttoned after a long battle. In the second run fished I was able to land this large wild buck. I wish I had a better picture of this fish as it went 29-30" and was in the 9-10 lb range. Both fish I hooked took a #5 Purple Pill.

Fishing is picking up on the Trinity. The next month should provide great fishing on swung flies with many opportunities at fish on a skated fly. So far this year we are seeing some larger than average size fish and some nice wild ones to boot. The mid-lower Trinity is a great place to swing flies on both spey and switch rods. This is also a great place for a beginner or advanced spey angler to have an opportunity at hooking fish on floating lines. Go for the grab!

Jason