Trinity Update

We are finally starting to see some steelhead in the lower Trinity river. While fishing is by no means red hot there are fish to be caught. There are both hatchery fish and native fish moving into the river right now. The good sign is that we are seeing more wild fish than hatchery fish right now. On a recent trip I was fortunate to land a nice bright native in the 4 lb range that took a red humbug on a floating line.

Along with a few adult steelhead we are seeing some nice halfpounders that are a blast on light spey rods. They seem to be traveling in small schools and when you find them, it is possible to hook multiple fish.

In the next few weeks we should see some great Steelhead fishing on the lower Trinity river. This is predominately floating line fishing with opportunities to hook 4-8 lb. steelhead on skated dry flies. The lower river is well suited for small spey rods and swung flies. If you are interested in learning to spey cast and fish, an intermediate or expert spey caster who wants to hone their skills, or just flat out fish and have a good time, there is not better time than the month of October on the Trinity. Not only can we have some great fishing but the scenery is downright beautiful. October dates are filling fast so book you trip soon! For more information feel free to contact me at speybum@gmail.com or call (916) 838-2496. For more information on trips or to see more photos check us out at http://www.steelheadonthespey.com

Go for the Grab!
Jason Hartwick

Quick Trinity Report

Spent the day with fellow Steelhead bum Kevin Giusti floating a section of the Trinity. It was a great day to be on the river. Not only did we find a few fish, but we had a good 45 minutes of heavy rain which was not fun to float the river in, but was well needed. In the third run of the day Kevin managed to hook a halfpounder and two adult steelhead landing one. A hatchery fish going 5-6 lbs. and full of spunk. Unfortunately no fish photo although I got one of Kevin hooked up.

 

The fish are starting to show on the lower Trinity. We saw quite a few salmon and some really nice steelhead. From here on out we should see some great fishing on floating lines.  

Lower Trinity River Update

Late August into early September usually marks the first big push of steelhead into the lower Trinity River. This past week I made my way up north to do a little "scouting" work and see where the fish might be. The first day out my friend Will and I floated a 6 mile section of river. Our goal was to fish a few runs and snorkel a few looking for fish. We managed to spot a few salmon while snorkeling and a handful of steelhead holding near tailouts. While we didn't manage any fish it was nice to be on the water. 

The next couple of days I was able to fish with good friends Adrian and Teresa Psuty. Our goal was to hopefully find some chrome in the lower river and get Teresa into her first adult steelhead. Teresa might possibly be on the best female spey casters around, so all we needed to do was to locate a few fish. Conditions proved to be tough as we had warm weather, high pressure, low water, and very few fish around. We fished hard for three days and only managed a couple of half pounders. We spotted a couple of adults but they didn't seem to want to cooperate. Here's a pic of Teresa launching some line in a prime run.

My last day out I was able to fish a couple of runs early in the morning and managed to boil a nice steelhead to a skated muddler in a tailout. After switching flies a couple times and going back thru the tailout, I was unable to bring the fish back. Oh well, it is always a blast to see that swirl under your fly whether you hook up or not! 

This year we have seen very dry conditions which are having their effects on our North Coast rivers. We are seeing some of the lowest rivers levels I have ever seen. The water temps have been pretty good since we are seeing shorter days and cool nights. Very little rain and low water could be keeping many steelhead out in the ocean. Right now it looks like the run might be a couple of weeks behind, but we should start to see some good pushes of fish into the Klamath and Trinity in the next couple of weeks. I plan on starting my guiding season around September 20th and we should have a good number of fish in the lower Trinity by then. From then until the middle of October is the best time to get out on the lower Trinity River and fish for steelhead on spey rods and floating lines. Go for the grab!

Lower Klamath River

This past week I was fortunate to be able to fish the lower Klamath River out of Klamath Glen. We took my good friend Will's sled out for the day and were able to locate quite a few half pounders. These fish were chrome bright and full of spunk. Despite not locating any adult steelhead, I was lucky to hook and land this chrome bright Jack Salmon. While is was only about 6 lbs. it put up one hell of a fight on a 5 weight spey rod. 

A little later in the week, I had the privilege of fishing with my good friends Adrian and Teresa Psuty. After a couple of tough days on the lower Trinity, we decided to drive down to Johnson's on the Klamath and fish a few gravel bars. We were able to locate a good size school of half pounders and hooked into 20 plus fish, landing about half. Most fish were in the 14-18" range and dime bright. All fish were taken of lightweight spey rods, floating lines, and peacock bodied flies. These fish are a blast on light gear and will run you well into your running line and backing on the initial grab. While we did not land any adults, I hooked into one and had it one for a good amount of time and lost it after two blazing runs. Looked to be in 22-24" range but we will never know for sure as she waved goodbye from the other side of the run! Here are a couple of close ups of how bright these half pounders are. Check out the reflection of the fingertips off the side of the first fish. Looks like a mirror!