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

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!