Trinity Lake is just ove rone third of capacity when it should be filling up! WHY? Because Bureau of Reclamation is waiting for parts to repair the tube that supplies water to the power plan. Why weren’t these parts discovered when the lake was so low and the repairs were determined to be needed. Why was…
On Monday, Spring arrived and we are looking at new growth all around us. As I look out the window, I see the fruit trees starting to bud and tiny green leaves sprouting on the trees in the forest. The trouble is that the river is full of water from the snow melt and the…
The Bureau of Reclamation will still be releasing winter releases from Trinity Dam into the Trinity River until March 14, 2023. March 5th 6th there will be a bump up in the release 800cfs so flows will be going back up again. April 15, 2023 the TRRP and TMC adjusted Spring Releases will start. Will the 60,000…
Sorry I missed last week’s publications as I had a medical problem and was not able to type.The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) with the Trinity Management Council (TMC) have agreed to the augmentation of a Winter Flow for the Trinity River that began February 15th and will end March14th. These releases are supposed to emulate winter…
With the storms we have had, why is the California Department of Water Resources going to release 60,000Af of water from Trinity Dam into the Trinity River? Because it is that time when TRRP has decided, ( May I note; without public input or a TAMWG group) to do the winter releases for the return…
Winter steelhead were being caught before the rains came in the Lower Trinity. The rains came and the rivers raised which made fishing harder. Before the rains the lower river was a bit high but coming into good fishing condition. The road into the South fork of the Trinity River at Sandy Bar is the…
The Trinity River is Steelhead Green! But where are they? I have been searching the Lower Trinity for fishermen and have only found a few and they have only been getting a few bites and landing even less. The word is that the Upper Trinity has a fair amount up at hatchery but they are…
According to the computer it is predicting clear weather all next week with a cold of 32 degrees. This looks and sound like steelhead fishing weather if the prediction is correct. The rivers and streams are on the decline and clearing some. My experience has been that this is the time for winter steelhead fishing…
Sorry but I have been out of the area down south and got caught in the floods below Sacramento. I have traveled Hwy 99 many, many times and have NEVER seen it covered in water like it was last week. All of the farms in the area were covered in water so I stayed below…
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. With the Winter Solstice passing the Duggan Clan has had a new addition which has made everyone in the family very happy. With the Winter Soltis passing we are also into longer days which will give us more time to do our passion, fish! It has been…
Happy Holidays to all of my readers and I wish you the best for the New Year. I am sorry I missed the last week but I was with family and preparing of the coming Holidays. The change of deadlines for the Holidays mixed me up so I missed mine and hope to NOT miss…
We now entering into winter weather type of fishing as the weather has turned into some freezing mornings with some snow on the mountain tops. Winter steelhead are now starting to show up in the Trinity River with a nice mix of half-pounders and some small adults. The half- pounders help keep up the action…
The Willow Creek Weir has been removed and it looks like the peak of the salmon runs have made it through Willow Creek. The Winter Run Chinook salmon peaked out during Julian Week 40 – 41 at 713 & 217 while the Coho salmon peaked out during Julian Week 40 at 326. The steelhead are…
Correction: Last week I wrote that “Pearl Harbor” was Nov. 7th please forgive me but it happened on December 7. 1941. I was thinking of my birthday coming up. Yes, I will become another year older very soon. I’m not going to say when or how much because many of you will not believe anyone can…
Today is Nov. 7th,2022. On Nov 7, 1941 the United States of America was attacked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As President Roosevelt stated “a day of infamy”. I was a young boy listening to that speech on the radio in our living room in Los Angeles. My Dad had called us in from playing football…
Finally the fires are contained as fire crews are now doing mop-up action. The problem, because fire crews are doing mop-up operations most of the public fishing accesses around Willow Creek are closed to public access. Big Rock, Kimtu, South Fork, Hiel-Din Trail, Salyer Bridge Trail and Hawkins Bar accesses are all closed to the…
The fires are still burning but the containment lines are holding so far. Because of the steep terrain the management team is letting the interior burn and that is why we have so much smoke. The Campbell Ridge and Ammon fires are contained at this time and are not moving just the interior is burning…
It has been smoky off and on here in Willow Creek due to the Fires, Six Rivers Lightening Complex. The fires around Willow Creek have made internet a problem due to heavy smoke at times. I was not able to get internet last week due to the heavy smoke and am having some problems making…
It has been very smoky here due to the Fires, Six Rivers Lightening Complex. The fire in Willow Creek is not bad as it is across the river. The Friday Ridge fire is a bit of trouble as is the fire above the Golf Course. When you add the two together then add an inversion…
It has been HOT, this last week with more to come. That is the forecast for the weather. I am not sure if the river is too hot for the salmon to even survive let alone be able to spawn. The water coming out of the Trinity Lake is too hot for the eggs in…
The salmon are flying up the river because the river is HOT!! Water out of Lewiston Dam is 56.9 degrees at 10:30am what will it be at 3pm this afternoon? Right now, Sunday morning at 10:30am Douglas City is flowing at 424cfs and is 62 degrees while at North Fork, Helena the Trinity River is…
Well, the Fourth of July came and passed without any serious incidents on the rivers or in the forests. We do have one incident in the Sierras down by Yosemite. From what I have been able to find out it is getting close to being under control. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for…
Steelhead surveys have been done by the Watershed Research and Training Center on some cold-water tributaries of the Trinity River. They found a surprising high number of Redds (gravely beds) on Browns Creek, a tributary of the Upper Trinity. They also found a fair number of Redds on Hayfork Creek, a cold-water tributary of the…
The Spring Salmon have been running through fairly strong last week. The Hoopa have been netting good quantities of them as they move up the river. As the counts goes the Junction City weir saw a good count last week, 286 adults. As you may have seen or read that Tom Stokely representing the Save…
The Trinity River is in summer flows now and will drop to winter flows in October. The river is flowing steady at around 450cfs with water temperatures in the low 60s. We had a little bit of sprinkles this morning but not enough to get you wet. We are expecting some rain tonight but not…
The Trinity River is holding steady at this time as is Trinity Lake. With the snow pack almost gone, I wonder just how well the lake will hold up through the drought. Many of the stater reservoirs are holding but I have noticed traveling I-5 that many rice fields are not planted this year. If…
The Memorial Day Holidays are upon us which unofficially starts the beginning of summer, I hope yours were safe and fun. Governor Newson has asked the California Water Board to impose water restrictions on 17 major water suppliers that supply water to most of California. These restrictions are the first of the restrictions to try and…
We had some rain this past week but not enough to help Trinity Lake. The good news is the river at Willow Creek is dropping and some fun can be had fishing for trout and smolt with ultralight gear. Kimtu and Big Rock are fishy for those little guys. It is mostly catch and release…
As most of you know by now the Trinity River Releases are in process and the river is very high, good for rafting and great for kayaking but terrible for fishing. With the spring flushing the hatchery releases and native hatchings are moving downriver. This is the science from the ROD and TRRP. (Record of…
We are in our third year of drought and the California Reservoir System is in trouble for water storage. Of the 17 reservoirs for the Central Valley Water Project only 7 of them are over 50% of capacity. The Governor has declared a water disaster and has recommend that ALL Water Districts should cut back…