River Fishing Improving

As I am writing this report it is raining! In the last several days it has been overcast, showers and cloudy in Willow Creek. This type of weather pattern usually brings in fish, both at the mouth of the Klamath and into the Trinity. This is great news for the fishermen that have been waiting for some fresh salmon and more adult steelhead.

This past week I visited the Willow Creek weir and checked on the Tribal weir in Hoopa at Tish Tang. The Willow Creek weir is counting Thursday through Monday and the counts are usually posted by CDFW Fish Biologist Mary Keir on the following Thursday. At the present time the posting of the weir and hatchery counts are in the midst of changing the programs that CDFW and there are some problems with new programs and that is why there are lagging of the postings for the numbers. This is being corrected as I write the report so hopefully, I will be up to date on numbers counted and fish moving in the different areas. I know many of you readers want to know when to come up to the different rivers for salmon or steelhead fishing and for this year it has really been difficult to tell you when is a good time. If I recall right it has always “been good fishing yesterday” but what about today and tomorrow? Like when I was guiding, I could put you where the fish were but I couldn’t put them on the hook for you. That is why they call it fishing and not catching. The fish are moving in the river now but I can’t tell you where they are specifically. I can tell you where fish have been seen and caught though!

Trinity River Hatchery: Julian week 38 ending Sep. 232: Chinook salmon, 148- jacks, 1,510-adults, total 1,658, season total 2,718; Coho 0, Steelhead 1, season total 5.

Junction City Weir counts: Julian week 38 ending Sep.23; Chinook salmon, 5-jack, 20-adult, total 25, season total 502; Coho 0; steelhead ½-lbs 0, adults 0, season total 91; Brown Trout 0, season total 23.

Willow Creek Weir counts: Julian week 38 endingSep. 23; Chinook salmon, 89-jacks, 100-adults, total 189, season totals 590; Coho salmon, 0-jacks, 1-adults, total 1, season total 2; steelhead, 6- ½-pounders, 136-adults, total 145, season total 284.

Fishing: Fishing the Lower Trinity is now seeing small to medium adults, ½ pound steelhead and medium Chinook salmon. Yesterday I helped launch a fisherman named Marshall from San Diego at the South Fork Bridge. He drifted from South Fork to Big Rock and had a fair day of fishing. Not to long after I launched him, he texted me that he had caught and released several adult steelhead, one up to 6 pounds and two ½-pounders back trolling plugs. The rest of the day he was able to catch and release several more steelhead. I saw another fisherwoman above South Fork fishing in the early morning but she did not do well. I saw no one fishing the Lazy Double “B” Salyer Bridge holes nor the Campora Hole or McKnight’s gravel bar. When I was down at Kimtu and Big Rock I only saw two fishermen fly fishing and they had not hooked any fish yet, so I guess I was too early. Down at Tish Tang several fishers we able to land some steelhead but I did not get a count. Sorry! Up river fishing was slow and slower ye up near Lewiston. I told Todd of Tiger TS Guide service that they were on their way and should be up there in a couple of days.

Upper Klamath fish video counts: Julian week 38 ending on Sep. 25; Bogus Creek, Chinook salmon 0; Coho 0; Scott River, Chinook salmon 0, Coho 0; Shasta River, Chinook salmon 325, Coho 0.

Lower Klamath Creel Counts: Julian week 37 ending Sep. 16, Below Highway 101 Bridge; jacks 45, adults 49, total 94, season total 639.
Above Highway 101 Bridge; jacks 697, adults 300, total 997, season total 2,692. Lower Klamath season total count 3,331.

Mid-Klamath: The Klamath at Weitchpec is flowing about 2,525cfs. It looks like the rains and the cooler temperatures are starting to show some results. Fish are staging at Old Village Hole and up at the mouth of Hopkins Creek. According to John up at E Ne Nuck fishing was slow for the first part of last week but the last three days fishing started to really heat up as more adults were coming into camp. Most of the adults were small but one 12lbs showed up. Nothing in the 20lbs range yet but it should only be a matter of time before the big ones start showing up at the mouth of Bluff Creek. Roe and spinners seem to be the trick to landing the adults while spinners are doing well for jacks.

Not much news from above Orleans but I am sure there should be some fresh fish showing up there by now. The weather is going to be a bit cooler for the next week and water temperature are starting to really cool down. When the water temperatures start cooling down the fish start moving up the Klamath. I didn’t get a report from up at Happy Camp or above I-5 this week but hopefully next week should have some good results.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 99% of capacity (an increase of 1%) with inflows of 1,236cfs and releasing 1,075cfs on to Keswick and the Sacramento River. Shasta is 75% of capacity (a decrease of 1% minus 1ft) with inflows of 4,040cfs and releasing 5,794cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 83% (a decrease of 3%) with inflows of 7,063cfs and releasing 7,585cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 64% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus 8ft) with inflows of 2,674cfs with releases of 8,747cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 74% of capacity (a decrease of 0% minus 0ft) with inflows of 1,393cfs with releases of 2,267cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: The lake is 26ft below the overflow (an increase of 2ft) and 84% of capacity (a decrease of 1%) and inflows are -706cfs and releasing 1,572cfs into Lewiston Lake with 1,116cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 7,585cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam is 96% of capacity and water releases are 456cfs with water temperatures of 50.8 degrees and air at N/A as of 1:30pm today Sunday September 29, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 4.94ft at 458cfs. Douglas City is 6.56ft and flows of 475cfs. with air temps of 58 water temperatures of 49.3 degrees. Junction City is 2.03ft at 492cfs. Helena is 8.62ft at 597496cfs with water temps of 53.1 degrees and water turbidity at 0.90. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 2.81ft at 561cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 2.11ft at 86cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 647cfs and air is 53 degrees and water at 57 degrees. Hoopa is 11.53ft at 817cfs and water is 59.7 degrees. Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath are estimated to be 2,525cfs. With the present rains both rivers are starting to raise.

Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,003cfs. Seiad Valley is 2.31ft at 1,333cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,389cfs, the Salmon River is 2.04ft at 265cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 1,443cfs. Orleans is 2.83ft at 1,708cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 8.55ft at 2,766cfs and rising, water temps are 63.1 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 4.93ft and flows of 308cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 11.82ft at N/A cfs.

Temperatures in the Valley last week had a high of 86 and a low of 47. Rain for the week was 0.02in with a water year to date of 69.84 inches (the water year ends Oct 1^st), with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecasts for next week are for temperatures of a high of 81 with a low of 43 but I don’t think we will see those highs or lows with Fall here (Sep. 23) We should start seeing some good fish’en with more salmon and steelhead in the rivers.

Weather equals Fish

The Trinity River Valley has fallen into the old weather patterns of years ago. We are experiencing weather patterns like in the 1950s and 1960s, rain in September now if that continues into October like back then we should see a lot more fish. (Both salmon and steelhead) I remember when everybody used to have to be out of the woods by October 15^th or leave your equipment in for the winter. I don’t think we will see that kind of weather this year but it sure reminds me of that type of weather, snow and all!

Where are the fish: This is a question I have been getting for the last month and all I can say is “in the river somewhere”! The water temperatures have been going crazy. Up and down from the dangerous 73 degrees down to a comfortable 65 degrees for the fish. Of course, the fish like it even cooler but for this time of year that is a good temperature and SHOULD move fish. All I can say is that the Fall Run salmon area late and by all rights should be up into the Trinity.

Water Release Pulse: Starting last week the Bureau of Reclamation has been making water releases into the Trinity to lower water temperatures for the salmon and to try to keep the pathogens that cause Shasta C down to a minimum in order to reduce infection of the out migration of salmon and steelhead. Starting at 1:00pm Sep. 18 releases went up from 450cfs to 550cfs by Sep. 19 and then back down to 450cfs by 8:00am Sep. 20. Starting at 1:00pm Sep. 20 releases went back up from 450cfs to 550cfs by Sep. 21 5:00am and then back down to 4550cfs 8:00am. This caused a drop of 3.7 degrees in the water temperatures in Hoopa and a drop in the waters by 4 degrees at the Terwer Creek water gauge above the 101 Bridge of the Klamath River. If this don’t start the salmon moving, I don’t know what will.

Trinity River Hatchery: Week ending Sep. 9, Julian week 36: Chinook salmon, 33- jacks, 168-adults, total 201, season total 201; Coho 0, Steelhead 3.
Junction City Weir counts: Julian week 36 the week ending Sep.9; Chinook salmon, 0-jack, 1-adult, total 1, season total 459; Coho 0; steelhead ½-lbs 0, adults 1, season total 91; Brown Trout 0, season total 22. The Junction City weir only trapped one day and was closed down and removed Sep. 8^th.

Willow Creek Weir counts: Julian week 37 endingSep. 16; Chinook salmon, 240- jacks, 161-adults total 401, season totals 401. (Note this is for 7 days of trapping, normal trapping is 5 days) Coho salmon, 1-jacl, 0-adults, total 1, season total 1; steelhead, 3- ½-pounders, 136-adults, total 139, season total 139.

Fishing: Fishing the Lower Trinity is still slow but half-pounders are being caught in Willow Creek and down in Hoopa. Most of the fishermen I saw were throwing hardware but I did see a couple of fly fishers in the Kimtu area. I did not see anyone hook a fish but I was not there very long. Up at Del Loma they have been seeing fish go through but most of the fishermen have only been landing jack, very few adults have been coming into camp. Up at Big Bar and Big Flat the rafters have been seeing a lot of steelhead going through. This is good news for the upriver fishermen in Lewiston. Maybe with this rain and overcast weather we are seeing in the valley we will start catching some salmon and steelhead.

Upper Klamath weir counts: Julian week 36 ending on Sep. 9; Bogus Creek, Chinook salmon 0; Coho 0; Scott River, Chinook salmon 0, Coho 0; Shasta River, Chinook salmon 325, Coho 0.

Lower Klamath Creel Counts: Below Highway 101Bridge; Julian week 36 ending Sep. 9; jacks 82, adults 173 total 255, season total 545.
Above Highway 101 Bridge; Week ending Sep. 9; jacks 854, adults 404, total 1,258, season total 1,696. Lower Klamath season total count 2,150.

Mid-Klamath: The Klamath at Weitchpec is flowing about 2,555cfs. It looks like the rains and the temperature pulses from the Trinity river have helped increase the river flows for the Lower Klamath. This is good news because it should start the salmon to come into the mouth. I was told by a fellow guide that fishing for salmon down at the mouth of the Klamath has really picked up and that it is only a matter of a short time for a fisherman to get his limit of salmon.

John from E Ne Nuck, still hasn’t said anything about how the fishing is. I guess he is busy at camp and hasn’t had a chance to go fishing. The trout and steelhead fishing up around Happy Camp up Iron Gate should be explant. A call to Scot Caldwell of SC Guide Service should let you know how that area is fishing. If you are interested, I am sure he can put you onto some great fishing from Iron Gate down to I-5 if you want to book him. Flows at Seiad Valley are 1,230cfs. so, fishing above I-5 should still be great and fishing down around Happy Camp should also be starting to be good. A call to Marble Mountain Adventures, Doug or Heidi Cole at 800-552-6284 should get you the information of how good the fishing for trout and steelhead is.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 9% of capacity (a decrease of 1%) with inflows of 1,176cfs and releasing 1,448cfs on to Keswick and the Sacramento River. Shasta is 76% of capacity (a decrease of % minus 3ft) with inflows of 2,594cfs and releasing 6,245cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 86% (a decrease of 8%) with inflows of 7,914cfs and releasing 7,934cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 66% of capacity (a decrease of 3% minus 7ft) with inflows of 2,922cfs with releases of 7,951cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 74% of capacity (a decrease of 0% minus 1ft) with inflows of 2,416cfs with releases of 2,217cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: The lake is 24ft below the overflow (an increase of 1ft) and 85% of capacity (a decrease of 0%) and inflows are 114cfs and releasing 1,565cfs into Lewiston Lake with 1,522cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 7,934cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam is 94% of capacity and water releases are fluctuating from 450cfs up to 550 and back down to 450cfs with water temperatures of 50.5 degrees and air at N/A as of 9:00am today Sunday September 22, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 4.10ft at 563cfs. Douglas City is 6.73ft and flows of 579cfs. with air temps of 50 water temperatures of 52.2 degrees. Junction City is 2.33ft at 576cfs. Helena is 8.95ft at 597cfs with water temps of 55.9 degrees and water turbidity at 1.3 0. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 2.93ft at 606cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 2.16ft at 94cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 700cfs and air is 57 degrees and water at 60 degrees. Hoopa is 11.81ft at 993cfs and water is 63.1 degrees (a drop of 3.7degrees). Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath are estimated to be 2,555cfs.

Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,014cfs. Seiad Valley is 2.22ft at 1,270cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,331cfs, the Salmon River is 2.06ft at 273cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 1,289cfs. Orleans is 2.73ft at 1,562cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 8.72ft at 3,094cfs and water temps of 65.4 degrees (a 4.2 degree drop). Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 5.04ft and flows of 354cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 11.95ft at N/A cfs.

Temperatures in the Valley last week were a high of 81 and a low of 52. Rain for the week was 1.89in with a water year to date of 69.82 inches (the water year ends Oct 1^st), with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecasts for next week are for temperatures again with a high of 95 with a low of 43 but I don’t think we will see those highs or lows because Fall is in the air and hopefully, we will also have some good fish’en.

Fall Run Chinook Salmon

The Trinity River Fall Run Chinook salmon are now starting to trickle in, but very slowly! The Lower Klamath has only harvested 2,241 Fall Chinook salmon as of September 9^th. We should have seen about twice that number move through the system by now as we are looking at the third week of September already. Part of the problem was the heat during the early part of August but I believe it was mostly low water flows for that time period. The increased water flows for the Tribal Ceremonies last week helped but we need more water in the rivers to help get the salmon to move up the rivers. A real good short flush from both dams would really help move fish into the Klamath and up the river. Usually by the second week of August we are seeing salmon staging at the mouths of Hopkins and Bluff Creek. These are their cooling off areas after Blue Creek and before the Fall salmon go backdown to the Trinity or head on up Iron Gate and Bogus Creek. We will soon see what is going to happen on the Trinity because the Willow Creek weir is in and operating.

Trinity River Hatchery: “The Trinity River Hatchery started letting fish up the ladder last week” Mary Claire Kier, fish biologist CDFW. 201 adult Chinook salmon moved up into the holding tanks and another 1,213 adults were put into the round tanks to “ripen” for JW36 TRH count.

Junction City Weir counts: Julian week 36 the week ending Sep.9; Chinook salmon, 0-jack, 1-adult, total 1, season total 459; Coho 0; steelhead ½-lbs 0, adults 1, season total 91; Brown Trout 0, season total 22. The Junction City weir only trapped one day and was closed down and removed Sep. 8^th.

Willow Creek Weir counts: The Willow Creek Weir was installed Sep. 9^th so the first nights trapping will not show up until next week.

Fishing: Fishing the Lower Trinity has been slow but half-pounders are being caught down in Hoopa at Red Rock, up behind the shopping center and at Tish Tang. Most of the people I have talked to were fly fishing. I did see a fisherman down by the mouth of Willow Creek throwing iron but I couldn’t see if he had landed any fish. One of my fishing buddies that fly fishes said he had fished Kimtu Beach last week but all he caught was down running smolt. Up river fishing has also been slow but early Fall Run Chinook salmon are being caught. In fact, one of the first early Fall salmon caught and brought into camp at the Del Loma RV and Campground was a nice 8lb salmon by Harold of San Diego. It’s a shame that us “old timers” are the ones that have to be the first at most things including catching fish! The coming week is predicted to cool down with some possible thunder storms and rain showers. If that happens, I would suspect that a good influx of fresh Fall Run Chinook will be the talk around the campfires. There are also some older dark spring run salmon being caught in the upper sections of the river.

Mid-Klamath: The Klamath at Weitchpec is flowing about 2,065cfs and the river is looking very good for fishing. John from E Ne Nuck, hasn’t said anything how the fishing is down there but I heard that the Indians at Weitchpec have put out their nets expecting a good run of fish to be coming in. I sure hope so because if the fresh Fall Run Salmon don’t start coming in soon people are going to pack up and go home.
With the releases from Iron Gate increasing up to 1,076cfs the trout fishing from Happy Camp up Iron Gate should be explant. A call to Scot Caldwell of SC Guide Service should let you know how that area is fishing. If you are interested, I am sure he can put you onto some great fishing from Iron Gate down to I-5 if you want to book him. Flows at Seiad Valley are 1,230cfs. so, fishing above I-5 should still be great and fishing down around Happy Camp should also be in the best of conditions. A call to Marble Mountain Adventures, Doug or Heidi Cole at 800-552-6284 should get you the information of how good the fishing for trout is.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 99% of capacity (an increase of 0%) with inflows of 61cfs and releasing 155cfs on to Keswick and the Sacramento River. Shasta is 77% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus32ft) with inflows of 1,600cfs and releasing 8,147cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 94% (an increase of 4%) with inflows of 8,589cfs and releasing 8,485cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 69% of capacity (a decrease of 8% minus 9ft) with inflows of 3,236cfs with releases of 12,037cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 74% of capacity (a decrease of 1% minus 1ft) with inflows of 2,227cfs with releases of 5,67cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: The lake is 23ft below the overflow (an increase of 0ft) and 85% of capacity (a decrease of 0%) and inflows are 216cfs and releasing 401cfs into Lewiston Lake with 0cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 8,485cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam is 79% of capacity and releases are 504cfs and water temperatures of 55.6 degrees and air at N/A as of 12:00pm today Sunday September 15, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 4.94ft at 454cfs. Douglas City is 6.56ft and flows of 475cfs. with air temps of 76 water temperatures of N/A degrees. Junction City is 2.03ft at 492cfs. Helena is 8.60ft at 490cfs with water temps of 58.1 degrees and water turbidity at 1.20. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 2.72ft at 527cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 2.06ft at 79cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 606cfs and air is 77 degrees and water at 63 degrees. Hoopa is 11.46ft at 775cfs and water is 66.8 degrees. Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath are estimated to be 2,065cfs.

Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,076cfs. Seiad Valley is 2.16ft at 1,230cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,281cfs, the Salmon River is 1.89ft at 208cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 1,087cfs. Orleans is 2.54ft at 1,290cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 8.36ft at 2,414cfs and water temps of 69.6 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 4.72ft and flows of 229cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 11.65ft at N/A cfs.

Temperatures in the Valley last week were a high of 88 and a low of 51. Rain for the week was 0.00in with a water year to date of 67.93 inches, with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecasts for next week are for temperatures again with a high of 94 with a low of 49. Thunder storms are predicted for Monday and Wednesday of this week and sun for the coming weekend. Hopefully we will also have some good fish’en.

Trinity Weirs

The Trinity River Willow Creek Weir is supposed to be starting installation Monday Sept. 8th. The river is in summer flow now so we will see what happens. I plan to check both the Willow Creek installation on Monday. I also plan to see when the Hoopa Weir is going to be installed. With the ceremonies over and the water flows back to summer flows, I would expect the Tribe would try to install their weir but with the new administration and the shake-up going on I am not sure what is going to happen. I really hope the Tribe waits for approval from NOAA before they install the weir but it is on the reservation and they have sovereignty it is hard to tell just what will happen about the weir. All we can do is wait and see.

The valley is going through a cooling period right now with cooler water temperatures and cooler days, so I would expect to see more fish moving up the Trinity now. The water flush from the increase water releases should have signaled the fish down at the mouth of the Klamath to start their run up the river to reach their spawning grounds. We have seen a few small pods of salmon with steelhead right behind them, coming through but not the main run yet.

Junction City Weir counts: (I haven’t received the fish counts yet) Julian week 35 the week ending Sep.2; Chinook salmon, 4-jack, 13-adult, total 17, season total 458; Coho 0; steelhead ½-lbs 0, adults 4, season total 91; Brown Trout 1, season total 22.

Fishing: With the Labor Day weekend over and the crowds gone I would expect to see more fishermen out on the river but that is not the case down here in Willow Creek. Del Loma RV and Campground is starting to fill up so I guess there will be some fishing up that way now. I know some fishing was going on up in the Indian Creek Lodge area but I haven’t heard how the fishing was over the weekend. This coming weekend is looking good for both weather and water temperatures, now all we need is for the salmon and steelhead to arrive.
There is still some turbidity in the Junction City area during the week while work is going on but the river work should be coming to a close very soon. It used to be that all river construction had to be finished by September 15^th but the construction on the river banks could go into October sometime if the rains didn’t come. Let pray for rain!

Lower Klamath Creel Counts: (Sorry didn’t get he counts yet) Below Highway 101Bridge; Julian week 34 ending Aug. 26; jacks 2, adults 18 total 20, season total 52. Prior to Fall salmon season starting the spit area caught a total of 48 salmon, 46 adults, 2 jacks.
Above Highway 101 Bridge; Julian Week 34 ending Aug. 26; jacks 48, adults 5, total 29, season total 77.

Mid-Klamath: The Klamath at Weitchpec is flowing about 2,125cfs and the river is looking good for fishing. John from E Ne Nuck hasn’t said how the fishing is down there but I heard that the Indians have put out their nets expecting a good run of fish to be coming in now that the flush has over with. There is still some fish hanging out at the mouth of Hopkins and Bluff Creeks so some fish are moving just not the main fall run yet.
With the releases from Iron Gate increasing still up to 1,053cfs the trout fishing from Happy Camp up Iron Gate should be good. A call to Scot Caldwell of SC Guide Service should let you know how that area is fishing. If you are interested, I am sure he can put you onto some great fishing from Iron Gate down to I-5 if want to book him. Flows at Seiad Valley are 1,250cfs. so, fishing above I-5 should still be great.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 99% of capacity (an increase of 0%) with inflows of 1,172cfs and releasing 1,117cfs on to Keswick and the Sacramento River. Shasta is 79% of capacity (a decrease of 1% minus 2ft) with inflows of 4,600cfs and releasing 6,848cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 90% (an increase of 1%) with inflows of 8,148cfs and releasing 8,497cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 72% of capacity (a decrease of 3% minus 8ft) with inflows of 1,434cfs with releases of 7,367cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 75% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus 2ft) with inflows of 1,946cfs with releases of 7,240cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: the lake is 23ft below the overflow (an increase of 2ft) and 85% of capacity (a decrease of 1%) and inflows are -514cfs and releasing 1,511cfs into Lewiston Lake with 1,1,044cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 8,497cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam is 95% of capacity and releases are 467cfs and water temperatures of 54.2 degrees and air at N/A as of 12:00pm today Sunday September 8, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 4.94ft at 458cfs. Douglas City is 6.57ft and flows of 481cfs. with air temps of 77 water temperatures of N/A degrees. Junction City is 2.03ft at 492cfs. Helena is 8.64ft at 503cfs with water temps of 57.6 degrees and water turbidity at 5.80. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 2.82ft at 564cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 2.06ft at 79cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 643cfs and air is 78 degrees and water at 63 degrees. Hoopa is 11.49ft at 792cfs and water is 66.7 degrees. Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath are estimated to be 2,125cfs.

Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,053cfs. Seiad Valley is 2.19ft at 1,2250cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,302cfs, the Salmon River is 1.91ft at 219cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 1,114cfs. Orleans is 2.57ft at 1,333cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 8.40ft at 2,487cfs and water temps of 68.8 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 4.75ft and flows of 240cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 11.67ft at N/A cfs.

Temperatures in the Valley last week were a high of 93 and a low of 53. Rain for the week was 0.00in with a water year to date of 67.93 inches, with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecasts for next week are for temperatures again in the low 90s and for the coming weekend temperatures in the high 80s, with overcast and sunshine for the week and weekend. It has started to cool down some which should help with fish movement and fishing.

Fall Chinook Salmon Fishing

First Hatcher Fall salmon caught by Todd LeBoeuf in the Upper Trinity last week just before the Fall salmon season opened so was required to follow spring salmon regulations. (8lbs on roe)

The Trinity River Fall Chinook salmon fishing season opened Sunday September 1^st. You are allowed two salmon per day with one adult over 22 inches, Six salmon in possession with no more that three adults. Right now, the weather is cooling down a bit from the three-digit temperatures we have been having and some Fall salmon are making their way up the Trinity. (See picture below) The water releases for the Hoopa Ceremonies “Boat Dance” will peak out Monday night, September 2^nd. With these releases water temperatures should drop enough to start salmon congregating outside the mouth of the Klamath to start moving into the river system. Once the salmon are in the Klamath estuary it will only take a few days before they are in the Trinity and moving up river.

The Tribal weir and the Trinity Willow Creek weir will probably not be installed until after September 8^th due to the extra water releases. Once these weirs are installed and operating, I cannot predict how good salmon fishing will be. The Hoopa Tribe has not publicly declared how they are going to operate the weir or how many fish they plan to release back into the river. Until that determination is made it will be very hard to say what will happen to the Trinity River salmon and steelhead fishing or what will become of the Trinity River Hatchery program.

Increase Water Releases: the Hoopa “Boat Dance”, a portion of the Tribal Ceremonies this year water releases will start on Sept. 1^st at 5pm and run from summer releases of 450cfs up to 2,650cfs by 7pm Sept. 2^ndand then gradually decrease back to summer releases of 450cfs by 7pm Sept 5^th. Please be aware of the highwater flows during Labor Day weekend as the river will dangerous.

Junction City Weir counts: Julian week 35 the week ending Sep.2; Chinook salmon, 4-jack, 13-adult, total 17, season total 458; Coho 0; steelhead ½-lbs 0, adults 4, season total 91; Brown Trout 1, season total 22.

Fishing: There is still some turbidity in the Junction City area but it was clear for the Labor Day weekend and fishing was much better because there was NO construction going on. The river clarity was much improved. The “canyon run” from Douglas City down to Evens Bar was a good place to fish over the holiday. Many of the guides that fished the Upper Trinity left the area to fish the Sacramento for the holidays so most of the upper sections of the river were easy fishing for those who fished. There were some very nice adult steelies caught and released, from the info I received, but not pictures.

As a reminder the Trinity River is now closed to fishing of the Falls area from the bridge at Hawkins Bar up to the bridge at Cedar Flat.
Creel Counts Lower Klamath: Below Highway 101Bridge; Julian week 34 ending Aug. 26; jacks 2, adults 18 total 20, season total 52. Prior to Fall salmon season starting the spit area caught a total of 48 salmon, 46 adults, 2 jacks.
Above Highway 101 Bridge; Julian Week 34 ending Aug. 26; jacks 48, adults 5, total 29, season total 77.

Mid-Klamath: The Klamath at Weitchpec is flowing about 2,074cfs and the river has cleaned up some. John from E Ne Nuck said that everything on the Mid-Klamath is looking great and fish are starting to hold at the mouths of the creeks. He is still running a dry camp but has water for cooking and washing. The potable water system that the US Forest Service used to provide for the camp is still not up and running. I am sure that once the cooler water from the Trinity releases hit, the mouth of the Klamath there is going to be a rush of fish hitting those creeks and there will be lots of fish to be caught.
With the releases from Iron Gate increasing back up to 1,048cfs the trout fishing from Happy Camp to I-5 should be really good. Flows at Seiad Valley are 1,361cfs. Fishing above I-5 should be great but if you are in doubt, I suggest you call Scot Caldwell of SC Guide Service. I am sure he can put you onto some great fishing from Iron Gate down to I-5.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 99% of capacity (an increase of 1%) with inflows of 1,368cfs and releasing 1,022cfs on to Keswick and the Sacramento River. Shasta is 80% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus 3ft) with inflows of 4,347cfs and releasing 8,340cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 89% (a decrease of 2%) with inflows of 9,5956cfs and releasing 9,492cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 75% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus 7ft) with inflows of 1,658cfs with releases of 9,113cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 77% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus 2ft) with inflows of 2,910cfs with releases of 3,631cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: the lake is 21ft below the overflow (an increase of 1ft) and 86% of capacity (a decrease of 1%) and inflows are -22cfs and releasing 1,551cfs into Lewiston Lake with 1,100cfs (this will change tomorrow night) being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 9,492cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam is 92% of capacity and releases are 451cfs and water temperatures of 55.3 degrees and air at N/A as of 12:00pm today Sunday September 1, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 4.92ft at 445cfs. Douglas City is 6.54ft and flows of 464cfs. with air temps of 82 water temperatures of N/A degrees. Junction City is N/Aft at N/A cfs due to turbidity of river restoration. Helena is 8.53ft at 469cfs with water temps of 61.1 degrees. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 2.76ft at 542cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 2.07ft at 80cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 622cfs and air is 81 degrees and water at 68 degrees. Hoopa is 11.45ft at 769cfs and water is 70 degrees. Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath are estimated to be 2,0744cfs.

Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,048cfs. Seiad Valley is 2.35ft at 1,361cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,415cfs, the Salmon River is 1.94ft at 226cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 1,079cfs. Orleans is 2.55ft at 1,305cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 8.35ft at 2,432cfs and water temps of 73.2 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 4.76ft and flows of 243cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 11.696t at N/A cfs.
Temperatures in the Valley last week were a high of 104 and a low of 53. Rain for the week was 0.00in with a water year to date of 67.93 inches, with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecasts for next week are for temperatures in the low 90s and for the coming weekend temperatures in the high 80s, with sunshine for the week and coming weekend. It is projected to start to cool down a bit which should help with fish movement and fishing.

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