Because of the COVID 19 virusthe PFMC meeting in Vancouver Washington has been changed to a webinar type of meeting so it is going to be hard to get public input for us In-River Sports Fishermen. I am trying to contact some of my old contacts I used to meet with when I attended the…
The first results for PFMC Options for this coming salmon season are out for review. You can go to www.pcouncil.org or https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/ocean/Regulations/Salmon/Pre-Season to review what they might be. I have not seen the 3 Options yet so I will not comment as to what is going to happen. I do hope that the PFMC does not cancel the March…
Over the past 20 to 30 years, I have attended many of the Klamath Fisheries Management Council (KFMC now federally sunset) Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) National Fisheries Management Service (NFMS) California Department Fish and Game Commissioners meetings plus being on the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG part of the TRRP) for over 16yrs plus…
As you know, I attended the salmon meeting in Sana Rosa last Thursday February 27th. It was very enlightening and the prognosis was not very good for the Klamath River Basin In-River Sports Fishermen. The beginning estimate for In-River Sports Fishing for the Klamath River Basin was 900 to a 1,000 returning fall salmon to be split…
I am already seeing daffodils blooming, big leaf maple trees with sap flowing and fruit tree buds swelling. These are all signs of spring. SOOO, I ask again “Is winter over”? It has been suggested that we are going into a drought again because of the snow pack in the sierras is so low for…
Winter steelhead fishing is fair to good depending on when the fish are moving up the Trinity. I have received phone calls about why the steelhead and salmon fishing are so bad this season. One of the major problems this year is that the ocean conditions were so bad this last year. The conditions were…
This weekend was Super Bowl and I would expect that many of you were watching the game instead of fishing and that is ok but winter steelhead fishing is here and the Trinity River is dropping daily which is a good sign that fishing will get better than it has been. This coming week is…
January usually brings weather! What kind is the question? According to the National Weather Service we are supposed to see a break in the weather this next week. Because of the rain that is melting the snowpack most of the creeks feeding the Trinity are flowing very good but are starting to drop which allows…
2020 brings in a new year, a new fishing season and possibly some new regulations. The one thing we all need to do is turn in our steelhead report cards and salmon harvest cards. These are important items for the coming fishing season. For one thing it helps in determining what the quotas will be…
I hope this doesn’t upset you, my readers. I do appreciate your continued support and readership. The New Year brings with it, new changes. My Outdoor Buddy has merged with NorCal Fishing Reports and my Fishing Report newsletter will now be carried on the NorCal Fishing Reports page. The new location will be at: Archive…
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New year. As usual I had our Christmas down south with the Duggan Clan. It just keeps growing! While I was gone, we had lots of rain and the river went up and down with each storm. The problem the river didn’t get a good…
I wish all a great Christmas and a Happy New Year with some great winter steelhead fishing. It is winter steelhead fishing time and the weather is making travel hard up here on the north coast. Both Highway 299 and 96 are having rock slides causing travel difficulties. Hwy 299 is seeing small rock slides…
I hope all had a great Thanksgiving with family and hope you are getting ready for Christmas. I was away for Thanksgiving and with family down south and stuffed myself with turkey and pie. The north state had a bit of weather while I was away and it looked like the area tried to catch…
We have a small weather depression last week that brought a few showers. Enough to make the ground wet! The good part was that the Hoopa Weir was removed and the weather depression started the fish down in Hoopa to start moving up river. In one week’s, time, many of the fish that had been…
There are salmon and steelhead down in the Hoopa Valley but none up river! By now, there should be lots of fish in the Upper Trinity but no one has been able to find them. There are Redds, but not as many as usual in the Lewiston to Helena section of the river. This year’s…
Sorry about no report last week but my area was on “Safety Power Shut Off” due to PG&E for Northern California.It appears that this is going to happen more often when we have high winds, dry weather and Red Flag conditions. The reasoning for that is to try and stop/reduce disastrous fires in California. With…
Fall weather patterns are in the valley. Nights are chilly and the water in the river is really cooling down. The trees are taking in their autumn colors and leaves are falling. The big question is where are the fish? The Trinity River Hatchery has been taking in good numbers of Spring Run Chinook salmon…
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…
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…
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 9th. 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….
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…
The Trinity River Fall Chinook salmon fishing season opened Sunday September 1st. 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…
The Trinity River Weirs; the Junction City weir is working as usual and should be removed sometime around Sept 1st, but the Willow Creek weir will not be installed until sometime after Sept. 8th because of high water flows. The Hoopa weir will not be installed until after the Tribal Ceremonial “Boat Dance” which will be…
The Tribal Ceremonies are now being done on the Mid-Klamath which will cause some river access closures. Please respect these areas for the short time access will be restricted; Aug. 11th to Aug. 20th near Orleans to Camp Creek; Aug. 26th to Sept. 4th near Somes Bar. Hoopa Weir; I hope to attend the next meeting in Hoopa to the meeting about…
The River Restoration project above Junction City is still providing lots of turbidity for that area of the river and makes for bad fishing. Will it do to or for any in-river spawning? Years ago, before the Dam the mining turned the river into a “river of mud” but the salmon had plenty of clean up-stream…
TRRP: The Trinity River Restoration Program is working on restoration project. I have been receiving reports of the river being dirty from just below the Round House down to below Junction City area of the river. From what I could find out was that the TRRP is working in that area. The problem is the work is…
Sorry not to make a report last week but I was down south in Fresno to meet with some old cronies I used to work with.The Trinity River summer flows are almost here. The summer flows are supposed to be reached by August 6th. This should be a sign at the mouth of the Klamath…
As the Trinity drops the salmon are starting to move into the river. The upper river is seeing more bright fish and Greys Falls is seeing more salmon holding. I have heard that the Falls is starting to get loaded with fishermen and sometimes one has to wait for a spot to fish. Water flows…
The New Emergency Spring Salmon Fishing Regulations for the Klamath River Basin have been released to the public! It is official, I got the word Thursday from CDFW about noon, the new salmon regulations have finally been released and are posted on the Fish and Game website with a public announcement release. The Spring Chinook Salmon…
At the April Fish & Game Commission meeting in Sacramento, the commissioners accepted a petition for listing the Spring Chinook salmon as a threatened species, thus causing an Emergency Regulation for Spring Chinook Salmon. (1) NO fishing for Spring Chinook Salmon in the Klamath River Basin. This was printed in the Supplemental Regulation book for fishing for…