River Closures

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. 11^th to Aug. 20^th near Orleans to Camp Creek; Aug. 26^th to Sept. 4^th near Somes Bar.
   Hoopa Weir; I hope to attend the next meeting in Hoopa to the meeting about how the weir will be operate through the trapping season. Right now, it is not clear as to what fish are going to be harvested except for Chinook salmon. There was some talk about harvesting all Trinity Hatchery marked steelhead and all TRH marked Coho salmon. I would hope this is not true because the hatchery would not be able to reach their egg quota for this brood year. Not being able to reach the egg quota would make it very hard to reach the required releases from the hatchery.
   There is only 13 more days for the Fall salmon run to open, Sept 1^st. August 31^st also closes the Trinity from Cedar Flat Bridge down to the Bridge at Hawkins Bar. This is known as the Falls area of the Trinity River and includes the Burnt Ranch and Grays Falls areas of the river. This closure is from Sept. 1^st through December 31^st and allows for NO fishing for any species. The Grays Falls is a very favorite area to fish for spring salmon.
   The River Restoration project above Junction City is still on going and providing water turbidity as well as river passage for drift boats. If you plan to fish this area, I would recommend that you use the Junction City Camp Ground launch area for the time being.

Junction City Weir counts: Julian week 32 the week endingAug. 12; Chinook salmon, 19-jack, 108-adult, total 127, season total 294; Coho 0; steelhead, ½-lbs 0, adults 7, season total 69; Brown Trout 5, season total 18.

Fishing: Fishing the Upper Trinity any where above the Round house should be very good for Spring Run salmon still as the weir count is very high. With last weeks count of 108 Chinook salmon I would say there is plenty of salmon in the upper reaches of the Trinity. Fishing will be in the early mornings as the temperatures have been getting very high in the afternoon. We are getting a little relief in the valley right now with air temps in the high 80s but that is not going to last very long as it is forecasted to reach 106 by next Tuesday. (Your fish will already be cooked)
Summer releases have arrived and Lewiston is now releasing 437cfs into the river today. I hope the releases for the Hoopa Boat Dance will improve the water quality because air temps of 100 to 106 is defiantly going to heat up the river and will surely slow or possibly stop the salmon from making that left hand turn into the Trinity.

Mid-Klamath: Due to computer glitch I was unable to get the readings for the lakes and rivers so I don’t have the Weitchpec water flows. It must have been hot up at E Ne Nuck because John didn’t send out a report abut fishing the Mid-Klamath. We are in the “Dog Days of Summer” and that usually means fishing the Lower Trinity and Mid-Klamath is slow.

Today Sunday Aug. 18^th at 12:00, I have no report for; Lake Conditions, Trinity Lake, Trinity River flows and conditions nor the Mid-Klamath. Sorry about that and I hope I can do better next week.

Temperatures in the Valley last week were 100 hi with a low of 53. Rain for the week was 0.00in and total rain for the water year to date of 67.93 inches, with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecasts for coming week are for temperatures in the valley to reach 106 by next Tuesday and lots of sunshine for the next week. It looks like we are going to have the “Hot Days of Summer” in August instead of July. I suggest that you crank up the icemaker and set up the shade screen.

Dirty River

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 causing large amounts of turbidity in the river. This used to be prohibited and all of the material were pre-washed before it could be used in or along the river. Who is the watch dog now? It appears that the Trinity Management Council and the TRRP can just do whatever they choose to do to the river without some repercussion. I would hope that our representatives, both State and Federal, would look into this and maybe call for an audit of the restoration program to see what our $15million per year is doing because I surly do not see any large production of steelhead, Coho salmon and Chinook salmon going out and returning to the Trinity River. This was the original intent of the program. The river restoration program has gotten totally out of control ever since the TAMWG (public input) portion of the restoration program was not funded and thereby disbanded in 2017. (TAMWG was where the public could make comment and ask for changes to any proposed river restoration) The turbidity in the river can cover up spawning beds and smother the eggs.

Hoopa weir: Is to be installed the week of August 5^th depending upon water flows in the river. It is supposed to take about a week to be installed at the up-river area of Tish Tang beach. Hoopa Tribal Fisheries will be in charge of the weir and fishing the area. The Tribal Fisheries stated that they plan to harvest 3,000 fall chinook salmon and some of the tail end of the spring run. They plan to harvest all Broun Trout as they are and invasive species that kill juvenile salmon; all adipose fin clipped hatchery steelhead; all hatchery clipped Coho salmon. Operations are to be completed when the 3,000 fall Chinook salmon goal is reached. 32,000 fall Chinook salmon are available to be harvested by the Hoopa and Yurok Tribal members with 6,400 available to the Hoopa’s. The problem I see is, “what will the Trinity River Hatchery do for hatchery Coho salmon spawning is all of the hatchery marked Coho are taken at the Hoopa weir?” From what I have been able to find out is that the program for this weir has not been approved by NOAA or NMFS nor has BIA ok’ed the use of this weir!

Fishing: Fishing above the Round House has been very good. Both Todd LeBoeuf, Tiger T guide service and Liam Gogan, Trinity River Outfitters, have reported great fishing with limits of salmon and summer steelhead being put into the boat. Last Wednesday Todd took out Robert Thompkins and Dave Ivis in the upper river and was able to get them both a nice bright salmon and hookup a steelhead or two. Ivis salmon was 12lbs. The problem is trying to get customers to come over to the Trinity to fish for one salmon when a person can fish the ocean or the Sacramento and catch two salmon. Liam told me he was having the same problem even though he is able to limit his customers out. Well the good news is that Sept, 1^st is just 25 days away for the Fall Run salmon fishing to kick-in and then you can have 1 adult and 1 jack plus 2 steelhead.

Summer river releases are just a few days away just as the Labor Day weekend hits us the Boat Dance water releases for the Trinity will happen. I am not sure how much water is going to be released but in the past it has a significant amount and really got the salmon coming up the river.

Mid-Klamath: The Klamath at Weitchpec is flowing about 2,918cfs and the river is a nice green but will probably start to change as the river drops a little more for the summer flows. We should see more salmon as the river drops and the fall run starts showing up. Aug. 15^th the Fall salmon fishing opens for the Lower Klamath. (Below the Weitchpec Bridge) Right now there are very few fishermen out on the Mid- Klamath, mostly locals. River temperatures are starting to climb a little bit right now but hopefully the water releases for the Boat Dance will help cool it down some.

Junction City Weir counts: Week endingJuly 29; Chinook salmon, 1jack, 1adlt, total 49, season total 71; Coho 0; steelhead 33, season total 46; Brown Trout 5, season total 10.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 98% of capacity (an increase of 1%) with inflows 1,604cfs and releasing 1,641cfs on to Keswick and the Sacramento River. Shasta is 88% of capacity (a decrease of 1% minus 2ft) with inflows of 3,3555cfs and releasing 9,494cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 93% (a decrease of 1%) with inflows of 11,457cfs and releasing 10,903cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 87% of capacity (a decrease of 3% minus 7ft) with inflows of 2,881cfs with releases of 10,597cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 85% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus 2ft) with inflows of 2,784cfs with releases of 3,938cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: the lake is 15ft below the overflow (an increase of 1ft) and 90% of capacity (a decrease of 1%) and inflows are 151cfs and releases are 1870cfs into Lewiston Lake with 1,372cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 10,903cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam releases are 498cfs and water temperatures of 54.8 degrees and air at N/A as of 12:30pm today Saturday August 3, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 5.17ft at 545cfs. Douglas City is 6.71ft and flows of 567cfs. with air temps of 89 water temperatures of N/A degrees and turbidity of 3.60. Junction City is N/Aft at N/Acfs. Helena is 9.06ft at 541cfs with water temps of 62.9 degrees and water turbidity of 3.60. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 3.27ft at 742cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 2.44ft at 154cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 896cfs and air is 89 degrees and water at 64 degrees. Hoopa is 12.07ft at 1,108cfs and water is 66 degrees. Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath are estimated to be 2,918cfs.

Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 949cfs. Seiad Valley is 2.00ft at 1,125cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,176cfs, the Salmon River is 2.15ft at 349cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 1,4611cfs. Orleans is 2.93ft at 1,810cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is N/Aft at N/Acfs and water temps of N/A degrees. (gauge is out) Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 4.96ft and flows of 321cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 11.84t at N/A cfs.

Temperatures in the Valley last week were 98 hi with a low of 54. Rain for the week was 0.00in with total rain for the water year to date of 67.7 inches, with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecasts for next week are for temperatures in the mid to hi 90s and lots of sunshine after the weekend. I know I would like some cooler weather and cooler water so the summer steelhead and the beginning of the Fall run would make a run for their holding waters.

Rain – Snow – Water

The snow reports are in and final. The Trinity Alps are 128% of normal and the Sierras are 130% of normal for this time of year. This indicates a very good water year for the Eastern Sierras as well as the Klamath – Trinity River Basin. 10 of the 12 State Reservoirs are over 100% of capacity and only 2 are 90% for this time of year. This is another good indicator for river water flows as well as water for farming. This should be a good year for recovery from the drought if the state can figure out how to save or hold back some of the extra water for the future. There still being a problem, the state is still short of water storage because the state population has doubled in the past 30 years. We are trying to serve 40 million people with the planning of 20 million population. We still need more water storage for the state but the environmentalists as well as other groups are still trying to stop any new types of water storage plus the governor wants to add 300,000 new homes in the state within the next couple of years. This all sounds well but where are we suppose to get all the extra water. Without water storage areas there is not going to be enough water for farming, fish/rivers and homes! Something has to give, whether it being less homes or the environmentalists.

With all the good news about water reserves we should be able to get a better spawning from the fish this year. This will be seen as the return of adult salmon and steelhead two to three years down the road. Salmon returns were better than projected for this year and some groups felt that the CDFW should go in a conservative direction for salmon and steelhead harvesting with the idea to help increase escapement and spawning by decreasing the bag limits. I cannot argue with that idea because it is going to hopefully increase fishing abilities in the future. Some times we have to sacrifice a little now for better fishing in the future.

Fishing: fishing is starting to pick up some but the rivers are still running high which makes it difficult for any type of good fishing. As the rivers decrease in flows fishing will pick up. The good thing is more Coho salmon and steelhead are being able to reach and get into the mouths of the cold-water spawning streams. Memorial Day Weekend this year, was not the best for opening day of fishing for salmon and summer steelhead but as I checked out the river in the Willow Creek area the Trinity was nice and green with water reseeding.

Mid-Klamath: Iron Gate Dam releases are 1,817cfs. Fishing above I-5 should be getting better in the Upper Klamath but flows are still somewhat high. The flows in the Siead Valley and Happy Camp area have dropped some with Happy Camp flowing at 5,179cfs. The Mid and Lower Klamath are still flowing high for fishing. The good thing is that the river is getting a good scouring. The Klamath in Orleans is high and brown, not the best for any kind of fishing.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 99% of capacity (an increase of 0%) with inflows 3,651cfs and releasing 3,251cfs on to Keswick and the Sacramento River. Shasta is 98% of capacity (an increase of 0% plus 1ft) with inflows of 9,117cfs and releasing 9,511cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 85% (a decrease of 0%) with inflows of 13,089cfs and releasing 13,003cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 98% of capacity (an increase of 1% plus 3ft) with inflows of 11,903cfs with releases of 13,207cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 96% of capacity (an increase of 1% plus 2ft) with inflows of 19,521cfs with releases of 7,921cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: the lake is 4ft below the overflow (a decrease of 1ft) and 98% of capacity (an increase of 1% and having a possible chance of going over the overflow tube down by the Dam) inflows are 57,27cfs and releases are 5,276cfs into Lewiston Lake with 451cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing13,207cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam releases are 2,186cfs and water temperatures of 48.2 degrees and air at N/A as of 10:15am today Sunday June 2, 2019. Limekiln Gulch is 6.87ft at 2,326cfs and water temps of 48.2. Douglas City is 8.83ft and flows of 2,728cfs. with air temps of 65 and water at 48.3 degrees. Junction City is 4.92ft at 2,620cfs. Helena is 13.4ft at 3,134cfs with water temps of 50.8 degrees. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 8.11ft at 4,216cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 4.15ft at 868cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 5,084cfs and air is 70 degrees and water at 55 degrees. Hoopa is 16.13ft at 6,020cfs and water is 58 degrees. Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath are estimated to be 14,705cfs.

Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,817cfs. Seiad Valley is 5.62ft at 4,877cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 5,179cfs, the Salmon River is 4.9ft at 3,084cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 5,601cfs. Orleans is 7.26ft at 8,685cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 13.06ft at 10,443cfs and water temps of 61.6 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jedia Smith is 6.56ft and flows of 1,335cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 13.14ft at N/A cfs.
Temperatures in the Valley last week were 98 hi with a low of 48. Rain for the week was 0.00in with total rain for the water year to date of 67.6 inches, with snow of 4.5in. in the valley to date. Forecast for temperatures next week are 97/46 with mostly sunshine and clouds the first part of the week and then sunshine through the coming weekend. Hopefully some fishing.

River Closures

Dirty River

Rain – Snow – Water

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