The Trinity River spring water releases have started. As I came home Saturday, I could see that the river was that it is muddy from Poker Bar area all the way down to my house in Willow Creek. Today Sunday the releases are supposed to be 850cfs but the California Data Exchange Center reads 784cfs for today at 11:30am. The river is still a little muddy just not and brown as Saturday. The Bureau of Reclamation releases for the Trinity River Spring Flushes started Friday April 16th and went up to 1750cfs by 6:00pm Saturday and on their way down 450cfs Wednesday April 21 and then back up to 2000cfs by 6:00pm Thursday evening. We will be seeing a fluctuating of the river flows up to May 6th. So please be careful while being on the Trinity Rive for the next few weeks. River flows will be back to summer flows sometime in June. That means that the Memorial Day Weekend May 28 thru 31 the river will be in active water flows from now to June. Please be careful when being on or around the river! These water flow fulgurations are used by the TRRP to help remove sand from spawning areas and also move any new gravel put into the river. By the way you might like to know that the TRRP does not require public input any more. You might want to write you congressperson about this! NO Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group any more means no public representation for things that happen to OUR RIVER!
As we are predicted to be in a Dry Water Year water releases are going to be much less than what they have been in the past. Water Boards and other agencies have also been reporting that water deliveries for this year are going to be much less than they have been in the past. What are the cities going to do abut water usage? The farmers and the fisheries are going to have shortages, are the cities going to have shortages? Water shortage how will it affect food supplies and how will the fish react to less water? The Pacific Fishery Management Council has already reduced fish quotas for the coming fishing season!
Friends of the Trinity River are trying to change that and get back to what the Record of Decision stated about representation for the Trinity River Restoration Program is and used to be. Write your representative NOW if you ever want to see the Trinity River fishery return back what it used to be.
We are seeing a change in weather lately and it looks like we will have some more changes in the coming week. The predicted weather forecast says we are going to have some summer type of weather and then some spring rains. That sounds good for the area and possibly for the water storage. We can hope it happens anyway!
The new owners of the Del Loma RV park and campground would love to have you stop by whenever you are in the area and say hello, maybe check out the new proposed changes. Also check out the new website at dellomarv.com .
Upper Klamath River Rotary Screw Trapping count: Julian week 15 ending on Apr. 8 , 2021; Shasta River; 22,301Chinook salmon age 0+, season total 193,509, Juveniles, 1yr old 17, season total 70; Coho salmon 15 age 0+, season total 59, 21 Rainbow Trout age 1+, season total 97, 309 Rainbow Trout age 2+ , season total 749; Scott River, 1,005 Chinook salmon age 0+, season total 3,218; 1yr old Chinook 6, season total 53; 1yr old Coho salmon 14, season total 71; 103 Rainbow Trout age 1+, season total 1,109, 36 Rainbow Trout age 2+, season total 186.
Fishing: The Willow Creek area fishing has been slow to none since Easter. While traveling the Trinity over the past week or so I have not seen a drift boat on the river or fisherman along the banks. I guess everyone has either given up fishing for the season or has been misinformed about fishing. The Trinity River is open to steelhead fishing and trout all year long from the mouth of the South Fork down to its confluence of the Klamath. Granted the Hoopa reservation was closed to non-residents but it has not been closed to those fishermen who obey the rules and fish the river. There are still some adult steelhead in the river plus plenty of trout. Trout are less than 16 inches; steelhead are any trout over 16 inches. Yes, the river is closed to the take of any salmon but is open for fishing for hatchery trout and hatchery steelhead.
Fishermen and rafters have been using the Old Village Rd to take out and as well as fish the area.
Mid-Klamath to Happy Camp: The Klamath River at Weitchpec is flowing 9,121cfs. This is a decrease of 163cfs. Iron Gate Dam is releasing 1,371cfs. I have been told by a reliable source that drift boats, rafts and fishermen have been using the access the Weitchpec access. With the increase of water releases from Iron Gate fishing in the Upper Klamath for down runners and trout has gone crazy so I would imagine that fishing the Happy camp area could be great. I did not hear from Doug Cole of Marble Mountain Resort but I am sure fishing for trout has been on the up side. The Orleans to Weitchpec area water flows have increased significantly so I would expect fishing should be fair to good but there is no buddy fishing.
Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 94% of capacity (an increase of 8%) with inflows of 990cfs and releasing 272cfs in to Spring Creek. Shasta Lake is 53% of capacity (an increase of 2% plus 5ft) with inflows of 3,929cfs and releasing 5,535cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 44% (a decrease of 6%) with inflows of 5,946cfs and releasing 6,015cfs into the Sacramento river. Oroville Lake is 42% of capacity (an increase of 4% plus 15ft) with inflows of 2,9362cfs with releases of 1,231cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 37% of capacity (an increase of 1% plus 2ft) with inflows of 1,747cfs with releases of 2,433cfs into the American river.
Trinity Lake: The lake is 84ft below the overflow (a decrease of 1ft) and 53% of capacity (an increase of 0%) with inflows of 1,563fs and releasing 2,161cfs into Lewiston Lake with 1,377cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 6,015cfs into the Sacramento River.
Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam is 95% of capacity (a decrease of 1%) and water releases are 784cfs into the Trinity River, with water temperatures of 49.8 degrees, as of 11:30am today Sunday Apr.18, 2021. Limekiln Gulch is 5.59ft at 965cfs. Douglas City is 7.31ft with flows of 1,003cfs. with air temps of 75 and water temperatures of 55 degrees. Junction City is 3.12ft at 1,200cfs. Helena is 10.57ft at 1,348cfs with water temps of 52.1degrees. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 5.37ft at 1,1828cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 3.45cfa at 517cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 3345 and air is 70 degrees and water at 54 degrees. Hoopa is 14.28ft at 3,331cfs and water is 55.6 degrees.
Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath in Weitchpec are estimated to be 9,121cfs a decrease of 163cfs.
Klamath River flows and conditions: Iron Gate is releasing 1,371cfs. Seiad Valley is 3.38ft at 2,208cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 2,647cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 3904cfs, and the Salmon River is 3.88ft at 1,886cfs. Orleans is 5.50ft at 57906cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 11.57ft at 10,757cfs and water temps are 55.5 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jed Smith are 6.35ft with flows of 1,303cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 13.64ft at N/A cfs. Temperatures in the Valley last week had a high of 84 and a low of 36 degrees. Rain for the week was 0.00in with a water year total to date of 43.59 inches and 1.5in of snow in Willow Creek. The weather predicted for next week is high of 74 and a low of 43. The weather predicted for next week is some sunshine for the first part of the week and then scattered showers for the weekend.
