I have been harping about the formation of moss and algae on the Trinity for years (about 10 to 15yrs) and the California Fish and Wildlife have done very little to find a solution. This is a down right shame. The moss forms from the nutrients in the water. The moss needs Nitrogen – Phosphorus & Potassium to grow. Where does all this come from, all the extra fertilizers that leach into the river from grows. With the moss and the heat that is predicted to come later this summer the Trinity is going to have one of the largest algae blooms the river has ever seen. This is the cause of the algae blooms on the Eel River and could be a cause of losing our future salmon runs on the Trinity. I would hate to see this happen but it will if we the fishermen don’t stand up and say something to our congressmen. If you don’t believe this then why have almost all of the guides left the Trinity for other rivers? You can’t run plugs any more due to the moss fouling your lines. From the reports I have received from upriver the moss is the worst it has ever this year!
To be continued later when the algae blooms.
Junction City weir trapping: week of Jun 25 – Jul 1; jacks 11, adults 5, total 462, season total 712.
The Junction City weir trapping started June 11th and has been in operation 3weeks to date. Attached to the weir report was two pictures; one of a lot of spring run salmon in the weir trap and the other of a tremendous filamentous algae bloom at the Evens Bar where the CDFW weir is located.
Fishing: Lewiston Dam is now releasing summer flows of 456cfs. Fishing for spring salmon had improved prior to this report but is now starting to slow down due to the large amounts of moss floating the river. You have to use bobbers to try and keep your line off the bottom or side drift bait. Del Loma RV campground said that most of his campers are just enjoying the nice weather and having fun on the river rafting. He stated there have been very few fishermen in camp. What few guides that are fishing have been able to get limits for their customers.
Mid-Klamath: Iron Gate Dam is releasing summer flows of 907cfs. I would imagine that trout fishing should be good in the upper reaches (I-5 to the dam). From I-5 to Orleans the river seems low and has lots of moss. Two weeks ago I was down at the mouth the river at the Klamath Glen boat launch and you could see large clumps of moss floating down the river. To me this does not look well for the health of the river. Water temperatures have gone up some and that is going to make fishing even harder what with the moss and the higher water temps. The best bet is to try to find cold water streams that are inflowing to the river.
Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 99% of capacity (an increase of 0%) with inflows of 1,803cfs and releasing 1,365cfs into Clear Creek and on to Keswick. Shasta is 78% (a decrease of 13% and 13ft) with inflows of 3,445cfs and releasing 11,196cfs, Keswick is 94% of capacity (an increase of4%) with inflows of 13,234cfs and releasing 13,093cfs; Oroville Lake is 62% capacity (a decrease of 6% & minus 16ft), inflow is 1,851cfs and releases are 5,823cfs; Folsom Lake is 81% of capacity minus 14% & minus 15ft.) inflows are 2,451cfs and releases are 5,540cfs.
Trinity Lake: Unable to bring up these reports this week, sorry,
Trinity River Flows and Conditions: Lewiston Dam releases are 456cfs with water temps of 54.2 degrees and air at 76 at 10:00am today. Limekiln Gulch is 4.9ft at 438cfs, with water temps of 52.8 degrees. Douglas City is 6.4t at 447cfs, water temps of 58.8 degrees and air is 83. Junction City is 1.9ft at 507cfs. Helena is 8.8ft at 478cfs with water temps of 60. Cedar Flat is 3.8ft at 559cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 671cfs and air is 78 with water at 66. Hoopa is 117ft at 838cfs with water temps of 70.2. Flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at Klamath River are estimated to be 3,822cfs.
Klamath: Iron Gate Dam releases are 907cfs. Seiad Valley is 1.9ft at 1,068cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,139cfs, Salmon River is 2ft at 367cfs, Somes Bar is estimated at 1,617cfs and Orleans is 3.1ft. at 1,984cfs and the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 8.4ft at 3,194cfs, with water temperatures of 69.5 degrees. Flows at Smith River, Dr. Fine Bridge are 5.1ft at 420cfs.
The low temperatures for Valley last week were 50 to 52 and the high was 104 with 0.00in of rain with a season total of 68.48in of rain and a total of 4.15in of snow. Temperatures in the valley next week are expected get up to 97/51 degrees with sunshine for the next couple of weeks. Expect hot daytime weather and cool nights.
