Well, the Fourth of July came and passed without any serious incidents on the rivers or in the forests. We do have one incident in the Sierras down by Yosemite. From what I have been able to find out it is getting close to being under control. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for…
Steelhead surveys have been done by the Watershed Research and Training Center on some cold-water tributaries of the Trinity River. They found a surprising high number of Redds (gravely beds) on Browns Creek, a tributary of the Upper Trinity. They also found a fair number of Redds on Hayfork Creek, a cold-water tributary of the…
The Spring Salmon have been running through fairly strong last week. The Hoopa have been netting good quantities of them as they move up the river. As the counts goes the Junction City weir saw a good count last week, 286 adults. As you may have seen or read that Tom Stokely representing the Save…
The Trinity River is in summer flows now and will drop to winter flows in October. The river is flowing steady at around 450cfs with water temperatures in the low 60s. We had a little bit of sprinkles this morning but not enough to get you wet. We are expecting some rain tonight but not…
The Trinity River is holding steady at this time as is Trinity Lake. With the snow pack almost gone, I wonder just how well the lake will hold up through the drought. Many of the stater reservoirs are holding but I have noticed traveling I-5 that many rice fields are not planted this year. If…
The Memorial Day Holidays are upon us which unofficially starts the beginning of summer, I hope yours were safe and fun. Governor Newson has asked the California Water Board to impose water restrictions on 17 major water suppliers that supply water to most of California. These restrictions are the first of the restrictions to try and…
We had some rain this past week but not enough to help Trinity Lake. The good news is the river at Willow Creek is dropping and some fun can be had fishing for trout and smolt with ultralight gear. Kimtu and Big Rock are fishy for those little guys. It is mostly catch and release…
As most of you know by now the Trinity River Releases are in process and the river is very high, good for rafting and great for kayaking but terrible for fishing. With the spring flushing the hatchery releases and native hatchings are moving downriver. This is the science from the ROD and TRRP. (Record of…
We are in our third year of drought and the California Reservoir System is in trouble for water storage. Of the 17 reservoirs for the Central Valley Water Project only 7 of them are over 50% of capacity. The Governor has declared a water disaster and has recommend that ALL Water Districts should cut back…
Last Sunday, Spring came upon us with light showers, since then we have experienced nice weather with the possibility of another light set of showers to close this weekend. I don’t foresee any other moisture in the near future. Spring is supposed to bring rain but I think this year we are going to see…
The Pacific Fisheries Management Council first alternatives for ocean fishing are out and they look a little better than last year. We still have next month for the final recommendations to come out but from what I was able to find out was most recommendations for Ocean and In-River salmon quotas were a little better…
When will it end? You take the shots, take the booster, now they say you may have to take another booster. I think most of us are fed up with the mandates and masks and no masks. Does Dr. Fauci really know where COVID is going or is he just guessing? They say if you…
We have seen some nice weather for the last three weeks with no rain and no snow to the higher elevations. This is not good for the spring water flows on the Trinity or the Klamath Rivers. Predicted weather shows the possibility of some rain next week but that does not help the snow pack…
The good news is that winter steelhead are being caught down in Hoopa. I have been trying to find out if anybody was catching anything other than ½-pounders. This is great news for our winter steelie fishers. The weather is good for fishing as is the river. The weather report says the Willow Creek area…
I am sorry I have not been able to make a report for all you great readers. As you are aware the power has been out for many of us both in Trinity County and in Humboldt Counties. Willow Creek just got their power back on January12, 2022. I am now trying to catch up….
The Trinity Management Council (TMC) met on December 8th and 9th. On Dec. 9th the TMC Director Mike Dixon called for a Closed Session to discuss “Channel Rehabilitation Scope of Work”. What was discussed and what was decided? The public was NOT privy to this information nor were they able to join the discussion for Channel Rehabilitation. The Record…
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and didn’t get too stuffed with turkey and pie. A wise man (Mark Twain) stated; Whiskey is for Drinking; Water is for fighting over. It appears that we are still fighting over the Trinity River Water after 67 years and many many Law suits. In my last column…
How do we manage the water supply? One thing that is NOT considered is the population to water need! As the population grows our water supply stays stagnate. The state has not increased water storage in over 30 years that I know of, yet the population in the state has grown by almost 20 million…
Traveling Hwy 299 for fishing is going to be difficult to choose. You are going to have to make the choice of fishing the Upper Trinity or the Lower Trinity because of the blockage on Hwy 299. Monday thru Friday from 7am to 7pm travel between Big Bar to Don Juan Creek at Cedar Flat…
On Saturday October30th the Willow Creek weir blew out due to the river high water flows. If you are fishing in the area and find any parts to the weir, would you please call 1(707)822-5876 MaryClaire Kier CDFW. With that in mind just to let you know that the weir will not be replaced into the…
The Chinook salmon quotas for the Upper Klamath and Upper Trinity have been met for adult Chinook salmon on Sunday October 24. As of October 25, 2021 you can only harvest jacks, (salmon under 23 inches, 2 per day, 6 in possession) on he Klamath above Weitchpec and above Cedar Flat Hwy 299 Bridge on…
From all of the reports I have received and what I have been able to see fishing is starting to pick up. It seems a little late but the fish are here! In the last four weeks the Willow Creek weir has counted 2,281 Chinook salmon and 142 steelhead. These are great numbers for this…
The Monument and River Complex fires in Trinity County are still burning as well as a new fire the Fawn Fire north of Redding. Son now we have several fires burning in the local northern part of Calif. Smoke is a guess as to what the air quality will be when you wake up in…
Not fun! First, we had 100 plus weather, then heavy smoke, so thick we could hardly see across the river, then came the Knob Fire that got within five blocks of our property and we had to evacuate. So, there you have my story and the reason you have not had any fishing reports. With…
Well the Monument Fire along the Trinity River has taken a toll! As the fire moves east it has devastated Big Bar and Big Flat as it slowly moves east towards Junction City. Hwy 299 is closed to through traffic except Fire and Emergency equipment from Dutch Creek Rd to Burnt Ranch. Fire movement west,…
It is not bad enough to have 100 plus temperatures but now we have the added feature of fire along the Down River section of the Trinity. The good about the fire is that it is of low intensity and burning under story. I think that is about all that is left from the…
Yes it was hot Sunday(102) but it looks like we are in for a cooling down period in the next few weeks. Now if we can just avoid any more fires, we should be in good shape for the next few weeks. I sure hope so because the predictions on the computer for Willow…
Triple digit weather for all of last week was great for rafters and sun bathers but hard on fishing. Last week was a doosee. It was HOT all week and into the nights like Redding and Red Bluff. The good part is that we are in for a cooling down for the next week or…
The prediction of Triple Digit Heat for next week is going to be hard on the fishing and the people. Wednesday July 1st was the opening for Spring Chinook salmon fishing on the Lower Klamath and the Upper Trinity rivers. Saturday July 3rd was “Free Fishing Day”. Friday the Trinity Valley saw 103 degrees…
At the time of this writing it is 101 degrees and at end of the day it was 112 degrees. The water in Hoopa was 77.9 degrees. Salmon can survive in 72 degrees but really will die after 75 degrees. The following is research I have done on the internet: The State Water Resources Control…