The Captivating Trinity River: A Mecca For Golden State Steelheaders   By: Cal Kellogg February 10, 2008 More Articles by Cal

I'm sorry to report that I haven't had the opportunity to actually get out on the water for the past couple weeks. In fact, my last fishing trip took place back in late December when I spent a day chasing Sacramento River kings with Jason Thatcher of All River Fishing.

How can this be? Well, it's the outdoor show season. For the past few weeks, the Sniffer staff has spent a total of 8 days attending The International Sportsman's Exposition in both San Mateo and Sacramento in addition to doing our usual jobs at the office. As a result there just wasn't anytime left for Dan and I to get out in the field.

Having said that, I know I'm speaking for everyone on the Fish Sniffer team, when I say that it was a pleasure meeting all of our loyal supporters at the shows and we got a special thrill from introducing ourselves to folks that weren't familiar with what the Fish Sniffer is all about.

Now just because I haven't been out fishing that doesn't mean that I don't know where the best action is taking place! If I could grab my gear and head off to any fishing destination in the state, I would set a course for the Trinity River.

Of course, the winter months of January and February are steelhead time here in northern California, unfortunately this year things aren't going that well on most north state rivers. Fishing on the American has been horrible and on the Smith things have been only fair, thus far. The notable exception to the luke warm or downright cold steelhead action that is taking place on most rivers is the Trinity.

"So far our steelhead season on the Trinity has been nothing short of beautiful. It's been one of the best I can remember," disclosed Steve Huber of Steve Huber's Guide Service on January 20.

"This year you just can't beat the Trinity for the quality and quantity of steelhead. At this point my clients and I have brought 525 steelhead to the boat. Our largest fish went 13 pounds and the average ranged from 5 to 7 pounds. About 95 percent of those steelhead were hatchery fish.

When our kings finally arrived this year in the third week of October we experienced great action targeting them too. I don't know how many kings we caught off the top of my head, but I do know that we were averaging about 150 per week," he stated.

For folks that are unfamiliar with the Trinity, it is one of the state's most beautiful rivers. It springs to life in the northern reaches of Trinity County and flows to the southwest. When it reaches the Trinity Mountains it's waters are confined to form Trinity Lake. After being released from Trinity Dam the river's water is impounded by a second dam, forming Lewiston Lake.

After exiting Lewiston, the mainstem of the Trinity is joined by the South Fork of the Trinity and many smaller tributaries including the New River. Once the river reaches full strength it flows through the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation and eventually dumps into the Klamath River.

The entire stretch of the river from Lewiston Dam down to the confluence with the Klamath offers superb opportunities to catch a mix of both wild and hatchery steelhead and salmon. This stretch of the river due to both it's stark beauty and productivity as a fishery was designated a wild and scenic river by Congress in 1981.

According to Ed Duggan of the Willow Creek Chamber of Commerce, the 2007 steelhead run on Trinity may just be the largest run since the river was dammed in 1963. According to early counts, over 17,000 steelhead have returned to the Trinity Hatchery and more are showing up everyday. Likewise salmon numbers were also impressive for 2007 with 24,136 kings and 2,917 coho making a showing.

"This is typically the point in the steelhead run when we see a transition from hatchery fish to wild fish," said Huber. "There are still hatchery fish in the system, but with the recent rains we've had, we can expect to see a big push of wild fish move up the river to spawn."

"We won't see as many wild fish as hatchery fish, but you can always expect the wild fish to be larger and harder fighting compared to the hatchery fish. When we get rains like we've seen recently, the wild fish tend to stack up near the mouths of tributaries flowing into the main river. They typically stage in the main river for a day or two to rest before pushing into the tributaries to spawn," disclosed Huber.

"As soon as this show breaks up, I'll be heading back up to the Trinity," said Huber standing in his booth at the Sacramento ISE show. "Provided rain doesn't blow out the river, I expect the fishing to be outstanding. I'll be fishing plugs about 70 percent of the time. The other 30 percent of the time we'll be drifting bait and working flies. Anglers can expect to have good fishing on the Trinity from now until the middle of March or possibly the end of March depending on the conditions."

Huber has a bit of advice for anyone interested in fishing the Trinity. "The river is heavily patrolled by three wardens. There are probably 50 guides permitted to fish the river. In years like this one when the fishing is slow in a lot of other rivers, guides without permits will try to sneak over here to get in on the good fishing," said Huber.

"I don't care if visiting anglers book with me, but no matter what guide you fish with, make sure they have a permit. If you fish the river without a permit, you are going to get checked and kicked off the water. The guide will get a ticket and you'll miss out on a great day of fishing. How would like to be out on the river catching fish and then get the boot because your guide is not properly permitted? You can save yourself a lot of frustration by making sure the guide has his paperwork in order before booking a trip," Huber advised.

In closing Huber related that the Trinity is a fairly easy river to fish from the bank with good access. "If you can't afford the services of a guide, don't hesitate to head up to the river and give it a shot. Folks have great luck tossing spinners, crickets, roe and worms."