The Trinity River Fish Hatchery received its largest return ever of steelhead in 2003-2004 - and this is shaping up to be another good season, though not as spectacular as last year.

The hatchery took in an amazing 10,283 fish last winter. This is dramatically higher than the previous high run, 6,941 fish in 1964-65.

"We've seen 4,486 fish this season and are still expecting more to arrive in the coming weeks," said Laird Marshall, hatchery manager. "This is five times our normal run. The run was also very good in 2002-2003, when we took in 6,193 fish, our third largest run ever."

Possible reasons for the high numbers of returning steelhead include favorable ocean water and forage conditions and in river rearing conditions.

Although 2001 was a dry year, the river in 2002, 2003, and 2004 saw flows nearing those mandated under the Trinity River Record of Decision (ROD) for wet or normal years, according to Mike Orcutt, fisheries director of the Hoopa Valley Tribe.

This is great news for a river that has seen steelhead counts as low as 13 fish (1976-77), caused by low flows resulting from the export of up to 90 percent of the river's water to the Westlands Water District and other agricultural and hydroelectric water users since Trinity Dam was completed in 1963.

The future of wild and hatchery fish on the Trinity River looks even better, due to a long legal battle that culminated in victory for the tribe, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and environmental groups in January. The Westlands Water District and Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) on January 20 told U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger that neither party would appeal last July's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the Hoopa Valley Tribe to keep the Trinity River Record of Decision in place.

The Decision by Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt in December 2000 gives 47 percent of Trinity water to fish and the other 53 percent to agricultural and hydroelectric users. The ROD provides a variable flow regime based on hydrological conditions, ranging from 369,000 acre feet of water in a critically dry year to 815,000 acre feet in an extremely wet year, said Orcutt.

"We will see the benefits of the decision to the steelhead and salmon fishery in another 3 years," forecasted Steve Huber, fishing guide, whom Allen Bonslett, Fish Sniffer publisher, and I fished with for steelhead on Monday, January 31. "Although some landowners are concerned about the higher flows, this is fantastic for the fish."

Huber has been experiencing good steelhead fishing this season on most trips. On a drift boat trip I made with Huber and his father in October 2003, we found top-notch fishing for both salmon and steelhead. We landed 3 steelhead to 8 pounds and two salmon to 20 pounds.

"We've had a consistent plug bite for steelhead this season," said Huber when Allen and I got in the boat at the put-in. "We caught and released a 12 pound wild steelhead and two browns to 2 pounds on Saturday."

We fished the stretch from the Bucktail Access to Steel Bridge. However, we never hooked a fish while using a variety of plugs. Nor did we see any fly or spin fishermen on the river hook fish, either.

After a series of trips that yielded 2 to 6 fish per day for Huber and clients, the action had definitely dropped off dramatically. The water was cold and crystal clear - and another storm was needed on this upper stretch of river to perk up the action.

"We had three hook-ups and didn't land any on the day after we fished together, while we boated one down runner the following day," Huber stated several days later.

Besides the hatchery fish, large numbers of wild steelhead have returned to the Trinity and its tributaries to spawn in the past few years. This year, Huber estimates that his fish have been 50 percent hatchery and 50 percent wild. "The fish come in batches," he noted. "One day you'll get hatchery fish and next day all wild steelhead."

Because of the clear water of the upper stretch we fished, Huber believes that the best time to fish the river for steelhead is two days after a storm when the water is still colored. Although steelhead can be taken in the Trinity all year round, he finds October through the beginning of March the top time to fish them.

His favorite plugs for back trolling are Hot Shots and Little Wiggle Warts in black and sliver, copper and gold and orange. The fish on the Trinity average 3 to 5 pounds, but larger 7 to 12 pound adults and even bigger fish are taken.

Although a few half pounders - fish that summer at sea and then go back upriver - are found in the Lewiston area - the greatest concentration of these fish is found in the lower river from Del Loma to the junction with the Klamath.

The section of the river that we fished also has a good number of brown trout. Although these Loch Leven-strain browns will occasionally go to sea, most of the fish are believed to be resident fish.

While we drifted, we saw a construction crew working on a bridge below the Bucktail Access to accommodate higher flows. Four bridges must be constructed and one bridge modified before summer so that the higher flows required for restoration can be released.

In addition to the steelhead, the Trinity features good spring and fall runs of chinook salmon and fall runs of coho salmon. The bag limits and in river quotas are different ever year, depending upon fishery population estimates by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The fish hatchery received good runs of spring and fall chinooks last season, with 6563 fish in the spring and 13,389 fish in the fall. However, this coming fall, biologists fear the impact of the huge fish kill on the Klamath River in September 2002, when over 68,000 adult fish perished because of mismanagement of the water by the Bush administration that favored subsidized farmers in the Klamath Basin over fish. The majority of these fish were destined for the Trinity River.

The bright spot in the picture is the good numbers of jacks that returned to the Trinity and other Klamath tributaries this fall. Fishery managers use jack counts as a key indicator in developing run estimates for the following season.

Hatchery coho numbers continue to be very good, with 10,098 fish returning last fall. Even though these are hatchery fish, anglers cannot take these ESA listed fish under state and federal fishing regulations.

Steve Huber of Steve Huber's Drift Boat Guide Service can be contacted at (707) 449-0258 or 1 (866) 531-FISH (3474), website: driftboatguide.com. For fishing information and guided trips, you can also call Jamie Munro, Trinity River Guide Service at Bigfoot Campground, (530) 623-6088; Tim King of King's Guide Service, (530) 623-3438, website: timkingsfishing.com; and Trinity Fly Shop, (530) 623-6757. For lodging and camping, call the Trinity County Chamber of Commerce, (800) 487-4648.

Trinity River (Lewiston to Junction City) Facts

Location: in the Trinity Mountains between Lewiston Dam and Junction City. Plenty of public access to the river is available off Highway 299 and adjacent roads.

Stream description: The upper section of the Trinity is the stretch that clears up first after a storm. When the lower river in the canyon is high and muddy, this stretch is often the only local steelhead and salmon fishing option. This is a great section for fly fishing, characterized by riffles and small rapids, interspersed with large flats and deep runs. The two-mile fly fishing only stretch below Lewiston Dam is a particularly popular stretch for fly anglers.

Lodging and camping: Camping and lodging are available in Lewiston, Weaverville, Douglas City and Junction City. Three public campgrounds are also available on Lewiston Lake. Local lodging facilities include the Lewiston Valley Motel in Lewiston, (530) 778-3942; Weaverville Hotel in Weaverville, (530) 623-6318; and the Trinity Canyon Lodge in Helena, (530) 623-2222. For complete lodging, camping and recreational information, call the Trinity County Chamber of Commerce, (800) 487-4648, www.trinitycounty.com.

Fishing information and guide trips: Steve Huber of Steve Huber's Drift Boat Guide Service; (707) 449-0258 or 1 (866) 531-FISH (3474); Tim King of King's Guide Service, (530) 623-3438; Ed Duggan, D Fishing Guide, 530-629-3554; Jamie Munro, Trinity River Guide Service at Bigfoot Campground, (530) 623-6088; and Herb and Pat Burton, Trinity Fly Shop, (530) 623-6757.

Trinity River Fish Hatchery: The facility is open daily from 7 am to 3:30 p.m. for self-guided tours. A guided group tour on a weekday can be arranged in advance when staff are available. For more information, call (530) 778-3931. Directions: Take Highway 299 west of Redding to the first Lewiston exit (Trinity Dam Boulevard). Proceed 4-1/2 miles down Trinity Dam Boulevard. Where the road veers left, keep going straight on Hatchery Road for 1 mile.

Angling Options: Besides the river, you can also find great black bass and trout fishing in Trinity Lake and good rainbow and brown trout action in Lewiston Reservoir. Pack trips into the Trinity Alps are also available: contact Coffee Creek Guest Ranch, Remote Possibilities, (530) 623-6690, or Six Pack Packers, (530) 623-6314.

Water Releases: For recorded information on releases from Lewiston Dam, call (530) 246-7594.