Latest Fishing Reports
- almost there…
I spent the last three days guiding the Trinity for Winter Steelhead “On the Swing” and I would consider the fishing pretty good ! Early to mid January in my experience seems to yeild some of the best Winter Steelheading of the Season on the Trinity, we averaged a little better then 1 adult per day per angler, for Winter steelheading I would consider that good, the Steelhead on the Trin currenty are NOT spread out evenly from Lewiston to Pigeon Point, which makes me think that they are moving quite a bit right now, not necessarliy stacking up in a given area, “if your not finding em…move !”
- Doug V.s Wild One…
The Summer/ Fall Steelhead angling is winding down now, we should Start to see a push of Fresh Winter fish right after the first of the year. There are Steelhead in the Trinity from Lewistion to Witchepec right now but it’s spoty. My clients this past week have Swung up some nice wild fish but they’re working for them…hmmm, sounds alot like Steelheading !I would rate the current angling on the Trinity fair to good dependiong upon your expectations.Merry Christmas and Tight Lines…
- John M. swung up this healthy hatchery buck Saturday
The conditions on the Trinity remain the same, LOW-CLEAR-COLD, there are fish spread throughout the system,with a heavier concentration in the upper river, Lewiston…The forecasters are becoming more confident about some precip coming in around the 20th, hopefully enough to raise the flows as well as the water temps…regardless, if you put the time in you’ll find a fish or two-Tight Lines
- Battle Creek Steelhead…
- another Nice one Jon !
- Headed back to the Salt …
- Dues Paid !
The Lower Sac Swing fishing has been good to Great, with a mix of Wild Bo’s to 4lbs and a mix of hatchery and Wild Steelhead to 6lbs. There coming on both the Swung fly and Tight Line Nymph techniques, most days offer shots at rising fish with the DryFly as well.At times we’re working hard for them and some are coming more easily, bottom line is they are there for the wading angler looking to put in the effort.Tight Lines-
- Battle Creek Steelhead
- Working Towards the Sweet Spot
The Lower Sac is fishing pretty good for Rainbow’s and Steelhead on the Swing and offering fairly consistant hatches durring the day for the Dry Fly Angler, I use a jet boat to access the River for Wading Anglers and it’s countless Bars and Brakes ! The Trinity has steelhead from top to bottom with lots of pressure, especially on the weekends, some anglers are getting em , some anglers are paying there dues. I would rate it as fair. Flows on the Trinity are schedules to drop to 300cfs out of Lewiston on Tuesday…LOW and CLEAR…the ever present Steelheading mantra of “we could use some rain to shake things up” is currently in effect.Tight Lines-
- Just Rewards…
- Anticipation
Winter Steelheading continues on…we’re still seeing New Wild Winter Steelhaed push into the Trinity, the numbers don’t seem to be quite as good as they were a couple weeks ago but still good fishing. We’ve had a bit of rain and snow over the past week, water flows are up and a little color has been added, water temps have dropped a few degrees over the past week, that may have slowed the fishing a bit. I think Swinging for Winter Steelhead on the Trinity will be Well Worth the effort for at least a couple more weeks.Tight Lines…
Winter Steelheading continues on…we’re still seeing New Wild Winter Steelhaed push into the Trinity, the numbers don’t seem to be quite as good as they were a couple weeks ago but still good fishing. We’ve had a bit of rain and snow over the past week, water flows are up and a little color has been added, water temps have dropped a few degrees over the past week, that may have slowed the fishing a bit. I think Swinging for Winter Steelhead on the Trinity will be Well Worth the effort for at least a couple more weeks.Tight Lines…
- Flight Time
- Perfect Hen
- Winter on the Trin
Spent a few days guiding for Winter Steelhead on the Trinity this past week, it didn’t disapoint. Plans were to guide on the North Coast but it’s been in constant flux, too low , too high and a few days that have been just right, at the same time Mid Trinity was in good shape , chose the safe bet and it paid off ! Swung up multiple Chromers each day and landed at least a fish a day per angler, good Steelheading in my IMHO…primarily bright, wild fat hens in the 5-6 lb class and full of fight and one wild buck 7-8 lbs. typical Trinity Winter Run.My availablity for the remainder of the Season is none existant… not to early to think about a Spey/ Swing trip for next Fall/ Winter …My primary Steelhead destinations will be the Trinity, Lower Klamath, Eel Drainage and the Lower Sac… this past Fall the swing fishing was excelent on the Lower Sac for Battle Creek Steelhead in the 2-5 lb class, all had a ton of fight and a blast on 4wt and 5 wt Spey rods…fun stuff !Feel free to contact me for trip info – Tight Lines
Great day introducing Spey casting and fishing on the Swing, Fred is a quick study, both trout and Steelhead to 4lbs helped in the education process as well as properly breaking in a brand new rod, Great Company, Great Weather , Great day, what more could an Angler or Guide ask for…Tight Lines
The Trinity is in Great shape, a little bony up top but fish are spread throughout the system. Some days are scratchy, other days are pretty darn good, Steve and Ken arrived for a couple days of Spey casting for Steelhead, day one was slow but they didn’t loose faith and day two we got into them pretty good…. Sounds alot like Steelheading… Commit to the Swing and you will be justly rewarded…Tight Lines
- Ken with a Nice hatchery Buck
- Ken with his Buck
- Bent to the Cork !
The Trinity is in Great shape, a little bony up top but fish are spread throughout the system. Some days are scratchy, other days are pretty darn good, Steve and Ken arrived for a couple days of Spey casting for Steelhead, day one was slow but they didn’t loose faith and day two we got into them pretty good…. Sounds alot like Steelheading… Commit to the Swing and you will be justly rewarded…Tight Lines
- One of three wild ones that Rob landed Friday
.The Trinity Basin has recieved several good bouts of rain this Fall with the most recent being this past Sunday into Monday and blew the river out from Rush Creek down. The Trinity was back in shape in the upper reaches on Tuesday, the recent rains have been just what the Doctor Ordered, Steelhead are on the move. The Summer/Fall fish are making there way to there final destinations and Fresh Early Winter Steelhead are filing in, right on there heels. As long as the Weather stays active, like it has, the fishing should remain good for the forseeable future… Happy Thanksgiving and Tight Lines !
- mid river Buck swung up yesterday…
The Steelheading on the Trinity has been ranging from Fair to Great depending on pressure, weather and luck of the draw…in other words Steelheading on the Trinity is in full swing. I’ve been bouncing around avoiding crowds with mixed results, good news is there seems to be a fair number of Steelhead in the system from top to bottom with new Steelhead still comming through the weir in Willow Creek. I’ve seen a good number of Chinook on Redds mid-river, which I haven’t seen the past couple of Seasons, a very good sign for future runs ! I’ll be guiding Spey trips on the Trinity through mid January, 1/2 day trips mid December through mid January last Season where pretty popular, hitting the warmest part of the day. Tight Lines !
- the gate is open…
- Good stuff…
The Lower Klamath is fishing fair/good with a mix of 1/2 pounders and adults to 4lbs, I jumped a couple of chrome bright steelhead in the 8-10 lb range kin a tailout making there way up river. The mouth of the Klamath is open and fresh Steelhead continue to trickle in, the numbers are down from the average but the pressure on the Lower Klamath is almost nonexistent resulting in some pretty darn good fishing at times ! as well as being some of the best swing water in the Lower 48 !The fishing on the Trinity is similar, a fair number of steelhead, the overall numbers are down but the size is up from typical. The Feds have trapped and released some fairly large Steelhead at the weir in Willow Creek recently.The Swing fishing on the Lower Sac is better then normal for this time of year for wild Rainbow’s and a mix of Wild and Hatchery Steelhead. With a lack of Salmon on Red’s the fish don’t seem to have there typical October tunnel vision of feeding almost exclusevly on Salmon Eggs.
- Just another Epic Tailout….
The conditions on the Lower Klamath as are as good as they get right now, the HUGE flows of last Winter have rejuvenated and altered many of the Swing Runs for the better and water quality is good as it gets . The past couple of months the river has seen fresh pushes of adult and 1/2 pounder Steelhead, the numbers don’t appear to be huge…but they’re there !Angler pressure has been low which at times can lead to some pretty darn good fishing as well as a Great overall angling experiance, over the past week we have hooked into, and landed some, Chrome Bright Adult Steelhead and 1/2 pounders as well as Dime Bright Kings, just the right size for a 6 weight Spey Rod.If you are an avid Spey Caster and have never been you should highly consider a trip to the Lower Klamath, there might be different water elswhere but I would argue that there is no better water !…. and if your a novice or just want to try out Spey casting and Swinging for Steelhead, this is an excelent venue for that as well.My schedule is limited this year but I do still have some available dates…and it’s not too soon to plan for next Season , I’ll be on the Lower Klamath from early Sept to late October
Well the Steelhead Season is starting to wind down here on the Trinity. It’s been a challenging Season this year on the Trin, between, at what seemed like at times non-stop rain and snow to low fish counts. The one thing this Season has reconfirmed is that like many other things in Nature Steelhead fishing is cyclical, it has it’s high points and low points, having said that some of my clients had outstanding days on the river, right place, right time, nothing that could be predicted other then putting in the time and dedication to the sport.As one Steelhead Season comes to a close another one is just around the corner, not too early to start planning a Steelhead trip to the Lower Klamath ! The Summer Run starts to show in the Lower Klamath in July, I will be focusing my time guiding there in Septemeber and October when the run typically starts to thicken and the crowds start to thin. I use my jet boat to access some of the best swing water in the Lower 48, we use Spey rods and Classic Swing tactics to target these Crome Bright Steelhead, we usually encounter a mix of adults and 1/2 pounders, Hatchery and Wild ! Mild weather and Beautiful suroundings, just hard to beat !
The Trinity continues to fish fairly consistantly for Winter Run Steelhead, most of the fish that I haver encountered over the past week and a half have been in the 3-8 lb class, a mix of wild and hatchery with the vast majotity being wild. Some days we hook 4-6 somedays we get spanked, been averaging about one fish per angler per day. Which I think is to be expected when fishing for Winter Steelhead. The Great news is that a fair number of fish that have been landed lately by my clients have come on the Swing !…Tight Lines !
- picture does not serve justice to this beautiful speciman
Once the Trinity setlled down from a giant churning froth of mud and debris I wondered whether there would be any Steelhead around or if they all boogied up into there natal tribs, well the good news is there are quite a few fresh, wild winter run fish the came up under the high water conditions, most are in the 2 -5 lb range but the 1st fish of the day yesterday was a beautiful wild buck in excess of 10lbs. The wheather forecast is wild as well so make a break for it when things settle down for a day or two.
- the one that will haunt you…
- just another epic swing run
I finished up 2016 and started 2017 fishing and guiding the Eel River drainage, parts of the Eel droped in nicely for about a six day window. There were Early Winter Run Steelhead about, a few grabs and one epic battle with a Chrome Bruiser in the mid teens, the Steelhead Won. Parts of the North Coast of California arguably have some of the best swing water anywhere and are inhabited with Dime Bright Steelhead throughout the Winter months. These fisheries are ideal for the dedicated swing angler, this is not a numbers game but one in which you are hunting beautiful water often amongst ancient Redwoods, looking for the fish of a life time ! Happy New Years !
- Swing em up !
- Big Hen
The Trinity fished good yesterday, Dick from Seattle hooked 3 large Steelhead, all on the SWING ! He brought two to hand over 29″ and broke one stout, hot fish off ! We’ve been getting plenty of rain with more on the way, as of this morning the Trinity is blown below Weaverville Creek but looks real good above with about 3′ of visability.
- hooked up !
- as bright as they get on the upper Trinity !
- swing em up…
The Trinity blew out on Saturday and by Sunday the upper river was fiahable, the high water has transported the leading edge of our Winter run up and Dick from Seattle swung up a bright one today. Water temps are hovering in the low to mid fourties but dedication and persistance pay dividends to the avid Stellheader !
We’ve had plenty of weather up on the Trinity over the last several days, heavy snow on Wenesday night with snow levels down to 1000 feet or lower, that led to into a cold drizzle Thursday, Friday was fairly mild until a heavy rain started around 4 pm and lasted through the night. As of this morning the river high and chocolate brown and is blown out below Rush creek, you might be able to find a little fishable water up around Lewiston.I guided Larry and Henry from the East Bay over the past two days, Thursday we fished indicators from the boat and came up bagles, Friday we swithced to swing fishing with Spey rods and both guys were able to hook into adult steelhead but unfourtunatly weren’t able to bring either fish to hand. It was Awesome to see that the boys where able to swing up a couple of Steelhead in 40 degree water !I would think that the upper river above Weaver Creek should be fishable by tomorrow. Tight Lines !
The Trinity continues to give up a few fish here and there, saw a few more fish on the move yesterday, we had a few encounters and Jay swung up a nice one at the final run of the day ! Those memories stick with you for a while…the weather is forecast to be realatively mild for this coming week.
- One of four swung up today !
Fishing continues to be up and down on the Trinity, today was an Up Day ! Mark and Jay swung up four adult Steelhead today, I think that could be considered a good a day of swing fishing any where, especialy this Season on the Trin. As I said before the best fishing reports are the ones you make yourself, get out there, there is plenty of Season left, we should start to see the first of our Winter run around the Holidays…Tight Lines !
- a little solitude
The conditions on the Trinity continue to be good with good air and water temps and clarity, still not a lot of Steelhead around though. There seems to be more fish upriver in the Lewiston to Bucktail area, down river the Steelhead seem to move through fairly quickly, if your in the right area at the right time you could have some pretty good fishing ! Over the past two weeks I’ve had days were we’ve hooked as many as 5 adults in a day to days were we didn’t get touched. The weather forecast is calling for more rain over the coming week, hopefully that will jump-start the fishing a bit. Tight Lines.
- time to man the oars and give chase !
- this keeps it interesting
I have given the fishing on the Trinity an “okay” rating but to be more accurate it’s been everything from Slow to Great ! There are fish throughout the system but the numbers are not what we have seen over the past decade, reminds me of fishing the Trinity in the 90s, or better yet “Steelheading” not Trout fishing for Steeelhead. Some days we have zero encounters, other day’s we have multiple encounters and bring several to hand.The only given is that you cant catch a Steelhead from your Couch ! Tite Lines !
I’ve had a late cancelation and some prime dates have opened, I have November 4th and 5th available for the Trinity, Lower Sac or the Lower Klamath if it drops into shape.
- Another beautiful day on the Lower Sac
- Wait ! was he wading when he caught that one ?!
- One of many PERFECT wild sac River Rainbow’s
I spent the last 3 days on the Lower Sac with the Walker boy’s from Virginia, the first two days working with BK, drifting the Sac in typical fasion. There are Salmon about but not in large numbers, we took are fish on both eggs and nymphs, they seem to be keying on small PMD and dark caddis nymphs. Today I guided the Father and Son group from my jet boat, wading a few spots away from the “mayhem” and despite a wet and blustery day we found plenty of fish to keep us entertained. We landed fish under the indicator on nymphs and eggs as well as on the swing.My sports were all new to this and did fairly well, I think some keen swing anglers would have crushed it today !
I spent three days guiding the Lower Klamath earlier this week, we got into 1/2 pounders each day but failed to connect with any adult steelhead. It rained hard here in Douglas City over night, the rivers are slowly rising with most of the rain soaking in, we might get more run off from the next wave. The Trinity is currently fishable above the North Fork, the Lower Klamath will need a little time to settle back down.
There are a few Steelhead about on the Trinity but they have yet to show in any great numbers yet, some guys are getting a few here and there. We are expecting rain this coming week and that just might be the right medicine. Fishing on the Lower Klamath has been pretty good at times so hopefully those fish are on there way !