Rain = Steelhead …
Well, the Winter Solstice is upon us… and how fitting that we finally get a good deluge of rain and weather. The Trinity River bumped significantly on Tue/Wed Dec 19, 20 this week with JC gauge @ Helena hitting the 2,250cfs mark at the peak.
The river has dropped steadily now (immediately after it stops raining) and the entire upper river is fishable and should be en fuego today!
I was on the upper river yesterday with clients (Thursday) and we had a pretty darn good day ;) along with most boats I talked to, as well. We caught the river on the drop all day long and fish seemed happy to be moving again. Grass Valley Creek brought in some nice dirty water and when it mixed we had good-green color the rest of the day.
We saw a mix of wild and hatchery fish which has been pretty standard this year. The size and quality of the fish this season is remarkable. A lot of bigger fish than we have seen in the past few years…
If you want to get a steelhead trip in this season please reach out ASAP… my January dates are almost all booked. BUT I do have dates available in February. Late winter can be a great time to fish the Trinity as the days get longer and typically warmer.
If the first half of the season is any indication… we should see a strong rest of the steelhead season on the upper Trinity River as we move into the late-fall run time Jan/Feb (can we just call them “Winter Steelhead”?). These fish are typically more “wild” and there is a appreciable difference in the quality and strength of the later winter-season steelhead in the Trinity River.
If winter steelhead fishing isn’t your bag, then consider a float trip on the Lower Sac in February/March for our big, local, wild trout. I love fishing the Sac in the “early spring” beginning in Feb & Mar. We see great bwo hatches and midges along with some small caddis that create some excellent fly fishing opportunities.
Fishing without waders on a warm winter day and casting dry flies to bwo sipping trout… Get a hold of me to discuss more.
Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.
