It looks like we have more rain in the next week,  but a ray of sunshine for the weekend. The weatherman is saying the coming weekend could be a window of opportunity for some fishing in the Upper Trinity with mostly cloudy in the a.m., and sun in the afternoons. The bad news is that for the following week, there will be scattered showers and rain throughout the valley. This could be a great chance to hook into a nice big native Iron Head in the Upper Trinity. If you are one of the lucky ones, be sure to release the fish properly so that it will survive, and hopefully, spawn. I was hoping that it would let up for a enough time to allow fishing in the Lower Trinity so I could get out and try my switch rod on one of those natives, but as it stands, the lower river is going to be a hard fish for at least two weeks. 

Klamath River Weir counts: It appears that the Klamath Weir counts are over as I have not received any new reports for a couple of weeks. 

Fishing: Fishing in the Upper Trinity has been hard with the rain, but there might be a window of opportunity over the coming weekend. The South Fork has been dumping lots of water into the main stem of the Trinity which makes the Lower Trinity a hard fish. There are a few areas that one may have a chance to hook up a nice winter steelhead, but you have to be careful because of the high water. The high water allows the fish to have many areas to travel, but I have found that if you are fishing in high water, try and fish the shallow side of the river because it is an easier line for the fish to swim. The high water also gives the fish a chance to use the current to eat up lots of line. If I fish the high water, I try to make sure I have lots of running room, because once a native steelie gets into the current, you are going to have a fight on your hands and need the area to run with the fish to slow down. One trick I use if fishing from the bank is to stick the tip of my rod in the current, up to the second or third eye, and slowly crank in some line. For some reason, the fish will follow the line up into shallow water and give you a chance to land it.    

Mid-Klamath: Anything below I-5 is going to be blown out for the next couple of weeks. It looks like above I-5 will be the area to try your luck of hooking a nice steelhead. You should contact Scott Caldwell of SC Guide Service if you want to try fishing the Upper Klamath. Scott is the fisherman to know that area best. Iron Gate is releasing 1,550cfs and Weitchpec is 56.6Kcfs. 

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 85% of capacity with inflows of 2,259cfs and releasing 2,274cfs into Clear Creek & Keswick. Shasta is 79% of capacity (an increase of 0% & plus 1ft) inflows of 53,691cfs and releasing 21,178cfs, Keswick is 93% of capacity with inflows of 22,4473cfs and releasing 22,455cfs; Lake Oroville is 79% of capacity (a decrease of 2% & plus 10ft), inflow is 36,026cfs and releases are 30,014cfs; Lake Folsom is 45% of capacity (plus 2% & plus 4ft.) inflows are 23,086cfs and releases are 12,654cfs. Folsom is low due to expected storms and high inflows.

Trinity Lake: The Lake is 68ft below the overflow (increase of 4ft) and 61% of capacity (2% increase) Inflow to Trinity Lake is 7,638cfs and Trinity Dam is releasing 221cfs to Lewiston Lake with 7,41cfs going to Whiskeytown Lake and on to the Keswick Power Plant with 22,445cfs being released to the Sacramento River.

Trinity River Flows and Conditions: Lewiston Dam releases are 294cfs, water temps of 44.6 and air is 47 degrees at 11:00am. today. Limekiln Gulch is 5.2ft at 685cfs, water temps are 44 degrees and air is 64.  Douglas City is 7.5ft at 1,380cfs, water temps of 43.1 and air is 48. Junction City is 4.4ft at 2,350cfs.  Helena is 13.1ft at 2,880cfs with water temps of 44.9. Cedar Flat is 9.7ft at 6,510cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 16.6Kcfs air is 50and water at 46.4. Hoopa is 23.1ft at 24.3Kcfs with water temps of 47.7.  Flows at the mouth of the Trinity at Klamath River are estimated to be 56.6Kcfs.

Klamath: Iron Gate Dam releases are 1,550cfs.  Seiad Valley is 7.5ft at 8,300cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 10.4Kcfs. Somes Bar is estimated at 25.9Kcfs. Orleans is 14.5ft. at 32.3Kcfs. Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 23.5ft at 75.6Kcfs and water temperatures of 47.1 degrees. Flows at Smith River, Dr. Fine Bridge are 15.6ft at 23Kcfs. 

Temperatures in the Valley last week were 55/35 degrees with 1.15 inches of rain with a season total of 55.25in of rain and 2.5in of snow. Temperatures in the valley next week are expected to be 69/4236 degrees; there will be showers with cloudy days over the weekend then rain showers the rest of the next week.

Good Fish’en and Good Luck but remember; “Keep your tip up with a tight line lands fish.”

Websites: MyOutdoorBuddy.com, Willowcreekchamber.com,
from Willow Creek, CA Phone 530-629-3554, E-mail yen2fish@yahoo.com