Trinity River Fly Fishing Report

Dave Neal, Reel Adventures Guide Service

Fishing was superb this week on the Trinity River and the catching was pretty decent, too. Days went by real quick and we seemed to hit the take out at dark each night, though we didn’t really need to. The river has been un-crowded so we’ve been able to fish just about any run that looked good – and well, they all looked and felt good so we fished them all. I can tell you the days are noticeably getting longer since the solstice… but dark eventually happens.

Water conditions are a tinge off color but downriver the tribs are mixing into a nice shade of green. The lakes above are still unsettled from all the December rains leading to increased turbidity in the water releases out of the dam. Even though the State of CA desperately needs more rain and snow - the calm weather we’ve enjoyed lately has probably saved the river from looking like the Lower Sac… brown and tough to fish. 

Personally, I like the color of the water right now and the fish seem to be a bit more aggressive with the low visibility. You should encounter plenty of halfies and brown trout to fill in the day, if the steelheading is slow.

 Mornings were typical foggy and cool and the afternoons warm and sunny. Don’t forget your sun block or Buff headwear. We should see a break down of the high-pressure ridge in a few more days, along with cooler temps… maybe some rain, which will refresh things.

 Fish have been very grabby after lunch and through out the afternoon. The usual suspects: Rubber Legs, golden stones, PT’s, Psycho Princes for nymphing and it’s just tough to beat the good old black leech for swinging. Throw in some #10-14 parachute Adams, Royal Wulff’s or similar while you’re at it.

 Several days this week we reeled up and grabbed the 6wt dry fly rod I keep rigged in the boat and had some pretty fun dry fly sessions in between runs. Adult steelhead are known to crush (dead drifted) dry flies from this time of year on. And, if you commit to nose hunting you may just stumble into something special. It does happen.

 It may be a bit late notice but I still have January 16,19, 21 open. My February is nearly booked. Steelheading aside, if you want to get into some good dry fly fishing the Trinity is a great location right now for a fun float trip while fishing dry flies and dry droppers for trout.