The river remains pretty cloudy from top to bottom

Trinity River - Douglas City, CA


by The Fly Shop
3-18-2023
Website

The river remains pretty cloudy from top to bottom. And without any of the turbidity gages up and online, we can't make an informed guess as to what is happening regarding clearing from the storms. However, the TRRP will continue to boost flows over the next month with some surges to move cobble and provide better feeding habitat for the salmon fry. Is it worth going? It may be one of your last chances to get a steelhead for a while. If you go, check out the release schedule to see if the river will be bumped up during the day. If you do go fish, we would recommend Large Rubberlegs in brown and black and egg patterns. For the swingers out there, bring your Skagits and sink tips. Good patterns when the flows come up and the water gets a little dirty, black and blue are great colors. The Burnt Chicken, Hartwick's Hoser, or your favorite intruder will get the job done. We are definitely seeing the fish moving up, the big winters are entering the system. Check road conditions if you do head over as there are bound to be slides here and there. Give Bryan or Chris a call if you would like to get a trip scheduled during the best time to go!

Trinity River Flows:
Trinity River Releases from Lewiston
Trinity River Flow at Pigeon Point

Shuttle Services:
• Bill & Caryl Dickens (Gold Coast Shuttle) at 530-623-1905

Access To the Trinity River
The Trinity has many publicly accessible areas with good wading opportunities during the steelhead season. Stop by the shop and we'd be happy to point you in the right direction.

Steelhead Fishing Can be Frustrating
These anadromous rainbow trout are known as the 'Fish of a Thousand Casts.' For good reason! The learning curve can be quite steep learning when and where to go, and what type of water to target. Our Professional Guide Staff has decades of experience guiding the Trinity River for steelhead. A day spent with one of our guides will get you up to speed much more quickly.

Recommended Equipment & Setups
Early Summer Run Steelhead on the Trinity River will take swung flies readily. Spey rods are becoming an increasingly popular method to swing flies. The Fly Shop's Signature Spey Rods are an economical way to get into a great Spey rig. Add a Ross Cimmaron II Fly Reel and a Scandi shooting head, a leader, tippet and fly and you'll be in business.

Hot Flies: 
Dry Flies:
Harrop's Last Chance Cripple - #18

Nymphs/Wet Flies:
Pat's RubberlegsBrown and Black, #4-8
Mercer's Poxyback GB Hares Ears - #8-14
TB Solitude Stone - #8
Lance's X-May - #16, Brown
Mercer's Gold Bead Biot Epoxy Golden Stone - #8-10

Eggs:
Clown Egg - #4-10
M.C. Redd Reapers
Micro Spawn Eggs - Pink & Salmon Egg
Boles Bazookas - #8

Streamers & Leeches:
Beadhead Crystal Buggers - Any
CH Kiwi Muddlers
Freshwater Clouser - Any




More Reports

The Fly Shop Reports
for Saturday, March 18th, 2023
Hat Creek: Hat Creek remains one of the only venues clear enough that it would be a good option to fish
Sacramento River - Lower: Will take some time to clear
McCloud River: The river is large from the top to the bottom

The Fly Shop Reports
for Wednesday, March 15th, 2023
Sacramento River - Upper: Right now the Upper Sac is large
Baum Lake: Fishing here has continued to be solid with