This is the New Year and you need to turn in your 2016 steelhead report card and salmon harvest card. You can mail them in or do it by email; look on the back of the cards for instructions. The information on the cards are important for CDFW as they use it to help project the 2017 salmon harvest and limits for steelhead. 

The Trinity River valley is experiencing more snow, and rain is expected for the coming week. The good part is that the mountains are starting to get some snow pack and the coming rains are suppose to be coming from the south, and that means warm rain which could start melting the snow. Remember I said it COULD start melting the snow NOT that it would!

The Trinity is going to experience some flooding of the inflowing creeks and possibly reaching the flood stage in the lower river. The upper river will see some high water for a short time, but that should clear fast so one should have a number to call for up-to-date water flow conditions if they plan to fish from Lewiston down to Douglas City. Once Douglas City reaches 1,000cfs it will become unfishable, but if DC stays under 1,000cfs the upper part of the river could be fishable.

The Lower Trinity is too high to fish from Hawkins Bar to Hoopa, and the South Fork is dumping mud into the main stem. Hwy 299 is still blocked up at Big French Creek and is not expected to be open until sometime near the middle of the month. 

TRH: The hatchery has reached their egg quota for the spring run; as of Oct 29; Jan 1 thru Jan 7, Fall Chinook salmon entering the hatchery; adults 0, total 1,512, season total 3,619, Coho 0, season total 527, steelhead 21, and season total 853.

Klamath River Weir counts: Jan. 7, Bogus Creek, 780 fall Chinook salmon, Shasta River 2,900 fall Chinook salmon, Scott River 980. 

Fishing: Fishing was doing very good in the upper sections of the Trinity from Steel Bridge down to Bagdad. The word is that Pigeon Point is sanded in and hard to take out. Todd Leboeuf has been fishing from Douglas City down to Bagdad and on January 4th he took a father and son team out and they were able to boat 5 adult steelhead. The boy caught his first steelhead. The bank fishers were doing fair, landing 1 to 3 adults per outing - fly fishing. The bait fishers were doing a little better fishing from Junction City down. The problem is there are very few bank fishers because of the cold. Most of the guides that fish the Upper Trinity have heaters in their drift boats so it is nice and comfy when you are fishing. When I fished in the winter I had 2 heaters, one up front and one for me. It can get pretty cold when the water is 38-40 degrees and the air temps are about the same. 

Mid-Klamath: Iron Gate is releasing 1,140cfs; so fishing above I-5 will be a little hard until the flows are dropped back to 1,000cfs or lower. If you plan on fishing above I-5, you might want to contact Scot Caldwell of S C Guide service. The Happy Camp to Johnson section of the Klamath is totally unfishable.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 85% of capacity with inflows of  234cfs and releasing 265cfs into Clear Creek; Shasta is 74% of capacity (an increase of 2% & 2ft) inflows of 10,243cfs and releasing 4,285cfs, Keswick is 85% of capacity with inflows of  4,493cfs and releasing 4,792cfs; Lake Orville is 58% of capacity (a increase of  ?% & plus 0ft), inflow is 9,344cfs and releases are 1,993cfs; Lake Folsom is 47% of capacity (plus 6% & minus 8ft.) inflows are 15,006cfs and releases are 15,531cfs.

Trinity Lake: The Lake is 88ft (an increase of 0ft.) below the overflow and 52% of capacity (0% increase) Inflow to Trinity Lake is 1,197cfs and Trinity Dam is releasing 770cfs to Lewiston Lake with 457cfs going to Whiskeytown Lake and on to the Keswick Power Plant with 47925cfs being released to the Sacramento River. 

Trinity River Flows and Conditions: Lewiston Dam releases are 313fs, water temps are 41.7 and air is 35 degrees at 11:00am. today. Limekiln Gulch is 4.9ft at 425cfs, water temps are 38.4 degrees and air is 34. Douglas City is 6.6ft at 633cfs, water temps of 37 and air is 33. Junction City is 2.3ft at 726cfs.  Helena is 9.8ft at 909cfs with water temps of N/A. Cedar Flat is 4.8ft at 1,500cfs. (and rising) Willow Creek is estimated at 3,400cfs air is 340and water at 38.  Hoopa is N/Aft at N/A cfs with water temps of N/A.  Flows at the mouth of the Trinity at Klamath River are estimated to be N/A  cfs.

Mid-Klamath: Iron Gate Dam releases are 1,140cfs.  Seiad Valley is 3.7ft at 2,520cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 2,836cfs. Somes Bar is estimated at 4,190cfs. Orleans is 5.9ft. at 5,760cfs. Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 12.7ft at 14.8Kcfs and water temperatures of 39.7 degrees. Flows at Smith River, Dr. Fine Bridge are 8.3ft at 3,140cfs.

Temperatures in the Valley last week were 40/30 degrees with 2.1 inches of rain with a season total of 37.1in of rain and 2.1in of snow with some freezing. Temperatures in the valley next week are expected to be 51/34 degrees; there is going to be rain, showers and snow for the next week or so with some minor flooding of creeks and the Lower Trinity possibly reaching flood stage. It has been cold, so if you plan on fishing come with a thermos of hot coffee or cocoa.