Too Much Rain for Trinity on Monday?

[Andris]

Hey Guys--I have to be in Redding for work on Tuesday and I was planning to go early and hit the Trinity on Monday. Now I'm worried that it might get blown out by all this rain. The USGS gages show the flows have more than doubled in the last 24 hrs with the height rising more than 50% (both taken in the upper river). Forcast is for more rain today with it tapering off through the weekend. Does anyone have any idea as to whether I'll be wasting my time? Thanks very much. -Rob

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

You could call the Trinity Fly Shop on Saturday for an update?

call (530) 623-6757

[donpline]

you should not have any problems finding fishable water in the Lewiston area. The lower you go in the river the more it is affected by runoff, and fed by tributaries.

When everything else is blown out in the state, the upper Trinity will still usually fish. (The first few miles below the Lewiston Bridge)

I fished this past weekend and did very well. I hooked 14 and landed 9 in 2 1/2 days of fishing. The two flies that worked best were the Red Copper John and the Poxyback Hares Ear. I did talk to a few people who are starting to get fish on the Gold Stones.

[Andris]

Thanks Bill and Don--I'll let ya know how it goes. -Rob

[PatrickM]

That's some good work on the Trinity, Don. What sizes were those flies you were using? I'll be up there in a couple of weeks, and can use all the help I can get.
Thanks.

[donpline]

We were using the Poxyback Hares Ear in 10's and 12's. The Red Copper John's in 12's. The 14's get bit but have a pretty weak hook. I've heard that the Gold Stones are working in a bit bigger sizes 8's and 10's. We used 9 foot tapered leaders with 12 inches of 8 pound fluorocarbon tippet to the first fly, and another 12 inches to the second fly. I'm also using a least one split shot and sometimes two depending on the flows and the depth. I've also heard that Red Prince Nymphs are getting bit pretty good.

[ycflyfisher]

Hey Guys--I have to be in Redding for work on Tuesday and I was planning to go early and hit the Trinity on Monday. Now I'm worried that it might get blown out by all this rain. The USGS gages show the flows have more than doubled in the last 24 hrs with the height rising more than 50% (both taken in the upper river). Forcast is for more rain today with it tapering off through the weekend. Does anyone have any idea as to whether I'll be wasting my time? Thanks very much. -Rob


Watch these flows:

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/trinityStages.html
Trinity River and Tributaries (Updated)

Take the flows at Doug City and subtract the base flow from Lewiston and also subtract the contribution from Weaver Creek and you'll get essentially the contributing flows for all tribs between the dam and Weaver Creek. (Weaver Creek actually contributes a bit more to the Doug City flow than the gage states because the gage on WVC is a few miles up from the creek mouth.) If that number is above or approaching 275 cfs by my experience, that means Rush Creek is blown. Especially if there's a recent, big spike in Weaver Creek flows. If Rush Creek is blown, the best case scenario is you've only got 4-5 riffs that everyone is competing for, between the Bridge and the mouth of Rush that you can get to without a boat. It's not supposed to rain on Sunday so you may be OK. I'm betting not though.

[PatrickM]

Thanks a lot, Don. Time to hit the vise. :)

[WillJ]

Hey pm,
I've also heard they are hitting large weighted princes with silli legs...
Maybe you should tie up a bunch o them too! :D
-W

[PaulC]

Rob,
Don't know if you'll get this in time, but you should be fine.
Its a bit cold tho the past couple days....bring layers. Its been a while since the guides started freezing up mid-cast.
-Paul

[PatrickM]

Hey Will,
The fish down here are too smart for flies like that. Those flies only work in places where the fishing is really easy. :twisted:

[Andris]

Thanks for all the info, guys. Didn't end up getting there until after 11. Fished three places around Douglas City until dark. Every drift boat that came by reported have at least a "good" day. More than one said he saw pods of 5 to 10 surging by in the upper river. I only managed one hook up with a good fish during the last half hour of day light. He broke me off in less than a minute. Red copper John. The adreneline rush is more than enough to get me back there this Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Still getting the hang of this game and enjoying every minute.