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Thread: Planning a trinity trip questions

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
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    Sebastian, FL, USA, Earth
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    I would blame the CA DF&G for developing such a large hatchery run up there of Kings, Silvers and Steelhead. Ha ha...only kidden'

    In the 1980s after the big drought of the late '70s there was no one on the Trinity River or Klamath because there were very few fish.

    If we had a budget to pump up the lower American River's winter Steelhead run it would be crowded too.
    Bill Kiene (Boca Grande)

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  2. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chico, CA
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    Don't fret guys its also so busy up there because the weather has been gorgeous. To add to that EVERYONE who is heading west to fish the Trinity is stopping in Junction City because its the closest spot to actually catch steelhead & I think a whole lot of those people are from the city.

    It is pretty amazing how many of these people will be sitting at home snuggled up with a blanket when the average high of October (70 degrees) turns into the average high of November (50 degrees).

    Once that average drops another 10 degrees for December you have nearly the entire river to yourself and there's still lots of fish around....

    Be patient and let mother nature kick those fair weather fishermen out of your run

  3. #13
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    Feb 2007
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    Chico, CA
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    Hey Tristan,

    Given your inputs on this thread, how did you come to the conclusion that my quote was false? I noticed you had to say that you didn't agree with parts of it but you never said why....in fact, you solidified what I was talking about.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chico, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by jhaquett
    I think a whole lot of those people are from the city
    I didn't mean they are the only people around...

    There are definitely a TON of mountain folk, willow creekians as I like to term them I've stopped to buy some snacks too many times in Willow Creek on my way to Trinidad.

    The sort of people I'm referring to are everywhere but there seems to be a pretty dense population around the Trinity.

    But, there are also plenty of yuppies that stopped off at the bay area Orvis store and spent $1,500 before coming up to "tear up" the steelhead during their annual fishing trip in between tee times at the Tiburon country club.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    North Valley
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    243

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    Pretty difficult to have a "quality fishing experience" on the top end of the Trinity the last couple years.

    I used to blame the guides and the fishing industry for pimpin' out the resource, but now I think, like Tristan is getting at, that it is simply a matter of "supply and demand". Most of those guys in Junction/Douglas city right now just want to experience hookin' up with something big and cool that swam in from the ocean. Who can blame them? We all want the same thing. The Trinity just happens to be one of the few reliable places to catch a steelhead anymore. The Bulkley around Smithers, all the way up in BC, is really crowded too!

    I am fishing less and less for summer steelhead now because I kind of feel bad for them. They are recieving a ton of pressure these days. The steelhead really don't owe us anything. They are just trying to be steelhead.

    What really sucks about the state of summer steelhead is how difficult it has become to play the game proper. I just can't get my hopes up to swing a Silver Hilton on a floating line at the Douglas City Bridge Run or at Steiner Flat behind 4-5 guide boats fishing indicators and that many or more bankies all dropping down to #16 red Copper John's....

    Oh well, you could just drive downriver another 45min-2hrs and fish Del Loma to Hoopa right now and have a great shot at open water and a resonable chance at hooking a fish a day swinging a muddler or a hilton. Oh, maybe I shouldn't have given anyone any ideas... Matt.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chico, CA
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    Yea its too bad that the Trinity is such a secretive, cut-throat kind of fishery. I hate that about it. I love being able to give an extensive report about an awesome day of fishing somewhere and not have to worry about a whole cities' worth of people being there the next time I go.

    I don't think I'll be returning to the Trinity until the daytime temperature drops about 20 degrees and it starts raining like crazy.

  7. #17
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    Aug 2005
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    PNW
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    Makes me want to go back to gear fishing. Those guys coexist with eachother on the water. Sure, that can change with too many keystone lights, but they have a comradery. Us flyfishermen see 5 other flyfishermen on "our" river and we start crying! We are the most uptight of our species. IMO

    Jay

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Agua Fresca
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    628

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    I caught 50 fish, all on the Hatch of the Day! Its called the Secret Angler Fly. There are so many Anglers on the river, the fish are just biting on them!

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by jbird
    Makes me want to go back to gear fishing. Those guys coexist with eachother on the water. Sure, that can change with too many keystone lights, but they have a comradery. Us flyfishermen see 5 other flyfishermen on "our" river and we start crying! We are the most uptight of our species. IMO

    Jay
    Well, that could be, Jay, but my original point remains: that river is unbelievably crowded. Imagine Lower Touvelle after it was over-promoted on the Internet except multiply by a factor of ten. It's not a "my" river thing; it's a there are guys standing on top of one another making it impossible to fish thing. Please correct me if I am wrong, but if I recall correctly you have never fished the Trinity or the more crowded North Coast streams of Oregon for steelhead, right? I am not claiming to be a world traveler, but I have fished all over the Pacific Northwest for steelhead, and I have never seen anything that bad involving fly fishermen. There wasn't one or two key holes with people in them, it was EVERY likely spot. There were 20 plus vehicles at every takeout, and this is a river with takeouts everywhere. It was the world's largest open air circus! That's not whining--that's "Oh My God what a mess!"

    And, I have to take exception to the "camaraderie" comment regarding gear fishermen. They don't fish shoulder-to-shoulder because they love one another's company. You make it sound like they're group huggin' after every fish. Gear guys fish close to one another because they can--that is, they don't require space to cast and they fish with a method that allows for a should-to-shoulder line. Fly guys were so close on the Trinity this weekend that they couldn't even cast without getting in each other's way. No exaggeration. If you want to "fish" in those conditions, then that's your choice, but I was just sayin' I wished I had some advanced notice of just how bad it was there so that I could have avoided the whole experience. It was depressing. The Rogue is going to look like that someday, for exactly the same reasons, and I will wager now that you quit fishing it when it does. I know I sure will.

    Maybe fly guys, including myself, are "uptight". I will admit I enjoy as much solitude as possible, and I don't feel the need to promote fisheries for any reason. Unfortunately from my perspective as one of the "uptight" fly fisherman, fly fishing is a sport with a lot of people who have this incessant need to promote fisheries and themselves. That is, there are a lot of people who feel the need to say "look at me, look at me" I am the world's greatest fisherman and here are the pictures to prove it, and it is also a sport with a lot of people trying to make their living off of public resources by promoting those resources well beyond their capacity. Add that to increases in population and more people with time to be on the water, e.g., retirees, and it's a recipe for disaster.

  10. #20
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    Jan 2005
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    Sacramento
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    Hey Bubz...., Don't be knockin' the retirees.... (I am one ) Actually, I understand the issue as I've seen it on other rivers (one in Oregon) , as well. I suppose the "....retirees...." comment applies to the retirement of the great number of "baby boomers" coming down the road and is valid. However, as a long time Streelheader in California, I guess I've become used to crowds; not like you've described tho.

    Please correct me if I'm wrong, I think Jay may (indirectly) be making the point that instead of complaining, maybe we should be trying to suggest/advocate solutions to problems of this type.

    Not sure what could be done. But, if we're keeping the welfare of the fish in mind, there're some obvious suggestions that may or may not be acceptable. Here's some for discussion purposes:

    1) Limit access to the water through a permit process.

    2) Ban the use of drift boats on specified portions of the river (especially in low water years).

    3) Limit the number of drift boats on the river at any given time.

    4) Eliminate the use of bait of any sort in the river.

    There're many others that come to mind but hopefully, many of you will cover those in your own suggestions.

    Having made these suggestions, I can see many objections from guides and all other types of fisherman to each. However, I don't intend to list them here.

    So, lets hear your suggestions....
    "America is a country which produces citizens who will cross the ocean to fight for democracy but won't cross the street to vote."

    Author unknown

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