Wintertime Trout…

Winter is not officially here <yet> but I’ll tell ya… it’s here.

It has been cold, wet, and awesome. I love it. We need it. And, I hope these storm systems keep lining up and rolling into northern California. We have a long way to go - and lot more needed to get there.

Two rivers are my favorite choices right now: the Lower Sacramento (trout & stlhd) and the Trinity River (stlhd). Both have been good-to-great depending on the day and the usual variables.

The Lower Sac flows are wintertime low at 3,000cfs. The bwo mayflies are coming off steady in the late afternoons presenting opportunities for dry and dry/dropper fishing. The cloudy/rainy are best. Don’t be afraid of a little weather. Dress properly for it and you’ll have a more comfortable time. Redding winters are not too bad… this is California, after all.

The Trinity River on the other hand has been COLD. Just over the Buckhorn Summit from Redding and one County over, the Trinity drainage is like another planet. It’s cold, damp and dark right now.

Having good winter fishing gear is clutch… bring your warmest clothes and don’t skimp on buying quality gear. Quality waders, Gore-Tex, merino wool layers, goose down, Polartec, etc…. Having good quality, fishing specific clothing makes the difference between comfortable or miserable. Let me know if you have any questions on what to where to stay warm and happy while steelhead fishing.

As for the river report… it’s classic steelheading right now. Every day is different. There are steelhead throughout the entire river from Lewiston all the way to Del Loma and we have had some really good days of fishing followed by some real head scratchers.

With these current storms along with snow in the mountains I expect the river to finally bump a bit in the coming days. So far the rain has been light and the dry ground is absorbing most of it. This will change as the earth gets saturated and the lower elevation snow begins to melt… either by rain or the next sunny days.

I expect the Trinity River will be in pretty good shape real soon. We could possibly see some of the best steelhead fishing for what’s left of the fall season - once the river has a chance to get big for a few days. Stay tuned.

Currently, I have open:

December 15, 16, 19 or 20, 29, 30

January 4-6, 9-13, 30, 31

February 1, 2, 13-17, 21, 24, 27, 28

Don’t sit on the couch. Let’s get out for some winter-run steelhead or big trout this winter!