Today I had my first time on the Trinity River since I became a full time resident of Trinity County. There was only about 4 feet visibility because of a slide near the fish hatchery on Thursday. Above is a picture of paradise, also known as the stretch of river near Junction City with my line in the water for proof (access #72). I fished for 30 minutes moving through 100 yards of a glide / riffle area. I was totally exhausted after 30 minutes and had to stop and rest several times on my way to my van.
I moved several miles upstream and found a nice glide about 5 feet deep with a shoreline that allowed easy wading (access #75). I was exhausted and unable to fish more than a couple of minutes. However, I did get a lot of information from several guides who floated downstream.
Each guide described “a lot of fish in the river” and a “good day” of fishing for their clients. A guide from The Flyshop in Redding stated that they “hammered the fish all morning”. Evidently the steelhead have arrived in the Junction City area and above and below.
Unfortunately I was exhausted to the point of distraction, unable to move very far along the river without taking a knee and resting. So, I am in good enough shape to fish only one riffle per day. I will get in shape through fishing, although my thighs are screaming in pain right now 🙂
I’ll rest tomorrow and head out on Monday. The fish are here and I will happily chase them as soon as possible.
