South Fork Trinity River

Fishing the South Fork Trinity River

The South Fork is the Trinity's long tributary, a river that joins the main stem by Salyer, right beside Highway 299. For anglers it comes in two pieces a long drive apart: the lower river, from Surprise Creek and Todd Ranch down to the confluence, and an upper reach around Hyampom, from Hyampom Bridge at the mouth of Hayfork Creek up to Mule Bridge. The main Trinity River has its own page. The upper reach tops out at Mule Bridge, a hiker suspension bridge reached by steep Gates Road, where a trail drops to heavy riffles and holes that hold fish well. Coming down, Big Slide Camp sits above riffles, deep holes and a tailout, with a long flat stretch and several creek mouths just below it. Salmon Rock looks down on a deep salmon hole from a rock point, and Little Rock Picnic Area has mostly riffles with salmon holes downstream and open gravel to stand on. Around Hyampom the river widens and flattens over gravel bars, with riffles at the Hayfork Creek mouth and fly riffles at Hyampom Bridge, where drift boats can put in on the north side. Road distances on this reach are counted from Hyampom Bridge and the Hyampom Post Office. On the lower river, Surprise Creek is one of the prettiest spots on the fork, a big hole and tailout above a long pool over submerged rocks, 2 miles up a forest road. Todd Ranch, about 10 miles in from Highway 299 behind a gate, is isolated, with a tailout upstream and pocket water below. Closer to the highway a dirt truck road reaches a deeper stretch, Sandy Bar offers riffles, holes and plenty of wading, and at the South Fork Bridge, Hlel-Din, a gentle trail leads down to the confluence. This is salmon and steelhead water. Salmon settle into the deep holes and eddies, at places like Salmon Rock, Little Rock and Big Slide Camp, while steelhead spread out through the riffles and runs. Timing follows the runs up the Trinity, so plan around the current season dates rather than a fixed calendar. Fly anglers work the riffles and tailouts, wading or casting from a gravel bar, and the Hyampom riffles suit a fly best. Bait and lures go into the deep holes and runs, often from rocks, as at Truck Road and Mule Bridge. Most of the fork is bank and wade water, and low flows open it up: at Little Rock you can wade across to the far gravel, and at the confluence the main stem holes become wadeable. Many of the roads are narrow, steep, gated or soft at the edge, so leave RVs and trailers behind on most of it. Regulations change and differ by section, so check the current California regulations before you go.