Trinity River

Fishing the Trinity River

The Trinity is the largest tributary of the Klamath River, a big freestone river that runs through Trinity County to meet the Klamath at Weitchpec. Its anadromous reach ends at Lewiston Dam (river mile 110), which has blocked about 109 miles of upstream habitat since 1963. CDFW's Trinity River Hatchery sits at the base of the dam to make up for that lost habitat. It releases roughly 450,000 steelhead and 4.6 million salmon each year, supporting both conservation goals and a well-known sport fishery. The hatchery near Lewiston is open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and has an underwater viewing window. Below Lewiston, Highway 299 follows the river past Douglas City, Junction City and Big Bar to Del Loma. From Del Loma down to Cedar Flat, 8 road miles, the river spreads over gravel bars with fly riffles, tailouts and long pools. Below Cedar Flat it drops into a deep canyon past Burnt Ranch and Burnt Ranch Falls to Gray Falls, with salmon holes at the foot of steep campground trails. From Gray Falls it opens again past Hawkins Bar and Salyer, and the South Fork comes in just below Salyer. Willow Creek is 5 miles on; from there Highway 96 follows the river 23 miles to Weitchpec. Below Willow Creek it squeezes through Horse Linto Canyon and Tish Tang Gorge, widens through the Hoopa Valley at the Trinity River Bridge, then runs as big water through the Trinity River Canyon below Red Rock to the Klamath. From Weitchpec up through Hoopa the river crosses the Hoopa Valley reservation, which has its own tribal rules and permits; check with the tribe before fishing there. On the South Fork, the lower river runs from Surprise Creek and Todd Ranch to its mouth near Salyer, and the upper reach from Hyampom Bridge, at Hayfork Creek, up to Mule Bridge. Spring-run Chinook enter the lower Klamath in late March and April and reach the upper Trinity from mid-May through early July. They hold in deep pools until they spawn around mid-September, and CDFW says they provide most of the river salmon fishing. Fall-run Chinook push into the Klamath estuary in mid to late August and reach the upper river by early October. Steelhead return from about November through March, and half-pounders work the riffles near Salyer and Hawkins Bar. Coho salmon also run here from October through December, but they are state endangered and federally threatened, and anglers may not keep them. If you must release a coho, identify it by its black jaw and white-to-grey gums. Salmon hold in deep holes and eddies, fished with bait, spinners and plugs from the rocks or a drift boat; steelhead sit in riffles, runs and tailouts, where the fly water is. You need a Steelhead Report Card to fish for steelhead, and a separate salmon report card for the Klamath-Trinity system. Seasons, limits and gear rules change and vary by reach, so check the current California freshwater regulations before every trip.