That was crazy! The end of another season on the Trinity.

I'm just about finished on the Trinity and looking forward to the great fishing the Lower Sacramento River offers in March and April. I really had a great time on the Trinity this season and what a season it was! November kicked off the festivities with a bang! I really had to just accept that as long as the Trinity receives 41, 000 steelhead by the end of December, it will continue to be a destination spot for every angler and fishing guide in the USA for many years to come. If you can come in December, January or February and can handle some cold weather, do it. November is really very crowded on the Trinity, but the fishing can be super excellent! The Lower Sac may be a better option for November if getting away from the crowds is your idea of a good experience. Did you know that the Lower Sac has offered some pretty good steelhead fishing in recent years? Nothing wrong with fishing for trout with a few steelhead mixed in. Hard to beat the Trinity though. Just ask me. I really had second thoughts about the Trinity this past November. Fishing the Trinity in November can make an angler desperate. For example more and more anglers are resorting to pre-dawn starts, Navy Seal style, just to insure they get in place to catch fish! A whole stretch of river can be populated before sunrise! If you ever see me doing this, shoot me because I have gone insane and I'm miserable. Put me out of my misery! On a side note, don't be cranky on the water! I have had anglers yell at me because I was fishing downstream of them on a day when there's hardly any water to fish! One guy shared his insight with me by explaining to me that since I was in a boat, I had the river to myself, and should not fish within site of him. Okay. This is river rage folks. On crowded days, the rules are fuzzy. The key is be reasonable. Let a guy catch a fish and don't be evil & greedy. Give an angler plenty of space, but don't be surprised if someone starts fishing downstream of you. It happens to me everyday on crowded days and I expect it to happen. There's plenty of other rivers to go steelhead fishing on. I'll share when the crowds have got you down. In hind sight, in spite of all the jockeying that went on last fall, I can't remember any day where we walked away empty handed. December was a happier month for me though. More fish started to spread out up through Douglas City and Lewiston and so, all of us anglers spread out as well. Finding some peace and solitude was possible at last. January brought a ton of snow and sent most anglers home. Worked for me. I canceled only one day this season due to rain. It snowed more than most can remember. I nearly spent the night at Browns Mtn. access because I got stuck in the snow. If it wasn't for a good Samaritan with a tow chain, I would have waited until the next day to get out. I'm thinking about installing a wench on the front of my truck. The fishing all through January was very good. Even when it snowed, the fishing was great! Exceptional numbers of fish continued to find there way to the net of every guide I know. I lost count every single day while reminding guests that this day may be the best steelhead day of their lives. One of my guests told me that I explained this to him last year. Fishing has been good on the Trinity. Next year may be a more traditional story of the one or two we had on. I remember when 8 fish was a big number day on the Trinity. I would loose no sleep if the fishing slowed down, but in reality I think the Trinity is fishing more like it might have if we could go back in time 200+ years. All coastal rivers flooded with steelhead not to mention salmon and I suppose an angler would catch tremendous numbers of fish on the best days. These fish have to show up for us to catch them. If we should thank anyone, thank Cal Trout and all those who fought to keep water in the Trinity. February is my favorite month on the Trinity. In February, the fish are more spread out, there are fewer of them, but they are usually wild, big and fight the hardest. The water color is misty green and river levels are up. The hook ups are earned in February where in November they, the steelhead (and anglers), tend to hold in pods. In February, the crowds are gone and I can have a whole stretch of river to myself. The days are getting longer and rarely do we have to race the fading light of day to get to the last run. On some days, the sun shines warm and there's plenty of bug activity. When I return next November, I will be thinking about February 2009, but enjoying the fishing that surley will be great all through December and January. Just gotta make it to February, then I can have the Trinity back.