From Willow Creek

by

E.B. Duggan
530-629-3554
yen2fish@yahoo.com

Websites:

www.willowcreekchamber.com,
www.fishtrinity.com, www.myoutdoorbuddy.com

Trinity Lake is 100 feet below the over flow and 46.6 percent of capacity. Average inflow to the lake is 105 cfs and 1,593 cfs is being released to the Sacramento River. Trinity River at Lewiston is 468 cfs, water temps of 50.6, air 62 degrees at 1:00 p.m. Limekiln Gulch is 4.8ft and 435 cfs. Douglas City is 2.2ft and 420 cfs; water at 54, air 62. Helena/North Fork is 14.1ft. and 570 cfs, water is 55.5, air 62 degrees. Cedar Flat is 3.5ft and 728 cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 877 cfs, water at 59, air 68 degree. Hoopa is 12.3ft and 1,270 cfs; water at 61.5. Mouth of Trinity River at Klamath is 3,920 cfs, water at 62 degrees. Klamath River releases at Iron Gate are 1,020 cfs. Seiad Valley is 2.6ft and 1,630 cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 2,000cfs. Somes Bar is estimated at 2,476 cfs. Orleans is 4.2ft and 2,650 cfs. Klamath at 101 is 9.8ft and 5,440 cfs; water is 62.5.

Last week’s temperatures for the Trinity Valley were 88/42 degrees with 1.75 inches of rain. This is the first rain of the NEW season and it starts us off with1.75 inches of rain for the season. Forecasts for next week in the valley are for 73/40 with some clouds in the mornings until Wednesday then sunny days for the rest of the week. Yea we got our cool down.

Trinity River Hatchery Spring Chinook counts for the spring run 1,489 fish. This is a good count but not a great number.

The Junction City Weir counts show a total of 208 to date of Chinook. The J.C. weir only counted 5 Salmon this past week, 0 Steelhead and 2 German Brown Trout. The Brown Trout count is about 1/3 of last years count.

The Willow Creek weir counts kind of faltered these last two weeks but we should see a great increase very soon do to the weather change. Sept. 30th count: 142-jacks; 146-adults for a total of 289 for the week Total count for W.C. to date is 1,676, last year this time 762, a litter better than double for Chinook. The Coho count has really jumped up for a total of 71 vs. 3for last year at this time. The Steelhead count is about 1/4th of last years count at 416 vs. 1,627.

The creel count for the Fall Chinook Angler Harvest for the Lower Klamath River, Sept. 30: below Hiwy. 101: 13-jacks and 35 adults for a total of 701. Above Hiwy. 101: 233-jacks and 301 adults for a total of 1,713. The Lower Klamath has a total of 2,064 Adult Chinook against the quota for the 2008 Salmon harvest of 2,064 leaving 9,186 yet to be harvested. A total of 1,256 Steelhead have been caught and released in the Lower Klamath. Last year at this time fishermen had caught and released 2,270 Steelhead. This storm made a huge change in the fishing and I would expect that fishing should really start to get good in the next two weeks.

Fishing on the Upper Trinity was slow this last week as I got very few calls for lots of fish. My buddy and I fished Del Loma yesterday and we only caught a German Brown 18 inches but it tasted very good for dinner. Some of the campers at Del Loma have been starting to catch more Salmon in the last week and I have seen many more fishermen along the river between Cedar Flat and Big Bar. This storm should really help to move more fresh fish into the the upper river.

The Lower Trinity has finally started to see more fish in the lower parts of Hoopa. The Hoopa Gorge down to Weitchpec has come alive and some big fish are finally being pulled out of there. The Hawkins Bar area is still a little slow but that will soon change because fish are moving through Willow Creek. There has been an increase of fishermen fishing below the W.C. Weir with some very nice adults being landed. This tells me that the big fish are here and fishing should be nothing but better. Salmon are hitting roe and large spinners while the Steelhead are going after flies, spinners and spoons. The group of fishermen that were staying up at Hawkins bar said that they were fishing the Hoopa Gorge and have finally started to get into some adults and that they were happy fishermen. They were using #3 Blue Fox spinners and roe.

The Mid-Klamath Weitchpec area is once again the place to be as this picture shows . Anthony Fugazzi subdued his first Klamath River Salmon, it was 22 pounds and he was a very happy boy. The fishermen at E NE NOCK are back into catching salmon with many of them chrome bright. They have been using Mepps and Blue Fox spinners or roe for good results. Fly fishers should be working their trade as there are plenty of ½-pounders in the area also. Orleans and Somes Bar should be seeing these fish very soon if not already.

If you are fishing the Klamath or Trinity and would like to let me know how you did drop me a line, picture or a phone call. Until next time _____

Good Fish’en, Good luck and remember: “Keep your tip up and a tight line lands fish!”

Trinity Lake is 94 feet below the over flow and 49 percent of capacity.
Average inflow to the lake is 42 cfs and 1,627 cfs is being released to the
Sacramento River.
Trinity River at Lewiston is 462 cfs, water temps of 51.2, air 68 degrees at
1:00 p.m. Limekiln Gulch is 4.7ft and 355 cfs. Douglas City is
2.1ft and 430 cfs; water at 54, air 74. Helena/North Fork is 9ft. and 439
cfs, water is 57.9, air 74 degrees. Cedar Flat is
2.9ft and 482 cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 520 cfs, water at 62, air 72
degree. Hoopa is 11.4ft and 702
cfs; water at 65. Mouth of Trinity River at Klamath is 2,370 cfs, water at
65 degrees.
Klamath River releases at Iron Gate are 1,020 cfs. Seiad Valley is 2ft and
1,180 cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,330 cfs. Somes Bar is
estimated at 1,330 cfs. Orleans is 3.3ft and 1,670 cfs. Klamath at 101 is
8.3ft and 2,380 cfs; water is 64.5.

Last week's temperatures for the Trinity Valley were 93/47 degrees with 0.2
inches of rain. Total rain fall for the season is 78.88 inches. Forecasts
for next week in the valley are for 75/46 and partly cloudy in the mornings
with sun in the afternoons. It appears that we just might see a cool down in
next weeks' weather which will start fish moving into and up the Trinity
River.

Trinity River Hatchery Spring Chinook counts to date are 338.

The Junction City Weir counts are really slowing down now as the spring run
of Chinook are entering the Hatchery. The J.C. weir only counted 14 Salmon
this past week. The Willow Creek weir counts are going up in numbers each
week now. Sept. 16th count: 282-jacks; 170-adults for a total of 452 for the
week Total count for W.C. to date Fall Run, 1,139, last year this time 368,
almost 4 times the count.

The creel count for the Fall Chinook Angler Harvest for the Lower Klamath
River, Sept. 16: below Hiwy. 101: 72 jacks and 35 adults for a total of 107.
Above Hiwy. 101: 527 jacks and 508 adults for a total of 1035. The Lower
Klamath has a total of 1,216 Adult Chinook against the quota for the 2008
Salmon harvest of 10,500 leaving 10,034 yet to be harvested. A total of
2,462 Steelhead have been caught and released in the Lower Klamath. Last
year at this time fishermen had caught and released 3,982 Steelhead. If the
weather continues to cooperate and stay cool the Lower Klamath can do
nothing but turn "RED HOT" for fishing in the coming weeks.

Fishing on the Upper Trinity has been slow this last week but that should
change very soon as more fishing are coming through the Hoopa Valley and
with this little bit of rain we got the river and air temperatures are
cooling down. The Del Loma area is seeing more fish up there now and the
Salmon are hitting on roe and tuna balls. Steelhead are taking flies,
spinners and spoons right now but should be going after roe very soon as
there is some spawning going on in the upper river.

The Lower Trinity has been slow but started to get a lot better when the
weather started to cool down. The Hawkins Bar area has been seeing a mix of
Steelhead and Salmon in the last week. Salmon are hitting roe while the
Steelhead are going after flies and spinners. Ave Graham of Trinity village
caught and released a nice 8lb native Steelie yesterday. He said that it was
the largest native Iron Head he had ever caught. He was using a #3 gold Blue
Fox. Fishermen have also been fishing the big Salmon hole out in front of my
house the last couple of days but I haven't seen many caught yet. Down in
the Hoopa valley fishermen have really been working the river. Most of them
were fly fishing. I got a very good report today that many fish were seen
down in the Hoopa Gorge and the Indians that have nets down there were
starting to get some large adult Salmon. This is good news because all we
have been seeing here in Willow Creek is a lot of jacks.

The Mid-Klamath is once again the place to be as a fresh batch of Salmon and
Iron Heads right behind them, showed up in the stretch from Johnston to
Weitchpec. Spinners, Blue Fox and Mepps, were getting the job done for most
fishermen although fly fishermen were doing fair on red Eureka Herniators in
the mid morning. Slate and Bluff Creeks were also seeing some good action so
it shouldn't be long before Orleans and Somes Bar should see these same
fish. Until next time _____

Good Fish'en, Good luck and remember: "Keep your tip up and a tight line
lands fish!"

Trinity Lake is 91 feet below the over flow and 50.3 percent of capacity.
Average inflow to the lake is 163 cfs and 1,738 cfs is being released to the
Sacramento River.
Trinity River at Lewiston is 458 cfs, water temps of 52, air 87 degrees at
1:00 p.m. Limekiln Gulch is 4.8ft and 400 cfs. Douglas City is
2.1ft and 425 cfs; water at 54.8, air 92. Helena/North Fork is 9ft. and 430
cfs, water is 54.8, air 89 degrees. Cedar Flat is
2.9ft and 480 cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 522 cfs, water at 62, air 88
degree. Hoopa is 11.4ft. and 682 cfs; water at 69. Mouth of Trinity River at
Klamath is 3,022 cfs, water at 68 degrees.
Klamath River releases at Iron Gate are 1,020 cfs. Seiad Valley is 2ft. and
1,150 cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,245 cfs. Somes Bar is
estimated at 1,390 cfs. Orleans is 4.3ft. and 2,340 cfs. Klamath at 101 is
8.3ft. and 2,380 cfs; water is 67.

Last week's temperatures for the Trinity Valley were 90/52 degrees with no
rain and lots of sun. Total rain fall for the season is 78.65 inches.
Forecasts for next week in the valley are for 83/46 and partly cloudy in the
mornings. It appears that we just might see a cool down in next weeks'
weather. This could start fish moving up the Trinity by mid week hopefully.

The Junction City Weir counts are slowing down as the Spring run of Chinook
are entering the Hatchery now so there is not a large count of fish going
through at this time. On the other hand the Willow Creek weir counts are
starting to go up in numbers. Sept. 9th count: 203-jacks; 87-adults for a
total of 29 for the week Total count for W.C. to date Fall Run, 687, last
year this time 261.

The creel count for the Fall Chinook Angler Harvest for the Lower Klamath
River, Sept. 9: below Hiwy. 101: 159 jacks and 80 adults for a total of 239.
Above Hiwy. 101: 440 jacks and 319 adults for a total of 759. The Lower
Klamath has a total of 673 Adult Chinook against the quota for the 2008
Salmon harvest of 10,500. A total of 1,244 Steelhead have been caught and
released in the Lower Klamath. Last year at this time fishermen had caught
and released 326 Steelhead. If the weather takes a turn for the cooler you
can bet fishing on the Lower Klamath is going to turn "RED HOT" as there is
a ton of fish out there ready to come into the river. The good news is that
the Yuroks have harvested their quota of Salmon for their commercial harvest
and have taken out their nets, so the only nets in the Lower Klamath are
those for subsistence fishing.

Fishing on the upper trinity has slowed some what due to the heat and clear
water and the tail end of the spring run is now up at the hatchery. Fishing
the upper part of the river right now will be slow until more of the Fall
Run Chinook make their way into the upper river. Most of the upper river
fishing is starting at the break of day and ends about 10:00am. For those
that want to experience landing some nice sized fish, sardine wrapped
Kwikfish to start the morning is a good bet, then switching to over to roe
or tuna balls as the sun comes up and hits the water. The upper river is
still experiencing a little smoke but not enough to bother you for fishing
unless you have save ire lung problems then I would reconsider my choice of
fishing areas. The best bank fishing is in the deeper holes from Cedar Flat
to Big Bar. In Del Loma there are plenty of good shady areas and I would
look for that type of water for best results.

For the lower Trinity Hawkins Bar area down to Salyer is a good bet for
½-pounders and some exciting jack Salmon fishing. The Willow Creek and Hoopa
areas are seeing some more half-pounders and jack Salmon. The "big boys" are
not in the valley yet but I would not be surprised if there are not a few
here and there. As I said last week behind the Hoopa shopping center is
always a good place to start the morning off fishing. Tish Tang is another
place one should be able to do well as the sun stays off the water until
mid-morning.

The Mid-Klamath has slowed down some and the best fishing is day light to
9:00am due to the hot weather. As the weather cools Johnston to Weitchpec is
going to be the place to be for fishing. Last week I reported that my buddy
down in Weitchpec caught and released a 17lb wild Steelhead, well that was a
bad mistake on my part because that fish was a Hatchery fish and John took
it back to camp. Sorry John! Behind Parsons' store there are several very
good deep holes that should produce some very good fishing for the interim
if one is healthy enough to make the hike back out with a couple of adult
salmon in tow. Remember that down there you should have good fishing in the
mornings or the high tide flows. I would say spinners or spoons should do
the trick but roe will work if that is your choice. Spinners are #3's or #4
Blue Fox, #9 or 16 Panther Martins or #4's or #5 Mepps. I would also
recommend that you throw a few Little Cleo's in 3/8 - ½ and 2/5oz silver
/blue or silver/orange are always a good color to try. Until next time _____

Good Fish'en, Good luck and remember: "Keep your tip up and a tight line
lands fish!"

Trinity Lake is 88 feet below the over flow and 51.4 percent of capacity.
Average inflow to the lake is 21 cfs and 1,934 cfs is being released to the
Sacramento River.
Trinity River at Lewiston is 450 cfs, water temps of 51.3, air 75 degrees at
11:00 a.m. Limekiln Gulch is 4.ft. and 400 cfs. Douglas City is
2.1ft. and 418 cfs; water at 55.3, air 84. Helena/North Fork is 9ft. and 445
cfs, water is 59, air 80. Cedar Flat is 2.9ft. and 482 cfs. Willow Creek is
estimated at 524 cfs, water at 63, air 82 degree. Hoopa is 11.4ft. and 697
cfs; water at 69. Mouth of Trinity River at Klamath is 2,377 cfs, water at
69 degrees.
Klamath River releases at Iron Gate are 1,020 cfs. Seiad Valley is 2ft. and
1,140 cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,240 cfs. Somes Bar is estimated at
1,400 cfs. Orleans is 3.3ft. and 1,680 cfs. Klamath at 101 is 8.3ft. and
2,400 cfs; water is 67.

Last week's temperatures for the Trinity Valley were 97/44 degrees with no
rain. Total rain fall for the season is 78.65 inches. Forecasts for next
week in the valley are for about the same with some morning clouds and very
sunny afternoons. The weather is trying to be like "Indian Summer" but
almost. The last couple of days have been very hot in the afternoons but
cooling down at night. More like fall weather except for the hot afternoons.
The river is starting to heat up again which could bring on more moss, which
we don't need.

The Junction City Weir counts have really slowed down for Spring Chinook and
Steelhead but showing a fair amount of German Brown still going up river.
The Willow Creek weir counts are starting to go up. To me this indicates
that the weir is starting to see the beginning if the Fall Run, now mind you
the main part of the run is still down in the Klamath.

The creel count for the Fall Chinook Angler Harvest for the Lower Klamath
above the 101 bridge seems the place to fish. Sept. 2 below Hiwy. 101: 21
jacks and 28 adults for a total of 49 for the week and a total of 76 to
date. Above Hiwy. 101: 315 jacks and 133 adults for a total of 448. The
Lower Klamath has a total of 198 Adult Chinook against the quota for the
Salmon harvest. The fishermen down there have also released 1,084
½-pounders. Where are all you fly fishers, this sounds like a fly fisher's
dream to me.

Fishing has slowed due to the heat and clear water. If the weather cools
down some I would think that Salmon and Steelhead fishing would improve
quite a bit. Most of the upper river fishing is starting at the break of day
so it is an early morning fish for those that want to experience landing
some nice sized fish. Its still sardine wrapped Kwikfish to start and roe as
the sun comes up over the ridges. There is still a little smoke on the upper
river but not enough to make fishing a bad experience. Bank fishers are now
starting to work the big deep hopes farther down river above and below Del
Loma with some good results. I see most fishing form the bank in the early
mornings, I am not sure what they are using but to me it appears to be red
or natural cured roe.

Now that the Grays and Burnt Ranch Falls area from Hawkins Bar Bridge up to
the Cedar Flat Bridge is closed to fishing the new fishing regulations for
the Trinity are in affect which means that you can catch 3-Salmon of which
only 2 can be an adult over 22 inches. You can have 9-Chinook in possession
with 6-adults if have been fishing the correct amount of days. Remember this
is NOT on a seven(7) day basis like the old regulations allowed, so you have
to either eat or give your extra Salmon away so you can fish some more.

The Willow Creek and Hoopa areas of the Lower Trinity are now seeing some
more half-pound Steelhead as they start their trek up river. Red Rock up to
the shopping center in Hoopa is a good place to start fishing for them. A
few of my favorite flies to use while fishing for ½-pounders are: Burlap
Special, 10-8; Golden Stone bead head-rubber legs & Black rubber legs, 10-8;
Brindle Bug 10-8; Mossback w/grey hackle 10-8; Eureka Herniator, green-red &
copper, 6-8-10; plain & bead head grey Woolley Buggers, 6-8-10. Of course
there are many other patterns the will work and especially flies that use
peacock hurl. I use wet flies on the swing or dead drift but that is me so
feel free to try some thing else if you desire.

The Mid-Klamath from Johnson up to Somes Bar has come alive. There are fresh
fish almost every day coming into Weitchpec. My buddy John down there has
been doing very well fishing for Steelhead and Salmon. Two weeks ago he
landed 31lb Salmon and this past week he caught and released a 17lb Wild
Steelhead using a #5 Mepps spinner. He said that is the larges Steelhead he
has ever caught in the 48 years he has been fishing the Klamath. To go along
with the Steelhead John also landed a 19lbs. fall run Chinook. I think I am
going down to Weitchpec and see if John will give me a few fishing lessons.
The great thing is that he is not the only one down there who is landing
some great fish. Gary Gripp landed a 13lb Steelhead using a Panther Martin
spinner while Gary Moravec was able to land a nice 24lb Salmon. All I can
say is that fishing in that area of the Klamath has to be good fishing.
There has been a good run of half-pounders down a Young's Bar and up by the
Orleans Bridge. I would imagine that fishing around Aikens, Bluff or Slate
Creeks should be about the same. This tells me that fly fishing should be
really hot in that area. So why are we not seeing or hearing about fly
fishers doing 20 or 30 fish days from that area? Good question, I think they
were scared away by the reports of all the fires and smoke. Of course that
is just my opinion. Until next time -------

Good Fish'en, Good luck and remember: "Keep your tip up and a tight line
lands fish!"