Triple digit weather for all of last week was great for rafters and sun bathers but hard on fishing. Last week was a doosee. It was HOT all week and into the nights like Redding and Red Bluff. The good part is that we are in for a cooling down for the next week or so. If the predicted weather for the coming week is correct this will be good for the Upper Trinity fishing. If the Junction City Weir counts are correct a big slug of spring salmon made it up the last week of June and the first week of July. The weirs usually count between 5% and 10% of the fish moving through. That would mean there are a good number of spring salmon in the upper river. Now fishing for them has been hard due to the heat but with the prospect of cooler weather could mean some good salmon fishing. Remember you can only have one (1) hatchery salmon per day with only two (2) in possession. (Any size counts 1 fish per day)

With the triple digit heat this last week life in the valley has been difficult to say the least. You get up at 5:30 or 6:00am in the morning in order to get any work done and then quit by 10:00/11:00am and try to find a place to cool off. Usually the river! If you are going to go fishing it is even earlier as once the sun hits the water you are done. Go home or back to camp and take a nap.

With the heat we have another problem. Warmer water! The river in Hoopa has been registering in the low 70s to mid 70s, which is bad for salmon. Salmon need cooler water and have to find cold-water incoming streams or deep holes to cool down. Its either that or die!  

Junction City weir summary: Julian week 27 ending the week of July 8, 2021 for Spring-Run Chinook salmon; 2- jacks, season total 42, 16- adults, total of 18, season total of 557; Coho salmon, 0 jacks, season total 0, 0 adults, season total 0; steelhead, 1- 1/2lber, 8-adults, for total of 9, season total 42; Brown trout 0, season total 6.

Fishing: The triple digit heat has really been hard on fishing for the past week. People are just not going out to fish therefore I am not getting very much information about the river. Sorry, but without incoming info I can’t pass on the news. 

Mid-Klamath to Happy Camp: The Klamath River at Weitchpec is flowing 2,243cfs. This is a decrease of 235cfs. Iron Gate Dam is releasing 952cfs. I am not hearing about much fishing in the Upper Klamath at this time due to the heat but the low releases are not in the best interest of fishing for the upper river. Usually, it is good trout fishing and the fly fishers are having a blast. Let’s hope next week will be better when it cools down.

Lake Conditions: Whiskeytown is 99% of capacity (an increase of 1%) with inflows of 2,026cfs and releasing 2,352cfs in to Spring Creek. Shasta Lake is 36% of capacity (a decrease of 2% minus 5ft) with inflows of 3,169cfs and releasing 6,994cfs into Keswick. Keswick is 96% (an increase of 4%) with inflows of 9,076cfs and releasing 9,302cfs into the Sacramento River. Oroville Lake is 30% of capacity (a decrease of12% minus 10ft) with inflows of 1,371cfs with releases of 5,311cfs into the Feather River. Folsom Lake is 28% of capacity (a decrease of 1% minus 2ft) with inflows of 1,286cfs with releases of 1,178cfs into the American river.

Trinity Lake: The lake is 103ft below the overflow (an increase of 15ft) and 45% of capacity (a decrease of 2%) with inflows of 156cfs and releasing 2,352cfs into Lewiston Lake with 2,241cfs being diverted to Whiskeytown Lake and on to Keswick Power Plant, which is releasing 9,302cfs into the Sacramento River.

Trinity River flows and conditions: Lewiston Dam is 92% of capacity (an increase of 1%) and water releases are 461cfs into the Trinity River, with water temperatures of 52.1 degrees, as of 12:30pm today Sunday July 11, 2021. Limekiln Gulch is 4.89ft at 421cfs. Douglas City is N/Aft with flows of N/Acfs. with air temps of N/a and water temperatures of N/A degrees. Junction City is 1.91ft at 434cfs. Helena is 8.42ft at 479cfs with water temps of 67.4 degrees. Cedar Flat (Burnt Ranch) is 2.62ft at 492cfs. South Fork of the Trinity near Hyampom is 1.02ft at 60cfs. Willow Creek is estimated at 552cfs and air is 91 degrees and water at 72 degrees. Hoopa is 11.27ft at 676cfs and water is 76.4 degrees.

Water flows at the mouth of the Trinity River at the Klamath in Weitchpec are estimated to be 2,243cfs a decrease of 235cfs.

Klamath River flows and conditions: Iron Gate is releasing 952cfs. Seiad Valley is 1.89ft at 1,055cfs. Happy Camp is estimated at 1,133cfs, Somes Bar is estimated to be 2,499cfs, and the Salmon River is 1.55ft at 203cfs. Orleans is 2.18ft at 1,567cfs, the Klamath River at Terwer Creek is 8.10ft at 2.126cfs and water temps are 74.1 degrees. Flows for the Smith River at Jed Smith are 4.79ft with flows of 280cfs. and flows at Dr. Fine Bridge are 11.69ft at N/A cfs.   

Temperatures for the Valley last week had a high of 107 and a low of 57 degrees. Rain for the week was 0.00in with a water year total to date of 45.11 inches and 1.5in of snow in Willow Creek. The predicted weather for next week is high of 102 and a low of 58. The predicted weather for next week is expected to be cooler which will be a relief.