18 April 23 , 2021 VOL . 40 • ISS . 8
FRESHWATER REPORTS :
CONTINUED FROM PG 17
TRINITY RIVER cont .
on the expected amount of water available to support salmon restoration efforts on the Trinity River . Due to lack of precipitation and snowpack in the Trinity Mountains this winter , the flow schedule for 2021 is scaled to a critically dry water year . Critically dry is one of five water year types used by the Trinity River Restoration Program to decide how much reservoir water will be released in support of the program ’ s goals to improve habitat for anadromous fish — fish that migrate to fresh water
W
FRESHWATER
from salt water to spawn — like salmon and steelhead . This year marks the third critically dry year in the last five years for the Trinity watershed . The planned release schedule attempts to maximize benefits to the physical and biological character of the Trinity River , given the constraints of the limited amount of water available . Key components of the flow release schedule are : April 16-17 : Increase daily average flows from 300 cubic feet per second to 1,300 cfs April 21 : Decrease flows to 500 cfs April 23 : Increase flows to 1,500 cfs April 28 : Increase flows to peak release of 3,550 cfs
Thereafter , two additional flow increases to 1,950 cfs on May 6 and 1,600 cfs on May 28 are scheduled before flow decreases to summer baseflow ( 450 cfs ) on June 18 , which continues until September 30 . Visitors near or on the river can expect river levels to increase during the flow releases and should take appropriate safety precautions . Landowners are advised to clear personal items from the floodplain prior to the releases . A daily schedule of flow releases is available at the program ’ s website www . trrp . net / restore / flows / current /. The public may subscribe to automated notifications of Trinity River release changes ( via phone or email ) at https :// www . trrp . net / restoration / flows / flow-release-notifications /. The Trinity Management Council is the governing body of the Trinity River Restoration Program . The council ’ s membership includes Hoopa Valley Tribe , Yurok Tribe , Trinity County , State of California , USDA-Forest Service , US Fish and Wildlife Service , NOAA Fisheries , and the Bureau of Reclamation . For additional information , visit https :// www . trrp . net / or contact the office at 530-623-1800 ( TTY 800-877-8339 ) info @ trrp . net .
Early April Trout fishing at Lake Shasta
e decided to take an early spring trip to Lake Shasta the first week of April . Bridget Looney and I went up on Friday afternoon and got a nice cabin at Sugarloaf Resort in Lakehead . We put the Rogue Jet Coastal 21 in the water about 3 pm and headed out for an evening ride . The weather was gorgeous , clear , warm and very calm . The lake level is way down – 90 feet or so – but the water is very clear and looks great . The water temperature was 54 degrees in the mornings and up to 60 in the afternoon . We trolled for a couple of hours on Friday afternoon with no interest from the trout ! We parked the boat in one of Sugarloaf ’ s slips and went back to the cabin . We had a great dinner of barbequed lamb at Sugarloaf cabin # 12 overlooking the Sacramento arm of Shasta in the glow of the evening . Saturday
We were just about to move when we caught another rainbow at 19 feet on a blue / silver Humdinger off the Canon downriggers
By Paul Kneeland
we were heading out of the boat slip about 8 am . We ran down the Sacramento arm to Bass Cove on the main body and started trolling . I put out the Big Jon side planers and put out a red / white Tasmanian Devil on one and a blue silver Mag Lip 2.5 on the other . We caught 2 nice rainbows on side planers with the Tasmanian Devil at 2.3 mph . We were just about to move when we caught another rainbow at 19 feet on a blue / silver Humdinger off the Canon downriggers . It was a pretty slow bite . We moved to the dam near the Centamudi boat ramp and trolled out past the dam . The only luck there was a nice bass that hit a red / black / white Excel spoon off the downriggers . Then we headed to the McCloud arm where we picked up a 14-inch king salmon on the same Excel spoon at 50 feet deep . That was it for the day , biggest rainbow was about 19 inches . When I cleaned
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Bridget Looney shows off a nice pair of Lake Shasta rainbows caught on Speedy Shiners in the Sacramento arm in early April . photo by Paul Kneeland the rainbows , they were all chuck full of black bugs – looked like ants or something . The water was very calm most of the day and I never saw a fish break water to indicate some sort of hatch . Sunday morning , we fished upstream from the cabin where we caught one bass , lost a downrigger ball and no trout . Then we headed to the gooseneck area of the Sacramento arm and caught 2 rainbows and lost a larger one – all on gold / red and white spotted Speedy Shiners at 20 to 30 feet deep and 2.5 mph . I saw deeper fish on the Lowrance fish finder , but
couldn ’ t get them to bite . We decided to head home at about noon . As usual , Shasta Lake was enticing and beautiful , but the trout didn ’ t cooperate very well . If you want to fish Shasta and stay in comfortable a well-appointed cabin , check out Sugarloaf Cabins in Lakehead . They offer 16 cabins right on the lake , with one , two or 3 bedrooms , full kitchens with utensils and dishes , comfortable beds and bedding , and great patios with barbeques overlooking the lake . For more information , call ( 800 ) 953-4432 or go to www . shastacabins . com .