Trinity River Spey Trips

B.C. in Your Backyard

If we were to design a river with great numbers of fish, a diversity of water types, natural beauty, dependable fishing conditions, and make it the perfect size for beginner spey casters, it would probably look a lot like the Trinity River. Steelhead hold in many water types on the Trinity that can be fished effectively with a two-handed rod. The river is small enough that even beginner spey casters can almost reach the far bank in a lot of prime runs. Every year we get dozens of spey anglers into their first spey rod steelhead ever on the Trinity. Experienced spey casters have a good shot at hooking multiple fish each day.

Recent Trinity River Fishing Reports

I spent the last two days guiding buddies Steve and Ron from the Bay Area.  My plan of staying away from other anglers worked great, except it also kept us away from most of the fish!  We saw no other anglers or boats on day 1 and managed to land a couple of nice wild fish.  Day 2 was fishless except for a lengthy battle with one nice adult fish.  The river is in great shape and I heard better reports from other areas of the river.

I was on the Trinity today with guests Richard and his nephew Martin. This was Martin’s first time on the Trinity and what an experience he had! He hooked and landed a wild half-pounder within seconds of his very first cast. After backing up to the top of the run, Martin hooked and landed a beautiful wild buck on his second cast! I tried to explain steelheading is NOT this easy – but after another few drifts, he hooked and landed another wild half-pounder! There was a lot of boat pressure today and despite working very hard, Richard and Martin were not rewarded with any more hook-ups.  The flows are back to pre-storm levels. A weak storm is expected tomorrow afternoon, but the next series of storms will arrive late next week and look to bring some measureable rain.

I had a great day on the Trinity River today with guests Curtis and Howard.  The river has already dropped down to base flows after our storm last week but there is still a little hint of color in the water.  We found fish throughout our float today and they were definitely moving to the fly.  We hooked almost all of them on our first pass through each run.  We caught a couple of smaller fish, but the rest were all in the 4-8 pound range.  Listening to reports from other guides, it sounds like fishing is good from Lewiston down to Pigeon Point.

Trinity River Guide Availability

For more Trinity River dates, please visit our Online Booking page!

Gear Recommendations for the Trinity River

Rods, Reels & Lines: The most commonly used spey rods on the Trinity River are 5 and 6wt rods. Lighter and heavier rods will work also, but might not be as well matched to the size of the river or the fish. Come prepared with scandi lines and versi-leaders for fishing near the surface and also skagit lines with MOW tips for fishing a little deeper. Switch rods can also work really well on the Trinity, especially in the upper reaches where the river is smaller.

Leaders & Tippet: We usually fish 8 or 10# maxima. When fishing floating lines, a 10ft 8# steelhead leader will do the trick.

Waders & Boots: We use chest-high breathable waders on the Trinity. Spiked wading boots are not necessary. Make sure to bring your own wading belt. Occasionally in September and early October it is warm enough to wet wade.

Flies:

• Perpetrator, all colors
• Hoh Bo Speys
• Silver Hilton, 6
• Brindle Bug, 6
• Egg Sucking String Leech, 4
• Silveynator, black & orange

Lodging & Travel Info

Please visit our Weaverville page for hotel and restaurant recommendations and ideas about other things to see and do while you're in Weaverville! The Straw House in Big Bar is another good choice for lodging if you are planning to fish the lower portions of the river.