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Trinity Lake and Reports

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Sunday, June 26th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 68-74

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: We just returned from our 3rd annual family houseboat trip to Tinity Lake, brought our bass boat of course. The fishing was great as usual. We caught(and released)an average of 50+ fish per day, including smallmouth to 5.7 pounds, several 4's and 3's as well. We didn't find any largemouth this year, but did have incidental catches of a nice trout and many blluegill, and pumpkin seeds. Caught most fish dropshoting roboworm reapers, along with some on mega bait jerk baits and crankbaits. We found the best fishing for larger fish occured in the evening, just before dusk, on points located near the main lake (both inside and outside).
    We would like to thank John Gray for being a great steward for the lake. His report are great and have been very helpful to us.
    City: Temple City, Ca

    Tips: Triniy is an AWSOME fishery. We just hope it remains as undisturbed as it seems to be.

Monday, June 20th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 62

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished the last 4 days,three of them in the pouring rain. That rain would be fine in March, but in June it seems to be more miserable than usual. The bite seemed to deteriorate a little more each day as front after front went through. Sunday it finally cleared for the ABA tourney and I experienced the worst bite of the 4 days. It started out hot and we had our limit by 7, but it dropped off quick after that. We ended up with 11.59 which was good enough for one place below a payday. 16+ won it and big fish was over 6. The weather is finally supposed to clear and stabilize and with all the rain the water should keep coming up, so the fishing should improve and, with water temps still cool, should stay good for some time to come. I'll keep you posted.
    City: Weaverville

    Tips: Most of the better fish have been in 20' or so, but the upcoming full moon should pull a number of fish into the shallows.

Wednesday, May 25th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 57-62

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Got out to the lake early this AM and finally got a topwater bite going for a little while. The water temp should be well above 70 this time of year so we are still in a spring pattern. With warm temps this weekend, the lake should transition the fish into a summer pattern, which is evidenced by the number of dinks I caught today. If you are taking a kid fishing and want to turn him on to fishing, fish shallow. The bigger fish are deeper and the bites are much more sporadic. The high winds of the past few days have added a little color to the water which usually clears quickly but with the boat traffic this weekend may stain it back up again. Trinity bass haven't seen a lot of boat traffic and when a busy weekend happens, they often pretty much shut down. So for you serious fishermen, go early no matter how much your head hurts. Start at the top and work your way down. I got bit today on a spook, a Pop-R, a swim bait, a gitzit, a darter head worm, a senko, so bring your favorite technique and enjoy.
    City: Weaverville

    Tips: Take a few minutes to enjoy the incredible scenery every now and then. That's what it's all about.

Thursday, May 19th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 57

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I guess my fears of poor fishing because of dropping lake levels were unfounded. Who would have beleived 8" of rain the first 2 weeks of May. The lake has continued to rise and with warm weather expected combined with lower releases it should keep coming up.
    Went up today not expecting too much after a strong cold front yesterday. The bite was pretty slow at first but when the windy showers would hit the bite picked up considerably. By noon I was picking up 3lb smallies on main lake points. A couple of days of warm weather and the lake will be back in full swing. Best 5 today around 15lbs.
    City: Weaverville

    Tips: As far as seasonal patterns are concerned, what would normally work in early April worked just fine today.

Wednesday, May 18th, 2005

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished Crater Bass tournament last weekend, 5 boats, 12 anglers. Fishing was good, overall. 70 keepers caught in two days, most 2-3 pounds. Several lm, but the vast majoprity of the fish caught were sm. Most of the fish caught were from the tailings, several limits at the ballpark, and one fish up East Fork. Nearly all of the fish were caught on gitzits and Senkos. Lighter colors seemed to produce best on Saturday, and more natural colors on Sunday with the rain and overcast skies. A few fish on cranks, and one or two spinnerbaits early in the morning.
    City: Medford

    Tips: Majority of the fish were in 2-6 feet. Will find some bed fish in the ballpark, but also alot of cruisers. Fish hard and have fun.

Monday, May 2nd, 2005

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    Water Temp: 55 - 60

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished the entire week (5/2 - 5/7) with my "old" team partner from So.Cal, Carl Richards. We had to fisht the elements most of the week, but fishing, as usual, was good to red-hot. But there definitely times when the bite was tough. The key was getting on the soft bite`, even with jigs.

    We fished with John Gray on 5/3; what a super trip. Though fishing was rated fair at best, we were there to learn his techniques that have made him so successful on the lake. But I'll tell you John, it was sure nice to use my bait casting gear after our trip :-) Super guy, great lunch and though we have fished the lake for fifteen years now, we still learned a lot... Thanks John.

    The rest of the week was catching lots of smallmouth and largemouth just short of 4#. We fished south of Trinity Center on Saturday and did as well as we did in the north learning more new areas. And even in the rain and wind, we had some fast and furious flurries.
    City: Eureka, CA

    Tips: Jigs and pro worms

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    Water Temp: 56

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished with a client from Redding. Launched at Trinity Center @0530 started at the ball park I caught thee fish there all ripped 1.5 to 3.5.
    Crossed the lake to my favorite point,no bites went in the back of cove and ripped another 2.5 My client was having a hard time feeling the soft bite, Fished squirrel gluch for only one more but a good one at 4.5. My client was still having a hard time so I took him to look for bedfish up East Fork even when we could see the fish he could not get one. we ended up with 10 fish, the five best was 15.5 #. My client did'nt catch a fish so he is comming back another day for a free trip. out at 1400
    City: Redding

    Tips: fish are on there beds and really spooky

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    Water Temp: 60+

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished with a crew from Novato yesterday. I've mentioned that the fishing has been hot and cold and yesterday was somewhere in between. They didn't get a lot of bites but most of the ones they did get were special. Dad spent most of the day masterfully dragging a gitzit behind the boat and ended up with the first fish, a 3+ smallie, and later, the hat fish, a 5+ LM. John fished a Morning Dawn Pro Worm for big smallie of the day,a smallie well over 4, and pilot Bert kept us all in suspence all day by waiting until the last cast of the day to catch his 3+ smallie. Only 12-15 bites all day for the 3 of them, but their best 5 weighed over 19 lbs. Fishing Trinity can be a lot like police work, hours of boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror, followed by pure joy when that hog is finally in the net. Man I love my job.
    City: Weaverville

    Tips: Fish Trinity this week as those big releases which start at the end of the week are apt to mess things up for a couple of weeks.

Saturday, April 30th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 58-62

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Just got home from a 10 day trip and wanted to post a report.My partner and I met John Gray at the launch ramp at 6a.m. on the 26th and were looking forward to catching some big smallmouth. My partner hooked a nice 3.5lb.SM in the first hour and I cranked a 2lb.LM and a small SM.My partner was cleaning my clock as his next fish was a 4LB.LM. As John said the fishing was slow in the a.m. but the action picked up after lunch.I got a 2LB.SM right after lunch and then John saw a big SM swimming in the shallows and I immediately threw my bait and landed a beautiful 3.8LB.SM. We then proceeded to catch another 8 more SM up to 2.5lbs. My partner and I hadn't fished Trinity for twenty years and John was really helpful in showing us the lake and the best baits to use.I highly recommend spending a day on the water with John.His knowledge of Trinity is second to none and he's treats you really good. Also he makes a great lunch.I definetly will return and fish with John again.
    City: Santa Rosa

    Tips: Hire John Gray as your guide and you will catch a lot of great fighting smallmouth and largemouth.

Wednesday, April 27th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 58-60

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished with clients several times over the past week and it's been hot and cold. A couple of days of nice weather and the smallies move up. Then 2 days of high winds and they dissappear. They've been in and out 3 times in the last 10 days. I sure hope they get their business done pretty quick as major water releases are scheduled to begin soon.
    Yesterday started out pretty slow but the bite improved steadily in the PM. Now we're in for another couple of days of rain. Who knows?
    City: Weaverville

    Tips: I'm anxious to see what the big releases bring this year. Last year the fish moved off-shore and sulked for days.

Sunday, April 17th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 52 TO 55

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: TOP 5 FISHERMAN- ALL FISHED THE UPPER END OF THE LAKE. WINNER LEE RIP A 6 POUND L.M.B. AND DROP SHOTTED A 7.56 POUND L.M.B.-BIG BASS OF THE TOURNAMENT. TOTAL 13.58 LBS.
    2ND PLACE PHIL USED A SWIM BAIT TO CATCH HIS TWO L.M.B. ONE 3.5 POUNDS AND ONE 6.19 POUNDS 2ND BIG BASS OF THE TOURNAMENT. TOTAL 9.67 LBS.
    3RD PLACE STEVE CAUGHT A-L.M.B. ON A DARTERHEAD AND A-S.M.B. ON A GREEN TUBE. TOTAL 7.28 LBS.
    4TH PLACE KEN RIPPED HIS TWO KEEPER.TOTAL 7.14 LBS
    5TH PLACE SCOTT WAS KEN'S BACK SEATER ALSO RIPPED HIS TWO KEEPERS. TOTAL 6.72 LBS.
    ALL THE GUYS CAUGHT OTHER BASS ALONG WITH OUR OTHER 33 ANGLERS, THE WEATHER WAS SUNNY AND WINDY.
    City: SHASTA LAKE

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    Water Temp: 52-54

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Been on the lake for the last few days and things have finally turned around. Fished with a client Thurs who just wanted to learn the lake better. Fishing was slow in the AM but picked up as the day went on. Ended up with a 4.25 smallie and a 4.5 LM for top dogs, and hopefully a better understanding of Trinity. The last 2 days I took a fellow who is writing an article for a new Magazine called Lake Life. We struggled for a while but accomplished what he needed for scenery shots and when that was taken care of we managed to pick up enough smallies over 4 lbs. to give the readers an idea of what a great smallie lake this can be. I kept telling him that this was also a great LM lake and Sat PM we got back to the dock just in time for the Burney Club weigh-in where he was able to get a pic of an 8.56 LM. I heard that today the Redding club tourney was won by 2 fish @ well over 13 lbs, topped by a 7.36 LM. I think you could say that the fire has been lit. With predicted weather conditions of fair and warm weather for the next few days I suspect we'll experience some of the best fishing since Feb. I certainly intend to find out.
    City: Weaverville

    Tips: Bring whatever and fish wherever. If Trinity is truly turned on it doesn't matter what you throw. If it isn't turned on, it doesn't matter what you throw. Get my drift?

Monday, April 11th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 48-52

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished last weekend with a party from the desert and fishing was tough but was able to locate and catch some decent fish. Granddad son and grandson all had a hand in the action. 10 year old birthday boy,Nick ended up the overall winner. Man, I like watching 10 year olds and 3 lb smallies. It doesn't get much better than that.
    Fished yesterday with a client from the Bay Area and it was tough. I hate when someone drives a long way and the fishing is tough. I realize that fishing is fishing but I'm starting to take these tough days personal. Guess I'll just have to get out and do more homework. 3lb smallies were cruisin the shallows but had no interest in what we were throwing. Guess they had their mind on something else.
    City: Weaverville

Sunday, April 3rd, 2005

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: To Shannon coming up 4/30/05. Just ask the guy who took you Striper fishing a few years ago & you will do alright. Don't believe every thing you read in these reports. If the weather is good fishing will be good. Last year at that time smallies were on beds in flats. Some times they are on banks waiting to be ripped. Put alot of gas in the boat, enjoy the beauty of the lake, Alps & wild life, they are worth the trip. Pray for good weather. See you & your father in law in a few weeks
    City: sacramento

Saturday, April 2nd, 2005

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    Water Temp: 48-50

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Out of trinity center. Fished the first set piling by the ball park with rip baits. First fish 3rd cast 2 1/2 lb black about 6 casts later
    a black about the same size. Moved to the red clay banks looking a big smallmouth. nothing big today. 4 smallmouth two fish about 14" and two dinks. Its about noon now move to the flats by the ball park looking for fish they are just starting to show up now. it took about a hour to catch a sightfish they are real spookie. It was a smallmouth about a 2 lber. Off the lake at 3:00. The lake was a little tuff today for me.
    City: redding

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    Water Temp: 52

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Water levek is approx 40' down and coming up fast. Trinity Center has connected the marina to shore so no more beaching your boat. Yeah!
    City: Weaverville

Friday, April 1st, 2005

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: What is the water level Mr. Gray?
    City: Arcata

Sunday, March 27th, 2005

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    Water Temp: 49

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Got out yesterday from 6 to 9:30 AM and the bite was a little slow at first. Picked up a 4-6 smallie near the Ballpark early on, then a 2lb LM. Both on Pro Worms. Fished until 9 with nothing going on and decided to hit a couple of main lake points before getting off the water to go to work. First spot I stopped at, first cast, 5-12 LM. Next 20 min. produced 3 more LM over 4 lbs. Would have liked to stay much longer but the real world beckoned. Best 5 fish over 22 lbs. I guess the fire has started. We have recieved over 2" of rain in the last 10 hours. Experience tells me that the larger tributaries will blow out under these conditions and will wash in a bunch of debris. The Tailing piles that have been so dangerous around the ballpark are now deep enough to no longer pose a hazard. Now we have to watch out for debris washed in by this latest storm.
    City: Weaverville

    Tips: I didn't get a reaction bite going, but heard of fish caught ripping and cranking. That should certainly should be working right now.

Saturday, March 19th, 2005

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: John, thanks for all the info. I really appreciate your sharing.
    City: Medford

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Haven't actually made it to Trinity yet, but was thinking of heading down in the next couple of weeks. I was kinda' hoping that someone might have posted a report.
    City: Medford

    Tips: Share the wealth, fella's (and gals). If you fished it, then post it. Let's help each other out.