Trinity River Steelhead Fly Fishing Trips with Confluence Outfitters®

View the Trinity River page on our SpeyRivers.com website!

The Trinity River is one of the best places to hook into a steelhead in California. This is not only a beautiful place to fish, it's also one of the most productive steelhead rivers in the state. The steelies most commonly range from 4-10 lbs, but they can get even larger. They are strong fish that jump frequently when hooked. Many of the fish are wild. The Trinity has a good variety of water types. There are five different floats on the upper river, each with a slightly different character. There are runs that are perfect for indicator nymphing and riffles where swinging flies can be deadly.

Gear Recommendations for the Trinity River

Rods, Reels & Lines:

The seven weight is the best all-around rod for steelheading on the Trinity River. Sixes and eights work well, too. 9ft and 9.5ft models work great. From January through March it's a good idea to have a dry fly rod also. 9ft five-weights are perfect. We primarily use floating lines. Nymph, Steelhead, or Double Taper Lines are best for versatility.

Leaders, Tippet & Indicators:

We usually use 1X-3X tippet on the Trinity River. We don't use tapered leaders for nymphing. A 9' 5X leader is great for dry fly fishing on the Trinity. For indicators, we use yarn and Thingamabobbers in the 3/4 and 1" sizes. We use split shot in sizes BB and larger on the Trinity.

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.

Nearby Waters:
Lower Sac	1hr
Upper Sac	1.5hr
Other Destinations:
Pit River
Fall River
McCloud River
Hat Creek
Battle Creek
Klamath River
Feather River
Lower Rogue
Upper Rogue
Applegate River
Oregon Coast
Upper Williamson
Eagle Canyon

Hatches & Seasons

The Trinity River is open year-round. Steelhead are present most of the year, but are in the river in good numbers from September through March.

Hatch Chart

Flies:

Nymphs:
• Mercer's BH Epoxy Golden Stone, 10
• Mercer's BH Poxyback Hare's Ear, Olive, 10-14
• Black Rubberlegs, 6
• Rubberleg Copper John, Red, 12
• Copper John, Red, 10-14
• BH Prince, 10-14
Eggs:
• Pettis's Unreal Egg, Steelhead Orange, 12
• Glo Bugs, all colors, size 8-10
Traditional Flies for Swinging:
• Silver Hilton, 6
• Carey Special, 6
• Green Butt Skunk, 6
Leeches for Swinging:
• Fox's Sleech, Black & Copper, 2
• Miller's Olive Super Spey Leech, 1
• Egg Sucking String Leech, 2

Sample Itinerary

Meeting Time & Place:
We typically meet our clients at their hotel at 7:30am. On some trips we may arrange to meet at one of the many boat launches on the river.

Vehicle Considerations:
Be prepared to follow us in your own vehicle. We may use your vehicle to help run our shuttle.

Wading difficulty:
On most trips we float the river using drift boats or rafts. We frequently get out of the boat to wade. However, we can put together a trip where no wading is necessary. The wading on the Trinity is mostly over cobble river bottoms and is not overly challenging.

Multiple Fisheries in one Day:
Due to the distance to other fisheries and the logistics of floating the river, we devote all day to fishing the Trinity River.

Length of the Day:
Most full days conclude around 5:30pm. Half days end around 1pm.

Some of our Trinity River fly fishing trips are conducted on public lands administered by the Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests. Confluence Outfitters operates under permit from the Shasta/Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests on a non-discriminatory basis. Some of our Trinity River fly fishing trips are conducted on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. All of our Trinity River guides are individually permitted to conduct guided fishing trips on these public lands.