Directions
From Redding From Interstate 5, take Highway 299 going East. Drive about 30 miles (a couple miles before reaching Douglas City) until you reach Indian Creek. (Refer to detailed map here.)
Trinity River 2008 - Lime Point to Pigeon Point (A Reality-Check)
Rolling dice - where to put-in? Would it be Indian Creek? Steel Bridge? Steiner? Or perhaps Lime Point. The upper reach looks quiet. A good or bad omen depending on how you read it.
This fall on the Trinity River Mother Nature pitched a curve (She's tricky like that.). For the 2006 and 2007 summer runs she slow-pitched, big softballs right over the plate. Where ever you waded or drifted - it was ridiculously good steelheading. Everybody homered. Ten fish days were the low-end, twenty fish days were average.
The steelhead were not only fewer this year, but scattered throughout the system. It's a big, stressful decision about where to commit the boat. Because if the fish are above your drift, you're in for a long day.
Hold-on, isn't that the true nature of steelhead fishing? The last two summer runs were like smoking crack cocaine - very addictive. But, as your eyes rollback into your skull, it's easy to lose complete touch with reality.
The 2008 run served notice to everyone who experienced the prior years - put down the crack pipe and get to work! Cause the only way you are going to stratch out a steelie this season on the Trinity is to cast, stack-mend, drift, let the flies swing, move a couple of steps, and repeat.
