Be thankful for what is and not what isn’t. Life is Great!

Whew! It’s a barn burner. A sweltering 103 degrees on the front deck of the shop and record breaking hot temps forecasted for another few days. And it’s early June; feels like mid-August! Just remember all; it’s a dry heat—Ha! Anyway no better place to cool down than your favorite watering hole, fishing, swimming and boarding. Here are some ops that may help shed some relief and provide a flex.

2013 shad lineup.

Shad Up and Fish-2013 Shad runs are a perfect example of anadromous fish not looking at the calendar. Typically Central Valley shad runs are late May-June-early July. With Jan-Feb the driest on record, these yr. rivers were low and shad runs were early; catching many off guard. Our first grabs were May 8 and females were present, eager and horney. Males were already do’n the chase and enjoying play time, even mid-day. Early shadders, dialed in on low water conditions and feel’n the itch, encountered shad as early as April 23 in the American/Feather. I’ve always preached—“go when it feels right”! Currently all rivers with the exception of the Sac are low and still providing sparse activity with pockets of low water sessions lighting up in the late afternoons. Bottom line, multi shad days are rare so enjoy and feel the love sinking your irons into a few. This is what is dealt for the 2013 shad runs. Call it good, appreciate and be thankful for what was and is currently still available. Whiners/number curnchers need not apply.

John Murray get’n his early flexes in.

Tailwater Tips and Tuts-Trinity River flows are dropping like a rock, beginning to fish and offering up a mixed bag of action. Spring Chinook are filtering through the lower river with the lead edge up as far as Hawkins Bar. CA Dept. F&W salmon predictions are very promising and already the coast, when conditions permit, is firing off, enforcing predictions. My brother, Glenn, recently fished the lower river and hooked his first spring steelhead, estimated 7-8 lbs., and got his ass handed to him. A rare notch on the belt. Springers waste little time and with the river dropping and lower T.R. warming these fish will slide through at the blink of an eye. By the time most of you tap into this post springers will be all the way up to J.C.. The “Fly Only” waters are beginning to fish, seldom a high numbers gig, and is producing some exciting streamer and leeching activity for the occasional bow and hold over/on the fat’n up steelies in the 3-6 lb. range. Once flows settle,(scheduled to drop 450cfs. June 23), hatches (Yellow Sallies/PMD’s) will pop and fishing will become much more predictable.

Rebounding to the other world —a Springers first riffle.

Getting Higher and Higher-One of my all-time favorite fisheries and refreshing ways to beat the heat is wet wading and fishing Trinity’s high mountain tributary streams, North-East Forks Trinity, Coffee Cr., Swift Cr., Stuarts Fork and others. Solitude, scenic beauty of the rugged Trinity Alps, inviting and varied freestone waters, colorful (reflecting their environments) and willing natives all blends together to register as an annual personal highlight. Average snowpack/runoff yrs. these waters generally do not fish until mid-July. Not so this year, lower elevation streams are already fishing. Get it while the gett’ns good. Remember! Trinity Fly Shop, your Local Source, is here for you. Offering a complete line of goods and services, we tell it like it is, or isn’t!!! Stepping in welcome the 2013 trout season with a smile and enjoy!!!

Eddie-get’ner done. Fly water residual.	Colorful native sporting environmental beauty.