Trinity River Fly Only Water “More Than an Adventure”
By Rocky Ferraro

The plan was to leave real early on Saturday morning. I had been prepping
camping gear, tying some of Mike’s famous soft hackle flies and anticipating
having better results than my previous trip. My impression of this river is as
was the first time I laid on my eyes upon her, “Wow! there are salmon here!”
Anyone who has visited her probably is amazed when a salmon jumps out of
the water here. The river does have its deep sections but it does not seem
like big enough water to hold such huge fish. We did end up leaving
sometime Saturday morning, once the SUV was packed to the gills and
beyond.
I had reserved a campsite at a private RV park along the Trinity River just a
stones throw away from the town of Lewiston. When I reserved it I specified
one of the sites along the river. There wasn’t much shade with the campsite
along the river but we were right on the river and because my campsite was
on the Trinity River I had miles of private water to fish. Many times I would
wake up early, get the coffee and campfire going, put my waders on and I
was fishing. What more could you ask for. The bathrooms were clean and
not too far from the campsite and they were not the usual pit toilets they
were the real thing. They also had showers, sold fire wood and had a group
site with a large BBQ pit if needed.
We arrived, setup camp and after a quick lunch we were off to the fly only
section of the Trinity River. The girls and I got ready and we were soon on
the river wading. The river had changed from my last trip but most of the
holes were still there. We saw some otters and geese on the river and hawks
fling above. Wildlife is abundant on this river. The time seems to slip away
when you’re fishing a river. We had planned to go out for dinner that
evening and from what our camp host suggested we had dinner at a diner
just off the road through Lewiston and across from the gas station. After
dinner I fished the river in front of our camp. Right before sunset the
swallows would swoop down to feed on the evening hatch. I was out there
fishing the private waters, mostly caddis flies were hatching. There were also
several nice holes on this stretch of river and I actually caught one of my
largest rainbows here. I would fish one section and the girls would play on
the river in their swimsuits on another. When I caught a fish I could call over
to them and show them my catch. What more could you ask for? I also saw a
nice salmon roll one evening.
The next morning I fished the private waters early on and did well. I was able
to fish the morning hatch and again the swallows were out diving in and out
along the river grabbing caddis flies. Earlier in the morning I stated the ritual
morning camp fire, whoosh as the fuel lit the logs up! My wife and I would
have our morning coffee in front of the fire. One morning we saw a bald
eagle flying along the river. What an impressive majestic site. Later after
breakfast we hit the upper stretch of the Trinity River under the Lewiston
Dam. There are many holes along the way and the fish were abundant. My
daughters caught many trout and smolts. My daughters Elizabeth and Julia
were extremely happy about the numbers of fish they caught. I caught a nice
rainbow in the 16-17” range which made my day. Later in the day in a lower
section I saw a nice steelhead jump. It was a dull greenish brown in color with
a read stripe along side. Someone later told me it was probably a salmon.
Who knows but it impressed both the girls and I that a fish around 25 lbs
jumped out of the water right in front of us, Wow! What a surprise. We fished
late this day got back to camp at a later time and I was still able to fish the
camp waters in the evening after a dinner of BBQ sausages and corn. The
next day we started to have battery problems. We still fished the fly only
section and probably had one of the best days on the river of the trip. The
girls spotted a deer in the woods just off the river. Trout were jumping and
the girls were catching fish like pros now.  After lunch and when it was time
to go back to camp we had a dead battery. Unfortunately there was no one
around and it is by all means a very desolate place. I hiked up to the road
and managed to find a couple of beer drinking locals sitting in their truck. An
older 60’s era blue GMC. They said “Jump in the back, we’ll help you out”.
They were very help full but we could not jump the SUV for some reason; the
battery was too far gone. So I jumped in the back again and they gave me a
ride into Lewiston, I didn’t realize this but driving did not stop their thirst for
Bud as I jumped out of the truck at the repair shop, the driver was finishing
his beer. I can’t remember the last time I sat in the back of the pick up down
the highway at 50MPH+. I ended up buying a battery, getting a ride back and
installing it. Finally we were off again and on our way back to camp. I was
able to fish that evening at camp after dinner. The next day I was able to fish
the early morning at camp. It was nice, but the fish were not as active as the
pervious evening. I made the final breakfast packed up camp and we were
off again. All in all it was a great trip. We had many fish days and the girls
and I learned a lot about fishing and nature. I learned a better more
consistent method of fishing my soft hackles. The girls learned how to wade
this type of river and where the fish hang out.
   
If you noticed, this trip I was using my Heddon #14 Bamboo Fly Rod. It is an
antique from the 30’s but when I bought it last year I promised my self I would
fish it and not just store it away. This river is just the right river for a bamboo
rod and it worked out well. It is a very sensitive rod and is exhilarating to play
these medium trout with a rod that sensitive. You actually feel the nymph
traveling along and any slight bump is transferred to your hands. Playing a
fish on this rod lets you feel the vibrations of the fish as it does battle. So, I
will fish the cane rod and fix the cane rod as needed. When it’s too small to
fish or the action is diminished I will burn it and scatter the ashes on the last
river I fished it on. I think that is the proper way to honor a cane rod. How
about you?
Again I need to dedicate this story to my wife Patty. Without her help and
patience it would not have been the successful trip that it was. Whether it’s
helping the girls get into there waders or helping them with there hair she is
there for all of us. It’s great just to have someone there greeting us when we’
re done. After all we need to tell the stories of our adventures on the river to
someone who will listen, “Mom guess what I saw!”
Here’s to you Patt!
Trinity River
Foster City Rod and Gun Club
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