Along its route, the Trinity is shadowed much of the way by State Route 299, which first encounters the stream east of Douglas City. The highway then leaves the river for a while and joins it again just west of Oregon Mountain at Junction City. Nearly all of the time from there, downstream past Big Flat, Big Bar and Del Loma, you get a tantalizing view of the river from the highway.

Only barbless artificials or flies are allowed 250 feet below Lewiston Dam downstream to the Old Lewiston Bridge. Catch-and-release is the rule. Trout are the primary target here, and the season runs from April 1 through Sept. 15.

The rest of the main stem, to its confluence with the Klamath River, is open all year except for the stretch between the State Route 299 bridge at Cedar Flat and Hawkins Bar, where the season is from Dec. 1 through Aug. 31.

The limit is one hatchery trout or one hatchery steelhead. (Fish with a clipped adipose fin -- the fin between the dorsal and the tail -- are from the hatchery.) The limit for brown trout is one per day. Hook-size restrictions are spelled out in the angling regulations booklet and at www.dfg.ca.gov.

SIZE, NUMBERS GROWING
From all reports, the steelhead run on the Trinity during the cold months of 2006-07 was notable for both numbers and the sizes of fish caught.

Larry Glenn, the Trinity River hatchery assistant manager, says that more than 11,500 steelhead came back to the facility in 2006-07. That's an all-time record. The previous high was in 2003-04 when 10,283 steelies arrived. In 2005-06, the number was 7,963. Prior to that, the high was 6,941 fish in 1964-65.

Hard as it is to believe, the all-time low was during the severe drought of 1976-77 when only 13 steelhead made it back to the hatchery.

"Unlike salmon, steelhead don't die after spawning," says Glenn. "All the steelhead that come into the hatchery are spawned with air and released unharmed. Some of them come back a couple more times before their life cycle is complete."

According to Glenn, the 2007-08 season should be another winner. But he concedes that steelhead runs can fluctuate at any time.

"The situation has been improving for the last four or five years, but when it comes to anadromous fish, you can experience a poor year when you least expect it," he says. "However, barring some catastrophe, this year should be another good one."

16 FOR 19
On his days off, my friend Mike Bogue, a full-time fishing guide, sometimes does the right thing and goes fishing for himself. Bogue's normal beat is on the Sacramento River. But when he takes time for himself, it's often on the Trinity.

Last year, Mike and his teenage son Jaret visited the Trinity half a dozen times from November through January. And though they didn't always catch a lot of fish, they usually landed a few while fishing from the bank or wading.

A couple of days bordered on the unreal.

More than 11,500 steelhead came back to the Trinity River hatchery in 2006-07.

That's an all-time record.

"Jaret and I hooked 19 and landed 16 steelhead one day in November," Bogue says. "We hit it just right, evidently. And another day, we caught 12. It doesn't get much better than that."

When pressed, Bogue admits that on a couple of trips, he couldn't find the fish and on other outings, caught only two or three.

"Sometimes you can fish all over the place and not find them," Bogue says. "That's just the way it is. But on the Trinity, when the flows are normal, you can usually catch a few fish when you locate them. It's a good deal, really."