For this trip we went into the Trinity Mountains west of Castella choosing lakes that were a short walk from the nearest road. The area has about 60 alpine lakes that the department of Fish and Game almost overstocked with Rainbow, Brook and Brown Trout as part of the restoration program for the toxic spill resulting from a train derailment on the Upper Sacramento river a few years back. Because the Sacramento and McCloud Rivers get most of the local fishing attention these lakes receive very little fishing pressure.

I had the good fortune to fish with John Powell from Pine-Gri-La Fish Camp for a couple of days which saved some of our travel time between lakes. It really does help to know where you're going. We fished three lakes a day. One of the truly amazing qualities of the area is the variety of fishing conditions we were presented with.

Some of the lakes have rocky bottoms and were surrounded by rugged cliffs, others have shallow muddy bottoms and water lily pads. There are a few that the predominant feature is snags and downed trees.

Float tubes or some other type of inflatable craft will increase the fishable areas, particularly if you're fly fishing. Finding room for your backcast can be almost impossible in some places.

Both days there was a mayfly hatch in the mid-afternoon. Other than that we had to experiment with our fly selection. I picked a Fall River Special, the first cast was a winner. I stuck with that fly for the better part of the trip. We also had success with Black Ant Patterns.

Spin fishermen will find success with nightcrawlers, crickets and a variety of spinners. The best colors were silver and gold, however, a black panther martin with yellow spots or florescent green blue foxes can be the hot ticket at different times of the year.

The short walks between lakes provided some spectacular vistas. At one pass the Sutter Buttes near Yuba City were visible to the south while to the north you could see Gray Rocks, Castle Crags and Mount Shasta. One of the reason I fish is to get away to places like this to be with mother nature. Over two days I saw deer, coyote, fox, skunk, raccoon, chipmunks and squirrel and a bald eagle. A visual feast you'll savor for awhile. If you camp take precautions, there are bears in the neighborhood.

Although the fishing pressure on these lakes is not high, they are small and the fisheries could be easily damaged. Please catch and release! If you are planning a trip, go around the new moon. When the moon is full the fish feed all night and aren't nearly as hungry or aggressive.