Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3814 June 21- July 5 2019 | Page 8

6 June 21 - July 5, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 14 Catch & Release Fishing! Hook More & Bigger Fish With Flies... Hat Creek: Epic Trout Fishing In The Shadow Of Mount Lassen By Cal Kellogg Hat Creek is one of Northern California’s premier trout fishing desti- nations for anglers working with both fly and conventional tackle. The creek bubbles to life in the high country on the eastern shoulder of Mount Lassen and flows in a northward direction for roughly 40 miles until it’s waters are impounded in Lake Britton. Hat Creek has three distinct The stretch of Hat Creek below the town of Old Station is a classic free stone stream that features, rainbows, browns and brook trout. personalities depending on Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. which stretch of the stream you visit. From its birth in Lassen of wild reclusive browns ranging up to and beyond the 20 inch mark. National Park down stream to near Fly fishing Hat Creek’s middle section is challenging and rewarding. Stream- the town of Old Station Hat Creek is a typical high mountain trout creek. The side brush and water that is too deep and fast to wade make things tough on the fly guys. flows are fast and cold and the stream Between the Bridge Campground is narrow and brushy. and the town of Cassel most of Hat On the upper portion of the creek. Creek runs through private property. Most of the fish encountered are At Cassel public access becomes planter rainbows and brookies, but good once again, but it is an entirely there are a few wild brook trout in Standard impressionistic dries like these different creek. The riffles and runs of are a great choice on the upper reaches the mix too. These trout have a short of Hat Creek at times. Day in day out, the upper section are long gone. The feeding season, so they don’t have the nymphs will produce more fish overall. stream bed flattens out above Cassel luxury of being selective. Terrestrial Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. and several springs flow into the creek patterns like ant or hopper imitations transforming it into a classic spring generally fill the bill nicely. On the creek with clear glassy water, abundant upper section of the creek the trout are small averaging about 6 to 7 inches. On the upper part of Hat Creek the trout weeds and insects and rainbows and Anything that approaches 10 or more inches is considered to be quite large. browns that routinely grow to 5 pounds are small, but will enthusiastically jump all From Old Station downstream to Bridge Campground, a distance of approx- over a dry fly. This rainbow grabbed an Elk and more. imately 15 miles, lays the “middle section” of Hat Creek. By the time the Hair Caddis. At Cassel, the creek is manipulated Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. stream reaches Old Station it has picked up a lot of additional water from and ends up flowing down through tributaries. In it’s middle section Hat Creek still maintains the fast flowing pool the Hat No. 1 Power House. Below the power house the creek forms into Baum and riffle character that it had while flowing through the confines of Lassen Lake, which is weedy, clear and packed with insects. Both the Park, but while the creek is still Cassel area and Baum Lake are planted heavily and there are no fairly narrow the flows are much gear restrictions. stronger and many of the pools are Below Baum Lake is the world famous wild trout section of 8 or more feet deep. Basically the Hat Creek. This stretch is just over 3 miles long and terminates middle section looks like the upper where the creek enters Lake Britton. The fly section boasts section’s big brother. one major riffle, but the rest of it is made up of placid gin clear Much of the middle section is water. The trout in the fly section average 12 to 20 inches long. easily accessible from Highway 89 This area features educated highly selective trout and hooking featuring several campgrounds and one of them on a dry fly is an achievement worth bragging day use areas, in many locations about. the stream is mere yards from the The fly section is not planted and is designated as a wild road. This section of the river is trout zone. Only single barbless hooks are permitted on the fly heavily planted with both rainbow section. Small flies and a variety of different hatches are the and brook trout. norm on the fly section, so it is always wise to stop in at a fly Mixed in with the planters there shop to determine what is going on in terms of hatches at a are solid numbers of smallish wild given time before trying your luck. rainbows and a sleeper population The lower reaches of Hat Creek are known for producing huge rainbows and browns, but they are difficult to hook. Photo courtesy of THE FLY SHOP, Redding. Fun Fly Fishing experiences for Beginners and Experienced Anglers. We Teach FLY FISHING! www.MoJoBella.com Steve Crosetti | 530-333-3484 • [email protected] 3810 THE FISH SNIFFER (833)-347-4661 • FishSniffer.com FISH SNIFFER DIGITAL!!! Digital subscription now available to the Fish Sniffer. Download the app from iTunes or Google Play. Check us out on magazine.fishsniffer.com or Email: [email protected]