Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3823 Oct 25-Nov 8 | Page 16
14
Oct 25 - Nov 8, 2019
FRESHWATER
VOL.38 • ISS. 23
Catch & Release Fishing!
Hook More & Bigger Fish With Flies...
Sponsored by Kiene’s Fly Shop
916-483-1222 • www.Kienesflyshop.com
9550 Micron Ave. Suite B • Sacramento, CA
Hat Creek: Lava Country Trout!
By Cal Kellogg
Hat Creek is one of Northern California’s premier trout fishing destinations 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. The creek picks
up tributaries and grows larger steadily until its waters are impounded in Lake
Britton.
From Old Station downstream to Bridge Campground, a distance of approxi-
mately 15 miles, lays the “middle section” of Hat Creek. By the time the stream
reaches Old Station it has picked up a lot of additional water from tributaries.
In its middle section, Hat Creek still maintains the fast-flowing pool and riffle
character that it had while flowing through the confines of Lassen Park, but while
the creek is still fairly narrow the flows are much stronger and many of the pools
are 8 or more feet deep. Basically, the middle section looks like the upper section’s
big brother.
Much of the middle section is easily accessible from Highway 89 featuring
several campgrounds and day use areas, in many locations the stream is mere
yards from the road. This section of the river is heavily planted with both rainbow
and brook trout. With both easy access and big numbers of truck trout ranging
from 10 inches to 4 or more pounds the middle section is very popular with
conventional tackle anglers. Yet the fly fishing on this section can be good too.
Mixed in with the planters there are solid numbers of smallish wild rainbows
and a sleeper population of wild reclusive browns ranging up to and beyond the
20-inch mark. These “trophy” browns spend their time lurking beneath undercut
banks and in areas where streamside brush makes presenting flies or bait nearly
impossible.
Fly fishing Hat Creek’s middle section is challenging and rewarding. Streamside
brush and water that is too deep and fast to wade make things tough on the fly
guys. In most spots, traditional casting is impossible and fly anglers are restricted
to drifting nymphs and stripping streams.
There are a few areas that feature open riffles and a limited amount of terrain
that is shallow
enough to
wade. These
areas provide
good dry fly
action for
anglers working
hoppers,
humpies and
stimulators in
sizes 8, 10 and
12 during the
afternoon and
evening hours.
When it comes
to nymphing,
mayfly and
stonefly patterns
Hat Creek offers something for every fly angler, from deep
in
sizes 10
freestone stretches crammed with planted trout in its upper
through 14
reaches to trophy trout water that holds large highly educated
trout in its lower section.
work well. My
Photo courtesy of JACK TROUT, Redding.
FRESHWATER REPORTS:
CONTINUED FROM PG 13
LAKE DEL VALLE
J. of Hayward caught a seven-and-three-
quarters pound catfish while fishing with
anchovies by the dam.
cont.
lure that creates lots of top water action.”
“The stripers are being caught in the
Lower Narrows just before Swallow Bay,
the Upper Narrows and near the dam.
During the mornings we recommend
throwing top water lures. Towards the
afternoons you should aim for frozen baits
that can hit deeper into the water.,” he
stated.
Stanley H. of Castro Valley caught a
10 pound catfish while fishing in Swallow
Bay with anchovies. Russell L. of
Livermore caught a six-and-a-third pound
largemouth bass while fishing in the
narrows with night crawlers. Finally, Mike
LAKE DON PEDRO
Fall Trout Bite Takes Off
SACRAMENTO – The trout bite took
off in a big way over the weekend as Kyle
Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service found
the schools at a depth of 60 feet in 400
feet of water in the main channel off of
Willow. He said, “The trout are chasing
shad, and we ran Speedy Shiners in
copper/gold coated with Smelly Jelly at
60 to 80 feet. After picking up a 14-
inch kokanee on a Speedy Shiners, we
dropped down Apex lures as deep as 175
feet for some additional kokanee. These
all-time
favorite
nymph on
the middle
section is
a black AP
tied on a No.
10 hook.
The middle
section is
home to lots
of stone-
flies and the
black AP
imitates them
well. For
streamers,
Hooked Up! This angler met the challenge of hooking one of Hat
Creek’s highly selective clear water trout.
you need
Photo courtesy of THE FLY SHOP, Redding.
look no
further that
Muddlers or woolly buggers in sizes 8 and 10.
The most famous section of the creek is known as the Powerhouse 2 riffle. The
name refers to the PG&E powerhouse that sits at the upstream boundary of the
special-regulations section and supplies a steady flow of water to the creek below.
The section flows over lava substrate for about 100 yards and then flattens into
a wide, slow-moving flow—a classic spring creek—for a couple of miles until
it becomes a freestone flow again at the lower end. It is accessible by car, with a
parking lot overlooking the riffle.
About a mile downstream from the
powerhouse section is Carbon Flats,
also served by a convenient parking
area. Most of the lower stretch, which
is north of where Highway 299 crosses
the creek, is no longer accessible by
vehicle, so to get to the riffle at the
lower end of the creek, you turn north
onto a dirt road just before you get to
the county park next to the bridge. After
a short distance, you will come to a
parking area, from where you will have
to hoof it for about 0.25 mile to get to
the riffle.
This big Hat Creek rainbow came to the
The 100-yard-long freestone section
surface to slurp a big stonefly imitation.
of water just below the powerhouse
Photo courtesy of THE FLY SHOP, Redding.
holds some of the biggest fish-mostly
Rainbows and some Browns - along with lots of aquatic food to sustain them.
It gets lots of pressure from both the knowledgeable anglers who drift nymphs
through its seams and pockets and those who take advantage of the relatively
shallow water to cross to the other side. Hat Creek is famous for its multiple
hatches, and the fish can rapidly switch from one insect to another or one life stage
to another.
fish were missing scales, but they were in
“Spooning or G-Money jigs with a
good shape.”
5-inch twin tail trailer on a 3/4th-ounce
For spotted and largemouth bass, Ryan
head along with Ned Rigs. We picked
Cook of Ryan Cook’s Fishing said, “We
up numbers on custom Dead Stick Bait
put together an 18-pound limit with no
Company plastics from David Coy of
kicker fish with the best fish found as deep
CONTINUED ON PG 15
as 60 feet. The bass
are scattered from
5 to 75 feet, and
you have to search
around to find them
Trout • Mackinaw
as we went to at
Kokanee
• Salmon
least 35 spots and
found all of our
Bright, Durable, Unique
fish on only two of
these spots. When
we were on them, it
was hot, as we must
Glass Lures Handmade In Northern California
have landed 50
bass on these two
www.shallowglasslures.com
locations.
3810
w
llo
a
h
S
G laSS l ur
eS
(530) 386-8064