Hat Creek, How Do I Fish This

How Do I Fish This: Hat Creek

Hat Creek is known as one of the best spring creeks in California. Originating from its headwaters near Mt. Lassen, this creek flows downwards through rugged terrain, meadow valleys, and several campgrounds before reaching Baum Lake. Baum Lake diverts the creek into two flows: one flow directed into the famous Powerhouse #2 and the other below Baum Lake’s dam. Both flows eventually merge below Powerhouse #2.
The upper section of Hat Creek is primarily a freestone put-and-take fishery that is well-known for it’s large brook trout that are stocked by DFG during trout season.
The lower section below Powerhouse #2 is a spring creek wild trophy trout section that is known for it’s well-educated brown and rainbows trout.

Although Hat Creek is recognized as past it’s prime it continues to offer the challenge of spring creek fly fishing. It is one of the few spring creeks in California where you can freely stalk your target and watch as they ignore every single fly you throw at them.

Open Season
A) From Lake Britton upstream to Baum Lake, exclusive of the concrete Hat No. 2 intake canal between Baum Lake and the Hat No. 2 Powerhouse.
Open all year
*Only artificial lures with barbless hooks
*Zero limit. Catch-and-release only.

Access Points
Both upper and lower Hat Creek are very accessible as HWY 89 parallels most of the creek up to Cassel.

Primary access points to upper Hat Creek are in and around the numerous campgrounds near the creek.
Hat Creek campground is one of Hat Creek’s first campground. It is south of Old Station closer to Mt Lassen making it a bit more scenic than the other campgrounds.
Cave Campground is the first campground north of Old Station. Across from this campground you can find entry to the Subway Cave which is an ancient lava tube.
Rocky Campground is the second campground heading north. It is a nice spot to fish with plenty of holding areas for fish.
Bridge Campground, perhaps the most popular campground, is the third campground further north and is very nice with a bridge overlooking Hat Creek.
Honn Campground is the fourth and final campground north of Hat Creek. It is right off the HWY and presents as less developed than the other campgrounds.

In between upper and lower Hat Creek is Baum Lake. There is no overnight camping at Baum Lake however you can find plenty of campsites near the lake at Cassel Campground.

Lower Hat Creek begins at Powerhouse #2. There is a maintained road that leads you down into lower Hat Creek that ends at the Powerhouse #2 parking lot.

You can also access lower Hat Creek at Hat Creek park. The creek is deeper in this section making it difficult to fish from the bank.
The furthest access to lower Hat Creek is off a forest road downstream from Hat Creek park.

Seasons
Spring

The season on Hat Creek always starts off well as the creek is spring-fed and generally not affected by the spring
run-off.
There are many different insects that can be hatching during this time of year however the most common patterns that you should always bring are PMDs and BWOs patterns ranging from size 14 -20.
I usually find the strongest hatch mid-morning and in the evening about an hour before sunset.
As the weather warms in May the Salmonfly hatch begins giving you an opportunity to throw big stonefly patterns.

Summer

Dry fly fishing on Hat Creek in the early summer continues to be best during mid-mornings and evenings.
Must have fly patterns to bring in the summer are caddis, trico, and yellow sally patterns again in size 14 – 18.
June will bring about the Green Drake hatch allowing you to again throw big patterns to rising fish.
Mid-day on Hat Creek is best fished with a hopper dropper. I like to sight fish for fish that hang out near the bank during the mid-day slump.

Fall

Hat Creek tends to fish exceptionally well in the fall. Fishing pressure is pretty much nonexistent giving you tranquil access to the entire creek.
The caddis hatch will still be around with less and less activity happening each day as winter approaches.
The trico hatch is one of the better hatches and can be caught in the morning.
The October Caddis hatch happens in October giving you one last opportunity to fish big patterns for educated spring-creek trout.
BWOs start becoming a prominent hatch as the weather cools. Overcast days tend to bring the strongest hatches.

Fish Species
Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout
Brook Trout

Gear
3WT or 4WT for upper section
5WT for lower section
5x, 6x, 7x leaders for spring creek section

Fly Patterns

  • Nymphs
    • Pheasant tail
    • S&M nymph
    • Copper john
    • Prince nymph
    • Zebra midge
    • Rubber leg stone
    • Hare’s ear
    • Lance’s X-May
  • Wet flies
    • Soft hackle
    • Bird’s nest
  • Dry flies
    • Adams
    • Sparkle dun
    • Comparadun
    • CDC dun (PMD & BWO)
    • Quigley cripple (PMD & BWO)
    • Hackle stacker emerger (PMD & BWO)
    • Trico spinner
    • Yellow sally dries
    • Foam salmonfly
    • EH caddis
    • EC caddis
    • X caddis
    • Morrish October caddis emerger
    • Morrish October caddis stimulator
    • Spring-creek hopper
    • Morrish hopper

Technique
Upper Hat Creek
The upper section of Hat Creek is primarily a freestone fishery made up of riffles, runs, and pools. This area is affected by the spring-run off therefore flows for fishing aren’t ideal until about June.
With plenty of places for fish to hold this section is much easier to fish than the lower section. All techniques work well here so it’s just up to you to choose what you want to do.

Lower Hat Creek
The lower section of Hat Creek is a spring creek fishery that offers one of fly fishing’s greatest challenges. Stalk, cast, and pray.
Dry fly fishing usually takes place mid-morning or in the evening. Although hatches can happen sporadically throughout the day you’ll have the best chances of fooling fish during low-light periods.
These fish are incredibly difficult to target when they are feeding on top as they tend to key in on both specific stages and insects that are sometimes hatching all at the same time.
Bring several different flies and their respective stages. I have found that downsizing the pattern that the fish have been refusing can work well. Use 12ft long leaders with light tippets. I’ve gotten away with 5x but have done much better on 6x.
The perfect drift is sometimes not enough. Try twitching your dry to get the fish you are targeting to react. If all else fails know you are not alone.

Nymphing can also be done in the spring creek section with good results and can be a good way to enjoy fishing the creek when nothing is happening on top in the afternoon.
The best way to nymph lower Hat Creek is with a hopper dropper rig. The fish will most likely not eat the hopper but they will most definitely eat the dropper.
Most of the creek isn’t very deep however the gradient can change quite quickly. I sometimes find myself adding a small splitshot like a #4 or #6 in-between my hopper and dropper to help my dropper sink quicker.
Takes will often be super subtle so pay very close attention to how your indicator fly moves.

Powerhouse #2 Riffle is the most popular spot on lower Hat Creek as it is the only riffle in the spring creek section and is where I see most fly anglers fishing when I’m out there. The riffle is very shallow only about ankle deep and receives tons of fishing pressure. I recommend anglers go downstream and explore the spring creek flats to experience what makes lower Hat Creek truly special.
If you decide to give Hat Creek some love make sure you bring some mosquito repellant. There are always a ton of them out there in the evening and fighting them all the way back to the car is not fun.

The average Hat Creek fish are about 8” – 12” and anything over that is uncommon. I’ve seen some nice size fish in the +16” range but nothing like the fabled +20”ers though I know they are in there. Despite being a bit small I find that these trout fight much harder than any other trout in the surrounding area.

Hat Creek has a long and interesting history. Officially recognized as California’s first wild trout water, Hat Creek was a world class fly fishing destination in the 1970’s. The creek has since declined due to a sediment plug burying a majority of the creek’s aquatic plant life as well as invasive muskrats which have contributed to eroding the banks making the creek wider and shallower over the past few decades. Caltrout, Trout Unlimited, and many other agencies have recently come together to work on restoring lower Hat Creek back to its former glory.

East Walker River, Hot Creek

Hunting Snow Bows In The Eastern Sierras

For the most part it looks like the majority of the severe winter storms are finished for the year which means spring time fishing is here. Every river and stream that feeds the valley is still too high to fish therefore options continue to remain limited. From the fishing reports that I’ve read it seems like stillwater fishing for bass and surf fishing for perch are the most productive. Stillwater fishing for bass is out for me because I don’t own a motor boat and driving to the beach to fish without taking my wife is a guilt-trip conversation I don’t want to have.
With all day-trip options out and wanting to fish some moving water I kept a close eye on the Eastern Sierras. The flows on the rivers and streams where fishing remains open all year looked great. It was just a matter of how to fish it during winter/early spring.

I left the house at 4am with a car packed and ready for an overnight trip. My plan was to primarily fish the East Walker River and stay the night around the area somewhere. My backup plan was to try Hot Creek and the Upper Owens if things didn’t go according to plan.

Winter Time East Walker

East Walker River
I arrived at the East Walker at around 9am and immediately started fishing. I found that I wasn’t alone on this beautiful Monday morning and settled for a nice secluded spot about midway through the Miracle Mile. “This was going to be so good!” I thought to myself. I tied on a few nymphs and bushwhacked my way to the river.

The river looked empty with little to no bug activity, no vegetation, and frigid water temperatures. I’ve seen streams like this before towards the very end of the season up in the Sierras. Finding a fish willing to eat was going to be very tough.
I covered quite a bit of water with no luck. I made the move to walk the bluffs to see if I could spot a fish instead of blind-casting to where I think they would be. It took a few minutes of scouting but I was able to spook a nice brown near the bank. I tried casting to it and got my flies right in front of it but it reacted by swimming further away. Don’t leave fish to find fish. I made a few more drifts in the same area and saw a flash near my flies. I set the hook and was able to land my only fish on the East Walker this trip.
I covered more water and found a few schools of carp in the slower water but they weren’t interested in playing.

Nice East Walker Brown

Despite being at optimum flows of 200CFS the East Walker River was still asleep for the winter. When I fished it in the fall a few years ago there were tons of fish in the system. At least now I know…

A bit disappointed with my findings on the East Walker I left the river around noon to try my luck elsewhere. My next destination was Hot Creek.

Hot Pool On Hot Creek

Hot Creek
Hot Creek is a unique stream in that it is a cold spring fed creek that is counterbalanced with nearby hot geothermic activity. It does get hot in certain areas but is generally cold enough to allow trout to thrive even in the dead of winter.

I read a fishing report stating that you had to walk in to get to the creek. I wasn’t quite sure what “walking in” meant until I arrived. You have to park your car in a very small parking area at the entrance of the Hot Creek Ranch and walk up the hill through the snow to get to the creek. The road to get to Hot Creek beyond Hot Creek Ranch is not plowed.

Walk Ins Only
Hot Creek Winter

It’s a little less than a mile to get to the creek but it was a bit of an ass kicker because the snow was so thick. However once I got to the creek something magical happened. I had the creek all to myself.

The fishing was phenomenal. I had just arrived to the start of a BWO hatch and hooked several nice bows and browns on a dry before they stopped feeding on top. I nymphed the majority of creek and caught so many fish that I lost count. Most of the fish averaged a good 10-12” with the exception of a few zingers that I landed or lost near the 14-16” range. I didn’t see a single soul until I decided to leave.

BWO eater

There are a crazy amount of fish in Hot Creek. As I would cross the creek I saw tons of fish darting out of places that I had previously drifted through. They are most definitely in there even if you don’t hook them. I didn’t see any monster-sized fish this time around but I’d love to one day hook myself one of those exceptionally large Hot Creek fatties.

I decided not stay the night because I didn’t want to have to walk through all that snow again to fish; plus how can you top such an amazing afternoon. I somehow survived the 5 hour drive back and called it a day.

Catch and Release Only