16 June 26, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 14
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 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 until it’s waters are impounded in Lake Britton.
Hat Creek has three distinct personalities depending on which stretch of the
stream you visit. From its birth in Lassen National Park downstream to near the
town of Old Station Hat Creek is a typical high mountain trout creek. The flows are
fast and cold and the stream is narrow and brushy.
On the upper portion of the creek. Most of the fish encountered are planter
rainbows and brookies, but there are a few wild brook trout in the mix too. These
trout have a short feeding season, so they don’t have the luxury
of being selective. Terrestrial patterns like ant or hopper imitations
generally fill the bill nicely. On the upper section of the
creek the trout are small averaging about 6 to 7 inches. Anything
that approaches 10 or more inches is considered to be quite
large.
From Old Station downstream to Bridge Campground, a
distance of approximately 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.
Mixed in with the planters there are solid
numbers of smallish wild rainbows and a
sleeper population of wild reclusive browns
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ranging up to and beyond the
20-inch mark.
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.
Between the Bridge Campground
and the town of Cassel
most of
Hat Creek
runs
through
private
property.
At Cassel, public access becomes good once again, but it is an
entirely different creek. The riffles and runs of the upper section
are long gone. The stream bed flattens out above Cassel and several
springs flow into the creek transforming it into a classic spring creek
with clear glassy water, abundant weeds and insects and rainbows
and browns that routinely grow to 5 pounds and more.
At Cassel, the creek is manipulated and ends up flowing down through the Hat No.
1 Power House. Below the power house the creek forms into Baum Lake, which is
weedy, clear and packed with insects. Both the Cassel area and Baum Lake are planted
heavily and there are no gear restrictions.
Below Baum Lake is the world famous wild trout section of Hat Creek. This stretch
is just over 3 miles long and terminates where the creek enters Lake Britton. The fly
section boasts one major riffle, but the rest of it is made up of placid gin clear water.
The trout in the fly section average 12 to 20 inches long. This area features educated
highly selective trout and hooking one of them on a dry fly is an achievement worth
bragging about.
The fly section is not planted and is designated as a wild trout zone. Only single
barbless hooks are permitted on the fly section. Small flies and a variety of different
hatches are the norm on the fly section, so it is always wise to stop in at a fly shop to
determine what is going on in terms of hatches at a given time before trying your luck.
3913
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