One day when the fishing wasn’t that great, my brother Lincoln and I found the hood of an old car stuck in the side of the hill. We were around ten years old, and we used the hood as a sled, throwing ourselves down the gravel hill into the creek, riding the hood. I can still feel the heat of that metal while we slid down, then hit the cold water. I think the hood was from a Ford Pinto, if I remember right. God, it was fun.
Or the time that Lincoln, our friend Tiller, and I snuck a couple of Budweiser beers from the old metal Coleman ice chest that Dad had. We stuck the beers in our creels and headed upstream at the creek. We felt like men at the age of 13, drinking a beer on the rocks. Of course, Dad found out about it. We had the empties in our creels at the end of the day.
I can go on and on about the creeks of Butte County, where I grew up. We had so much fun fishing, living life, learning, and of course getting into trouble. For many years, the West Branch of the Feather River, Butte Creek, or Big Chico Creek was a nightly fly-fishing outing, wading wet, chasing trout, and coming home late in the warm summer air. Nothing was better than riding down the Skyway or Highway 32, still wet, down into the hot valley, tired, dirty, and worn out, but with smiles on our faces, thinking about all the willing trout that came to the fly.
Today, much has changed. Back then, the Skyway was a two-lane dirt road. Now it’s four lanes of pavement. That alone tells you all you need to know. But what still calls me back are the rainbow and brown trout in the West Branch of the Feather River, Butte Creek, and Big Chico Creek — most of them wild fish — and the brook trout in many of their tributaries. And, not including their tributaries, I figure these three streams total close to 90 miles of water.
The West Branch of the Feather
The West Branch of the Feather River starts at Snag Lake, which is a large marshy area with multiple springs. A dam was built at the west side of the marsh to create the lake. The West Branch then follows Humbug Summit Road (Forest Service Road 25N27). A short distance downstream from Snag Lake, Coon Hollow Creek joins the West Branch. It holds brook trout. A short distance later, maybe a mile or so, the West Branch takes a southwest turn away from the road. The only two places to access the creek from this point are Philbrook Lake Road and the West Branch Campground. A small campground is at the confluence of Philbrook Creek and the West Branch. You’ll find brook trout in Philbrook Creek, too. The fish aren’t big, but they’re beautiful.
The West Branch then flows down into a canyon and isn’t accessible for about eight miles until it runs underneath the bridge on Browns Raven Road. To get there, go down Humbug Valley Road until you come to the intersection with the Skyway and head south on it to the small town of Inskip. Browns Raven Road is at the corner where the old Inskip Inn is located. Head east down Browns Raven Road until you come to the bridge at the West Branch.
The next access points down the Skyway headed toward the town of Paradise are at Sterling City. There are two of them, Reston Road and the road known as the P Line. Reston Road heads back northeast and down into the canyon. There you will find an old wooden dam that creates a diversion that runs down into De Sabla Reservoir and then into the lower portion of Butte Creek in the Butte Creek Canyon.
The P Line breaks away from Reston Road after leaving Sterling City and continues southwest until you reach the convergence of the West Branch and Big Kimshew Creek. From there, the West Branch falls down through a canyon on the east side of Paradise and through the township of Concow until it runs into Lake Oroville. I have never fished below the Kimshew confluence, because the trout fishery turns into a bass fishery, and National Forest land reverts to private property. The P Line is currently closed because of damage from the Camp Fire. The Forest Service has told me that they should have both areas open by the summer of 2021. (By the way, wildfire this summer also has affected the watershed of the lower portion of the West Branch.)
The fish are all wild in the West Branch — rainbows and browns. Brook trout in the tributaries Coon Hollow and Philbrook Creeks also are wild fish. All are willing to eat generic dry flies such as a Parachute Adams.
Butte Creek
The Butte Creek drainage is the canyon just north of the West Branch. The creek starts high up, at the base of Snow Mountain (elevation 6,988). There it is just a brook and gains water from Willow Creek, Scotts John Creek, Jones Creek, and Colby Creek — all tributaries that host brook trout. The confluence of all these creeks takes place around the town of Jonesville. Just downstream from Jonesville is the Cherry Hill Forest Service Campground on Humboldt Road. There, the creek is mostly pocket water with large rocks and with many downed trees crossing the stream. From Cherry Hill, the creek flows down through the mountain community of Butte Meadows. Many anglers will not fish this area because the cabins there imply this is private property, but it is not, and from there, you can wade the creek all the way down to the bridge on Skyway Road, the intersection of the Skyway and Humboldt Road. The Butte Meadows Forest Service Campground is located at this intersection. The famed Bambi Inn, an historic bar and restaurant, is located on the east side of this intersection.
From the Skyway bridge, the creek follows Humboldt Road for a couple of miles and then turns south down the canyon. Humboldt Road heads north to the intersection with Highway 32. The creek is reached by hiking down the canyon from Thatcher Ridge Road. There, the creek is pocket water with huge boulders, lava flows, and large holes. Bull Creek and Clear Creek merge into Butte Creek, and the creek is now in a rugged, deep canyon. There is very little access in this portion of the creek once you reach the bridge on Butte Creek at Doe Mill Road. There is a recreation area there called Butte Creek Forks. This area is at a lower elevation, around 2,900 feet. There are still trout in the cold pocket water. From there, Butte Creek f lows southwest, down into the canyon to Centerville. Both sides of the creek and many of the bridge access areas are private property. The creek then flows out into the valley through rice farms and joins the Sacramento River.
The rainbows and browns in Butte Creek are planted fish in the community of Butte Meadows, but down in the canyon, all the fish are wild.
Big Chico Creek
Big Chico Creek has very limited access. It also holds the most beautiful brown trout I have ever seen: golden-brown, with a pearlescent white belly and deep red spots — a great little wild fish. Big Chico Creek starts just off of Highway 32 in an area called Chico Meadows. There, Big Chico Creek and Cascade Creek flow together and form the main body of water. Like many tributaries, Cascade Creek has a population of small brook trout. Years ago, there was a small campground located at the confluence, and because a soda spring was also there, it was called Soda Springs Campground. A gate now keeps out vehicles. You can still park at the gate and walk in to fish, though.
Big Chico Creek follows Highway 32 for approximately eight miles. Then it crosses under the highway and disappears into a rugged, deep, lava-cliff canyon. The next access downstream is in the town of Forest Ranch at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Preserve (BC-CER). This preserve is administered by Chico State University and is located on 14 Mile House Road. It is a walk-in area only. The dirt road is steep going down into the canyon from Highway 32. The water down there is breathtaking and rugged, holding wild rainbows and browns.
The next access area is in Bidwell Park, in Chico. There is fishing in the upper park for trout and steelhead. The lower park is a bass fishery. Once the creek leaves the town of Chico, it flows through private property, ranches, and into the Sacramento River.
Fishing the Creeks
Because the creeks in Butte County are situated in the Valley District of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, their non-anadromous sections are open to angling year round. Butte Creek and Big Chico Creek, however, will attract steelhead, so you need to check the state’s angling regulations for restrictions that apply on the lower portions of these two streams. (Specifically, the current 2020 regulations apply special restrictions below Centerville Head Dam on Butte Creek, and below Higgins Hole Falls on Big Chico Creek.)
Like many mountain streams in Northern California, Butte County’s creeks host a variety of food items for trout. All the creeks have stoneflies — Golden Stones and large Pteronarcys californica, Salmonflies. The creeks have Rhyacophila and Hydropsyche caddisflies, Baetis mayflies, as well as Pale Morning Duns and March Browns. Ants and beetles are also part of the diet for these trout. Midges, sculpins, and dragonflies round out the food sources. The majority of the hatches occur during the spring, summer, and fall, although I have seen a mayfly hatch on a warm winter day in January when the temperature was in the high fifties.
The spring is the best time to hit the stonefly hatches. In the afternoon, the nymphs are crawling out on rocks, willow branches, and other objects to hatch into adults, mate, and fly back to the water to lay their eggs.
Late afternoon is the best time to nymph fish with a stonefly imitation, and the evening is dry-fly time. I like using nymphs that are impressionistic — a Rubberlegs gets the job done. For dry-fly imitations, I like my Lance’s Bullet Head Stone Fly. It floats high, isn’t bulky while casting, and has a great silhouette on the water.
Caddisflies hatch all day throughout the spring, summer, and fall, as do mayflies. Nymphing with a Bird’s Nest in olive, brown, or and black works, as does a Hare’s Ear Nymph and Whitlock’s Red Fox Squirrel Nymph. For the mayflies, I fish my Lance’s X-May in olive, Pale Morning Dun, and red. Hogan’s Red Headed Step Child and an S&M in olive work well, too. For dries, I like my Yuba River Caddis in tan or olive, Mercer’s Missing Link in olive, Adams Parachutes, Rio Grande Kings, and my dad’s Coffin Nail. All float well and provide a great silhouette.
Any type of high-floating ant or beetle imitation will serve for terrestrials. You might also want to carry small, size 10 hopper imitations. I have used my Bullet Head Golden Stone on many occasions to represent a hopper.
High-Sticking a Barr’s Slumpbuster in olive or brown at the head of a deep pool and letting it swing through the water column can produce great results. I use small Slumpbusters patterns on the West Branch and Butte Creek, size 8 or 10 — nothing bigger.
If I am fishing, not guiding, I usually am nymph fishing — straight-line nymphing, high-sticking, Euro nymphing, or whatever you want to call it. You need to get the fly down and fish the heads of the larger pools and runs. Deep, fast water is where the big fish are found. I usually don’t nymph with an indicator. Many times, I attach a Slumpbuster as my point fly.
When I’m guiding, I usually start out with dry flies. You don’t need a long leader on these streams — 9-footers tapered to 5X tippet are ideal — and the canyon winds blow longer leaders off-target. I fish two f lies about 18 inches apart. I like to keep the flies floating, so I use a lot of floatant. There are few things better than watching willing wild fish come up for a dry fly.
Wading and hiking in these creeks can be treacherous. There is nothing worse than rolling an ankle when you’re way down in a canyon with no one in sight. Take your time crawling around the rocks, the loose shell banks, and sharp lava. And be prepared. In my fishing pack, I always carry water, snacks, matches, and a warm pullover. I also use a wading staff, and I make sure all my equipment is in good working order.
A lot has changed since I was a kid, but the pleasure of fishing the Butte County creeks I grew up on isn’t one of them. It’s not an exotic destination, just a good one. There are plenty of similar waters elsewhere in Butte County and throughout the Sierra — which perhaps is the most important aspect of this story. Go explore.
