I was introduced to the Lakes Basin Recreation Area in Plumas County by the late fly-fishing guide Jon Baiocchi, or as I called him, Jonny B, about seven years ago. We developed a tour of the creeks in the area. We called it the Gray Eagle Creek Tour. We held dozens of tours, and the two of us fished the Lakes Basin area numerous times. I fell in love with the place and have introduced it to my best friend, my wife, Kirsten. She and our children and I have spent many hours camping, fishing, hiking, and hunting throughout the Western United States. In all our travels, we have never found an area that is so diverse in the outdoor activities that are available. You can fish, camp, hike, backpack, boat, wind surf, ski, bike . . . and the list goes on. If that doesn’t sell you on it, then the picturesque scenery will on your first visit. It is simply gorgeous.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt designated just over 1.1 million acres of land as the Plumas National Forest. We owe much of our public outdoor space in our country to that visionary explorer and outdoorsman. In 1926, the Plumas National Forest designated approximately twelve thousand acres as the Lakes Basin Recreation Area.
The Lakes Basin Recreation Area comprises 19 lakes, several streams, five campgrounds, three historic lodges, and over thirty miles of trails, including the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs along the southwest side. Mount Elwell, in the middle of the recreation area, stands 7,818 feet tall. The lakes include Goose Lake, Haven Lake, Round Lake, Big Bear Lake, Little Bear Lake, Cub Lake, Silver Lake, Mud Lake, Long Lake, Wades Lake, Jamison Lake, Rock Lake, Grass Lake, Smith Lake, Hidden Lake, Grassy Lake, Gold Lake, Little Gold Lake and Squaw Lake. The best-known of the streams is Gray Eagle Creek. The campgrounds are located at Gold Lake (two), Goose Lake, Haven Lake, and at the Lakes Basin Trailhead. Gray Eagle Lodge, Elwell Lakes Lodge, and Gold Lake Lodge offer rooms, dining, and stores. The trails range from easy to moderately tough, and all the trails and trailheads are very well marked.
The Lakes and Lake Gear
I approach lake fishing in the Lakes Basin Recreation Area a little bit differently than most fly fishers. I usually like to stay away from the popular lakes, such as Gold Lake. Gold Lake is a managed fishery and as a result often holds large numbers of planted rainbows and kokanees. Gold Lake also has lake trout. Some of the higher lakes, such as Hidden Lake and Jamison Lake, hold brook trout and golden trout. You must hike to these lakes, but they have not been planted in more than twenty years. The fish there are all wild fish. I don’t carry a float tube to fish these lakes. A float tube, waders, booties, fins, and a personal floatation device add up to way too much weight and equipment to carry, with not that much of a reward. You can catch all the fish you want by fishing around the shoreline at these walk-in lakes.
My outfit for these lakes consists of a 9-foot 4-weight or 5-weight rod, with a reel loaded with a weight-forward floating line and a spool loaded with an intermediate line. If I am fishing the floating line with dry flies, I like to use a 9-foot 5X tapered leader. I then add two to three feet of 5X tippet and I tie on my fly. Usually, I fish the same patterns I like to fish in the area’s creeks: the Hi-Vis Parachute Adams, Rio Grande King, or a Yellow Humpy, all size 14 or 16. I also throw some terrestrials into the fly box — foam beetles and flying ants. Fish in high-alpine lakes love terrestrials.
On the intermediate line, I use the same 9-foot monofilament 5X tapered leader and then attach my fly. (You can use fluorocarbon if you like, but it’s not really needed.) With this subsurface rig, I fish damselfly and water boatmen imitations and small leech patterns. It’s important on these crystal-clear lakes to use leader length to separate the fly line from the fly. These fish are hungry, but they are also very spooky. I also bring along one of my pretied indicator drop leaders and fish small Balanced Leeches underneath it. Small Tiger and Zebra Midges in red, black, and claret, size 18 to 22, also work very well at these lakes.
My favorite lakes to walk into and fish are Wades Lake, Jamison Lake, and Rock Lake. These lakes don’t get fished too often, because getting there requires a hike. The trailhead is the Jamison Creek Trailhead located at the end of Jamison Creek Road. The hike in is approximately six miles long. The trail is rated as a moderate, and the first mile is the toughest. It has multiple switchbacks and is rocky in spots. It leads you along the southern ridgeline of Jamison Creek. The first lake you come to is Grass Lake. Many folks stop there to fish and camp. Another 3.5 miles and you are at Jamison Lake, and if you continue for another half a mile, you will reach Rock Lake.
I like fishing Jamison Lake with terrestrials. I just locate which way the wind is blowing, get my back to it, and start to fish. I usually just use a roll cast. You will see the fish coming up from the depths. It is a fun place both to fish and to visit. I recommend staying the night at the lake. There are many camping spots around it. June to late September are the best weather months for this high-alpine lake. October can bring some of the best fishing. The fish understand that soon, ice will be covering the lake and food will be scarce.
The Lakes Basin Recreation Area is at a high elevation, with many of the lakes and streams averaging 5,500 feet. The peaks range 7,300 feet and higher. A lot of the places you will fish or visit will be above the tree line. Make sure that you take your time when hiking and while doing strenuous physical activities. The higher elevation will affect you. It does me, every time I am up there.
The Creeks of the Lakes Basin
The Lakes Basin has several trout creeks within it and near it. If you like small streams, they can be very fun to fish. I’ll mention one, Gray Eagle Creek, because it has an easily-accessed trail along part of its length and thus already attracts anglers and hikers, and it is representative of the creek-angling experience in general.
On a trip to fish it earlier this year, my wife Kirsten and my friend Gene and I walked in from the Gray Eagle Creek Trailhead, located right on the Gold Lake Highway, which runs from Highway 89 over the mountain to Highway 49. I brought one of my yellow Labrador retrievers, Ruger, along with us for the afternoon trip.
The trail that runs from the Gray Eagle Trailhead down to the creek is not difficult, with just a single switchback in it. Once you reach the creek, the trail follows it downstream and then heads over the creekbed on a very nice bridge. The bridge is wide and strong enough to drive a quad over. The trail then arrives at a T, and you can travel upstream or downstream. You can also access Smith Lake on this trail and the Gray Eagle Lodge.
We began fishing from a point along the trail. I headed upstream and Gene went downstream. Ruger fished with me, and Kirsten started her usual activities — the camera came out and she began taking photographs. Ruger and I fished a small pool approximately eight feet long and five feet wide with a depth of four to five feet. A fish hit on my first cast, and the action didn’t end until the last fish in the pool had to try to eat the Hi-Vis Parachute Adams at the end of my tippet. I counted seven fish from that one pool, ranging in size from three to eight inches long. Eight-inch fish are trophies in that kind of stream. Gene was having the same success in the pools that he was fishing. Mind you, these fish are all wild and need to be handled with great care. Keep them wet as much as you can before the release.
Gray Eagle Creek supplies irrigation water to the Graeagle Water and Land Company, and its lower stretch runs dry once the pool behind the diversion dam is emptied. However, the water above the diversion dam is clean, cold, and falls through one of the most beautiful watersheds in Northern California.
Creek Gear
My creek gear is simple. I like to fish a 9-foot 4-weight or 5-weight rod, same as I do for the lakes in the Lakes Basin. I sometimes fish an 8-foot 4-weight, but I have found that the extra foot helps to reach out over small pools. I used to fish a weight-forward line, but in recent years, I have gone back to the old double-taper lines. You use only 5 to 10 feet of fly line while fishing these small creeks. I attach a 7.5-foot 5X leader to the fly line using a loop-to-loop connection. I then tie on a 5X tippet about two feet in length, to which I attach a dry fly. As noted in the section on fishing lakes, I like a Hi-Vis Parachute Adams, Rio Grande King, or a Yellow Humpy, size 14 or 16.
For my nymphing setup, I use the same gear, but with just a foot of added tippet. Then I tie on a nymph and from that, I tie on another piece of footlong 5X monofilament, then my second nymph. I add a size-appropriate nontoxic split shot, but I don’t use an indicator with this rig — I just tight-line it. If you want to put a sighter on it, I recommend purchasing yellow, orange, or chartreuse bobber stops and using them for a sighter. They slip on easily, and you can adjust them up and down your leader quickly. My favorite nymphs for this area are Doug Ouellette’s Sweet Pea, size 16 to 18, my Lance’s Hot Spot X-May in brown, size 16 to 18, and Zack Thurman’s Jigged Bird’s Nest Brown in size 16. But you can use whatever you have for creek fishing, and it’ll probably work fine. I typically wade wet when fishing creeks. The most important gear is going to be your wading boots and staff. I always wear my wading boots or shoes, not hiking boots or trail runners, and a pair of neoprene socks. This system protects my feet from getting ice cold and protects my ankles from injuries. I also recommend bringing a wading staff. They are not just for wading, and can assist you in retrieving flies stuck in a branch or in moving a snake out of the way.
If You Go…
If able to obtain reservations, I would recommend folks stay at one of the three historic lodges situated in the Lakes Basin Recreation Area. These have been standing for nearly a century, are family owned and operated, and have wonderful ambiances:
Gray Eagle Lodge, (800) 635-8778, http://www.grayeaglelodge.com
Elwell Lakes Lodge, (530) 836-2347, https://www.elwelllakeslodge.com
Gold Lake Lodge, (530) 8362350, https://www.goldlakelodge.com
Lodging is also available in the town of Graeagle and the broader Lakes Basin area, where you can find other old (and popular) lodges. If caror RV-camping, there are a number of public campgrounds within and around the Lakes Basin Recreation Area.
For more information on the amenities and activities the Recreation Area offers, check out the Plumas National Forest Beckwourth Ranger District Lakes Basin Recreation Area website at https://UMENTS/fseprd570997.pdf (visit it easily with the QR code included with this article). If you backpack, make sure you if you pack it in, you pack it out. I am the guy who ends up carrying more trash out than what I bring in. There is nothing worse than litter in this beautiful area.
Check with the Beckwourth Ranger District, (530) 836-2575, if you intend to backpack and camp. Then can tell you where camping is allowed, whether fire permits are needed, and also advise on the use of propane stoves.
All flies should be barbless. There are no special regulations for the Lakes Basin Recreation Area, but using barbless hooks will help the fish survive.
When venturing into the backcountry, always be prepared for the worst. Make sure you have all the equipment you need to be safe. Cell phones and other devices don’t work in many areas. I have a satellite phone that I use on all my offthe-beaten-path excursions. These devices are now quite reasonable to own and operate.
First-aid kits are a must while you are enjoying your visit to the recreation area. I also carry my EpiPen everywhere I travel. It is a must for me.
— Lance Gray
