Hat Creek is not just the famous “blue-ribbon” water below Baum Lake. It is also a high-mountain stream, truly a creek, that flows in a northerly direction from Lassen Volcanic National Park. Part of it actually disappears, then reappears as Hat Creek becomes a spring creek heading north toward Lake Britton. All in all, Hat Creek flows through approximately 50 miles of public and private property, and a fair amount of it is accessible for angling. Some sections have trout very willing to come to the fly, while on others you need your A game. Hat Creek can test your skill and patience, but it will reward you for it.
Instead of just focusing on the blue-ribbon stretch between Powerhouse 2 and Lake Britton, which draws most of the attention of fly fishers, grab a map and explore the whole creek. Every section will give you a lesson in fly fishing and will leave you with fond memories. Follow me here as I fish my way down the length of the creek.
From Lassen to Baum Lake
Hat Creek starts high on the slopes of Mount Lassen. The West Fork of Hat Creek meets the East Fork just north of Highway 89 and a bit south of the park’s Emigrant Pass. These are tiny brooks and in places just a few feet wide, and are fishable, although they hold small trout. There is a small parking area on the north side of the highway where the West Fork flows northward under it. Here you will find the Hat Lake Trailhead, which can help you access this water south of the highway. Walking south from here a short distance takes you to Hat Lake, actually a meadow with the West Fork running through it.
I use the Nobles Emigrant–Hat Creek Trail, which has a trailhead just a short distance down the road from the Hat Lake Trailhead, to reach Hat Creek below the juncture of the west and east forks. The Nobles Emigrant Trail is actually a fire road up by the trailhead, with a couple of bridges that are sturdy enough for firefighting equipment to cross. It is easy walking. The trail travels 5.7 miles to where it meets the Pacific Crest Trail. The character of the creek is that of a pocket-water freestone stream. It holds many wild, but willing brook trout to 7 inches long and rainbow trout of 8 to 9 inches. Every now and then, you might land an 8-to-10-inch brown. The creek flows northward over lava rocks into ash mud deposits and back onto lava. It does this for the majority of its length until it leaves the national park and enters Emigrant Canyon.
I have fished to where the Nobles Emigrant and Pacific Crest Trails meet. I like using my tenkara rod for this section. I love watching these wild fish come to a dry fly, and they usually are not particular about the pattern you toss — generic mayflies and caddisflies will draw hits. My favorite dry fly here is a Hi-Vis Adams Parachute, size 16 (see the pattern described in “Valley River Mayflies,” March/April 2023). You really don’t need any other fly — just some floatant and some extra tippet, and you are ready to fish all day.
In Emigrant Canyon, outside of the park, the creek flows into the flat at the foot of Badger Mountain and increases in size, with big boulders and some steep drops. Forest Service Road 32N13 and the spur 32N90 will lead you to Emigrant Ford Campground, which is a good access for the creek. Once the canyon opens into the valley, though, half the creek disappears. The water flows underneath a lava shelf and doesn’t return to the stream until it rises back to the surface at Big Spring, located on Highway 44. I don’t fish the dewatered section of Hat Creek below Big Springs. It flows at only about 40 cubic feet per second.
In the canyon between Big Springs and the highway bridge near the Hat Creek Resort, I like to fish dry flies, but I also like to high-stick this water with caddis, mayfly, and stonefly nymphs, fished deep — you need to get them down deep into the boulder pools, because that’s where the larger fish are. Hat Creek here is a fast channel with lots of feisty rainbows, both wild and stocked, holding on the bottom in between the cobble and boulders. I try to fish this section during the afternoon, because I know the fish will be hugging the bottom then, when the sun is high. I use nymphs in shades of tan and light olive, but if it is overcast, I fish nymphs in black, dark olive, or brown. Silhouette is the key in this kind of nymphing. My biggest fish so far in this stretch has been a feisty, slab-like 15-inch rainbow that took a Fox’s October Caddis Poopah in late October.
Once the creek crosses under the bridge at Hat Creek Resort on Highway 44, it flows over a cobble and gravel bottom. Here, the water slows down and splits, with part of it diverted to supply water to the cabin communities of Sugar Loaf Lane and Willow Lane. The two sections then rejoin on National Forest land near the Hat Creek Campground.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife plants the section of creek that f lows through the Hat Creek and Cave Campgrounds with hatchery-raised trout. High-sticking nymphs such as black or brown Bird’s Nests in size 12 to 14 and letting the flies swing at the end of the drift is productive in this section.
From Cave Campground northward to the small community of Hat Creek the fish are all wild. The creek gets channelized in the lava flow, and caddisflies and stoneflies are the main food source. Fast-moving water four to five feet deep is common, so again, fishing deep using the high-stick method is the way to go. I fish this section slowly and methodically, making sure my flies are deep and at a dead drift.
A trick to fishing this area is to cast upstream into the deep current and then walk the lava bank as your fly or flies drift with the current, keeping them as deep as you can for as long as you can. This tactic is as old as prehistoric humans just trying to get something to eat. I call it the cave man tactic. I also do this using dry flies, and it works well when the trout are inclined to rise. It gives you maybe 10 to 15 feet more of a dead drift, just enough for something to give in and eat your fly. The tactic might be pushing the limits of fly fishing, but we need to push the limits to fool finicky fish.
From Cave Campground to Rocky Campground (which is closed) and on to Bridge Campground, there is a “Fishing Access Trail” that follows the west side of the creek. (Use the Fishing Access Trail QR code on page 35 to view an online map.) A foot bridge crosses the creek approximately three-quarters of a mile upstream from Cave Campground. The trail is heavily used not only by fly fishers, but by hikers and mountain bikers.
Farther north on Highway 89, public access becomes spotty because of private property. The Forest Service’s Honn Campground sits beside the creek. From the community of Hat Creek to Doyles Corner and then down into the valley of the Rising River, the valley through which Hat Creek flows becomes huge. It has three lakes: Rising River Lake, Crystal Lake, and Baum Lake at the bottom. Baum and Crystal Lakes are open to public angling, Rising River Lake is not. The water conveyance channel immediately north and south of Cassel Road in the town of Cassel can sometimes provide interesting fishing for fly anglers. But only after Hat Creek flows out of Baum Lake (see my article about the Baum Lake area in the November/December 2022 issue) does it becomes the legendary wild-trout, blue-ribbon spring creek, which I also consider the trophy section of the stream.
From Baum Lake to Lake Britton
In the past, Hat Creek’s wild-trout trophy section, which runs from the Hat Creek Powerhouse 2 to a weir just upstream from Lake Britton, has been filled with large fish in a primarily meadow setting. This section, however, has changed over the years. A while back the fishery declined as a slug of sediment washed down from above, changing the habitat for both aquatic insects and the trout that feed on them. In response, there have been a number of remedial projects in this area undertaken by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies, and also California Trout. They have implemented stream improvements and have been working on the silt issue and on spawning areas for larger fish. The trophy section has recovered and once again will challenge the fly-fisher’s angling skills.
The easiest access to Hat Creek downstream from Baum Lake is at the Hat Creek Day Use Area, which is located on the north side of State Highway 299, just to the west of the Highway 299 bridge that crosses Hat Creek. You can park there and walk upstream (crossing the highway) or downstream. Another access is at the east aside of the Highway 299 bridge, where a small turnout is on the north side of the highway. The well-traveled downstream trail will take you almost to Lake Britton, and a trail also heads upstream near the east side of the stream.
As you travel east on Highway 299 from the junction of Highway 299 and Highway 89, you will see the turnoff to Hat Creek Powerhouse 2 on the south side of the highway approximately three-quarters of a mile from Cassel Road. The Powerhouse 2 road will take you to a small parking lot near the powerhouse and at the head of Hat Creek’s iconic blue-ribbon section. You can fish downstream from this access point to the Carbon Bridge meadow (known for its dry-fly action) and beyond. Directly in front of the parking area is a shallow stretch known as the Powerhouse 2 Riff le. Although its fish aren’t necessarily easy to catch, the broken water can help obscure your presence, and you usually don’t have to cast “far and fine.” Nymphing tactics tend to work best here.
Walking downstream from the Powerhouse 2 Riffle will quickly lead you to the slow, flat water for which the blue-ribbon section is best known. This is where fly fishers come to test their casting, presentation, and hatch-matching skills. Because the current speed is languid, the fish here have plenty of time to examine your fly; refusals can be frequent and maddening. Look carefully to try to figure out what the fish might be rising to, and what kind of presentation — upstream or down, active or dead-drifted — might entice a grab.
If you continue east on Highway 299 from the Powerhouse 2 turnoff, toward the Highway 299 bridge and the day-use area there, you’ll see on the north side of the highway an old paved road that is approximately three-quarters of a mile west the bridge. It turns into a well-traveled dirt road that heads to the north and brings you to the west side of the creek, up a bit from the Hat Creek weir that keeps non-trout species of fish from swimming from Lake Britton into the wild-trout stretch. Anglers used to camp here, but now it is only a day-use area.
This lower section tends to have faster, rifflier water than the flat-water stretch between Powerhouse 2 and Highway 299. There are areas to fish dry flies, highstick nymphs, and even swing streamers. It is easy walking and easy wading if you take your time and wade in places that are shallow with hardly any current.
I like fishing streamers in this area. I like enticing the larger fish to show themselves from the cut banks, deep runs, and logjams. My favorite fly for this is an olive Barr’s Slumpbuster in size 8. It is a great sculpin imitation, and the size is perfect for Hat Creek. Prickly sculpins form the majority of the sculpin population in the creek. They have large fins, and the Barr’s Slumpbuster mimics them and how they move. I swing the fly anyplace I believe would hold a big fish. The grabs feel like you are snagged on structure until the fish start to fight. Other times I blind cast upstream into a deeper channel and strip the fly back downstream, trying to emulate a fleeing baitfish. The grabs are fantastic.
Hat Creek Rigs
The high-sticking rig I use for Hat Creek is straightforward. I start with a 9-foot 4X (6-pound-test) tapered leader. I then marry a 2-foot piece of 4X monofilament nylon tippet to the terminal end of the leader using a Blood Knot. When you tie the knot, you will have two tags remaining. One tag will be facing down toward the terminal end of the leader, and the other will be facing up toward the fly line. Cut off the tag that is facing up. On the bottom tag, I tie on a beadhead nymph, and at the end of the tippet I tie on another nymph. I place my split shot on my leader right above the Blood Knot.
The streamer rig is as simple as you can get. I use a fluorocarbon tapered leader, but you can use a nylon monofilament tapered leader, if you like. (I favor the fluorocarbon because it resists abrasion a little better. You will be casting the streamer into areas of the creek that have rocks, boul-ders, logs, and other things that can damage to your leader.) I don’t want to lose a fish to a failed leader. I use a 7-1/2-foot 3X (8-pound-test) leader loop-to-looped to a floating fly line and tie my streamer right to the terminal end. I don’t change flies when fishing this rig, preferring to stay with the Barr’s Slumpbuster.
As for rigs to fish the spring-creek stretch below Powerhouse 2, the trout can leisurely inspect your offering. When fishing dries, wets, and nymphs, you may need to use 6X and sometimes even 7X tippet. Your leader should be long enough to keep the fish from spotting your fly line when your fly or flies land on the water.
Trout Food
Hat Creek is home to a diversity of food sources for trout — six different mayflies, four different stoneflies, and seven different caddisflies, plus midges, sculpins, trout minnows, scuds, and leeches. The trout have plenty of food available to them throughout the year. Sculpins are always available to the fish, and big f ish like big bites of protein, which is why I love fishing a sculpin imitation. I often fish streamers while folks are fishing caddisfly or stonefly imitations. I might land fewer fish than they do, but my fish are all large. As I noted, on the upper stretches of Hat Creek, you can fish basic mayfly, caddisfly, and stonefly imitations for both nymphs and dries, and sometimes a size 16 Hi-Vis Adams Parachute is all you need. On the lower, spring-creek portion of Hat Creek, matching the hatch can be crucial, but I’ve had very good luck over the years by focusing on midges. From Powerhouse 2 down to Highway 299, going small is a good general approach. Midge hatches happen all year long, with peaks from late March to early October, and this food source is the backbone of the fishery here. In the spring and summer, the midges cycle four to five times a day. There are always midges escaping from the bottom and trying to rise to the surface. I fish WD40s in black or gray, size 18 to 20, on a long monofilament leader. I cast slightly upstream and let the fly drift slowly back. The drift must be slow and without drag. Any drag equals no fish.
I also love to fish the Golden Stonefly hatch that happens in April and goes on into May and sometimes early June. This is the hatch we always fished during the trout opener of past years. I go old school during this hatch. A favorite fly of mine is the Burlap Golden Stone. It is simple to tie with cheap materials. I tie it on a steelhead-style hook such as a TMC 7999. It has a puff of pheasant hen saddle hackle with fiber from a burlap bag wrapped as a body and then a pheasant hen soft hackle in front. You can also weight it with 15 wraps of .025 non-toxic wire. Another favorite Golden Stone imitation is Mike Mercer’s Poxyback Golden Stone. I fish this fly on a high-stick rig as the terminal fly with a mayfly imitation on the tag end. I like to fish it in two to four feet of highly oxygenated water.
Making Memories
Hat Creek has been a special place for many California fly fishers for many years. I wouldn’t trade my memories of it for anything. When I was first able to drive, my camping trip on Opening Day of trout season was to Hat Creek — not just anyplace on Hat Creek, but the famous 3.5 miles of water that make up the trophy section, from the Powerhouse 2 Riffle all the way down to the fish barrier just above Lake Britton. I had two full days of fishing ahead of me, and I was ready. I joined up with the Chico Area Fly Fishers for the annual trout opener the club held every year.
Back then, I had a long-bed 1970 Chevy pickup with a 350 cubic-inch engine and three on the tree. This old truck was a perfect camping rig. I had an old trucker’s tarp that I got from my dad, and I found two 9-foot aluminum poles along with 100 feet of rope and fashioned myself a truck bed tent. I rolled out my sleeping bag in the back, and I was in hog heaven when it came to comfort.
For my fishing gear, I had plenty of flies that I had been tying all winter long, my fiberglass Powell fly rod, and my old five-dollar flea market Pflueger reel. I was all set. The only thing I was missing were waders and boots. I was a kid. I waded wet all that April weekend and caught just as many fish as the guys who had fancy neoprene waders.
I was a true trout bum, fishing wet and freezing my ass off. I dried my pants at the fire while I sat inside my sleeping bag sitting on the tailgate of the old truck eating stew out of a can that I warmed up by the flames. The trick to warming up food still in the can is to continue to turn the can beside the fire before you burn the contents. Great memories and great fish!
Today, that section of Hat Creek still holds fish, and the fishing is still good. The fish still have a PhD in fly fishing, though, so the fly fisher has to be up for the challenge. However, there are also plenty of places on Hat Creek where you can get away from the crowd and enjoy angling for wild fish in a beautiful volcanic landscape. Explore the whole creek and make your own memories of this diverse and rewarding fishery.
Two Flies to Try
The two patterns shown below are flies that I personally like to fish on Hat Creek. You’re unlikely to find them on the lists of recommendations for the creek that are published elsewhere on the Web or in fly-fishing guidebooks.
Barr’s Slumpbuster
Hook: Firehole 811, size 8
Cone: Medium gold conehead
Thread: Olive Danville Flymaster 6/0
Weight: .020-inch lead wire or nontoxic equivalent, 20 turns
Tail: Sculpin olive pine squirrel Zonker strip
Rib: Medium gold wire
Body: Dark olive Krystal Flash
Collar: Sculpin olive pine squirrel Zonker strip
Mike Mercer’s Beaded Biot Poxyback Golden Stone
Hook: TMC 2302, sizes 6 to 12
Bead: Gold, size to match
Thread: Beige Danville Flymaster 6/0
Tail and antennae: Sulphur orange turkey biots, mottled with a brown permanent marker
Abdomen: Sulphur orange turkey biots, mottled with a brown permanent marker
Thorax: Golden Stone Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing
Wing case: Turkey tail
Wing case gloss: Five-minute epoxy or Solarez Bone Dry UV Cure Resin
Legs: Hen back
Collar: Golden Stone Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing, marked on dorsal side only with brown permanent marker
— Lance Gray
If You Go…
The upper portion of Hat Creek is located in the Lassen Volcanic National Park. The park is a destination in its own right. For information, use the QR code printed to the right. The park has many amenities and campgrounds, including the Manzanita Lake Store and rental cabins and a campground located right at Manzanita Lake. There are also campgrounds farther up toward Hat Creek at Lower and Upper Twin Lakes.
I usually access the park via Highway 44 from Redding. From 44, turn south into the Highway 89 entrance to the park. There is a park fee of $30 per car. Continue into the park on Highway 89, and you will cross Hat Creek up past Emigrant Pass. I use the Nobles Emigrant–Hat Creek trailhead to hike into Hat Creek here.
To access the portion of the creek just north of the park, continue north on Highway 44/89 past the park entrance. The creek will be on the right (east) side.
A number of Forest Service roads access the creek. You can find these roads with the Hat Creek Ranger District QR code to the right (click “+” on the online map several times to see the roads) or by buying a map of the forest at a ranger station. There are a number of Forest Service campgrounds in the area. Oddly, three campgrounds that I know of — Big Springs, Twin Bridges, and Emigrant Ford — aren’t depicted on the Hat Creek Ranger District’s online map, but they are shown in the DeLorme California Atlas and Gazetteer.
As you continue northward on Highway 44, you will cross over the creek at the Hat Creek Resort and RV Park, which is where the creek switches for a while to the left (west) side of the highway. Use the adjacent QR code to locate the fishing access trail that runs along the river in the Old Station area.
You can find some services at the Hat Creek Resort and in the small town of Old Station, where there is a modest grocery store, gas station, and a small restaurant. It is hit or miss when the restaurant is open for business. For information on the Hat Creek Resort and RV Park, go to http://hatcreekresortrv.com. At Old Station, Highway 44 turns to the east and heads toward Susanville.
If you stay on Highway 89 heading north, you will travel along the creek in the lava fields and eventually come to Highway 299 and the blue-ribbon section of Hat Creek. Here, it is a catch-and-release, artificials-only fishery, open yearround. (Some of the best streamer fishing is in the fall and winter months.) This section can be accessed from Highway 299E from Redding or by the Highway 44 route. There is one campground approximately a mile and a half from Baum Lake: Cassel Campground, http://www.americanll.com/cassel-campground. For fly fishers who don’t camp, there are two motels in Burney that I recommend to my guests: Shasta Pines Motel and Suites, 37386 Main Street, Burney (phone (530) 335-2201; website, https://shastapinesmotel.com), and Green Gables Motel and Suites, 37371 State Highway 299 E, Burney (phone: (530) 335-3300; website https://greengablesmotel.com).
The nearest fly shop is The Fly Shop, 4140 Churn Creek Road, in Redding. Phone: (530) 222-3555; website, https://www.theflyshop.com.
