As I drive up Highway 32, I often recall the first time I fished Deer Creek and all the other streams that form it. I also reflect back on all of the noteworthy people who have traveled up this road, by car, but even before that in wagons, on horseback, or even on foot. John and Anne Bidwell, founders of the city of Chico, California, used this same route to go to their summer house on the edge of the North Fork of the Feather River at Big Meadows, known to us as Lake Almanor. There was also a famous Indian named Ishi who used these paths and roads to move about the creeks and canyons to hunt, forage, and elude strangers and enemies. My own family has traveled this road for many years, from my grandfather in the 1930s to my kids, now.
Highway 32, the Deer Creek Highway, is a scenic road. It starts at the edge of Chico and runs 55 miles to its junction with Highway 36 west of Chester. The highway cuts through Manzanita and Valley Oaks at the lower elevations, but as soon as you get near Forest Ranch, you are out of the valley and climbing. When you pass the turnoff to Butte Meadows (Humboldt Road), you drop down into a canyon that is home to Big Chico Creek. Then you rise over the next ridge and into another canyon and come to Deer Creek. Let’s begin there, and then work back to Big Chico Creek. There are a lot of stream-miles to fish along Highway 32.
Deer Creek
As you drive east along Highway 32 and approach the first bridge over Deer Creek (“the orange bridge,” as we call it, although one guidebook also refers to it as “the red bridge”), you will see a turnout to your right. The trail that follows Deer Creek starts on the opposite side of the road and ends around Cohasset. This trail will take you through Ishi country. Not only is the fishing good, you can explore caves that had been used by Native Americans.
As you travel east from the bridge, you come to three campgrounds: Potato Patch Campground, then Alder Creek Campground, followed by Elam Creek Campground, which has a day-use facility. Deer Creek Falls is an important marker. From 250 feet below Deer Creek Falls downstream 31 miles to the mouth of Deer Creek Canyon, fishing is allowed from the end of April through mid November, and it is catch and release only with barbless artificial lures. This is great for the native rainbows, and the regulations are enforced, so be prepared. From Deer Creek Falls on up Deer Creek, there are no special regulations, and you can keep up to five fish. Deer Creek is planted with hatchery trout from the Alder Creek campground up to Deer Creek Meadows.
As you travel farther east (about 18 miles) on Highway 32 after the orange bridge, you rise over a little hill and drop into Deer Creek Meadows. This is where Deer Creek joins Guernsey Creek (North Fork Deer Creek). Along the way, you will see many access points to Deer Creek.
Deer Creek is a freestone stream and fishes well during the early summer and the early to late fall. There is a huge amount of pocket water to fish, but also deep pools, riffles, runs, tailouts, and long slicks or flats. This creek also has a huge population of aquatic insects — caddisflies, stoneflies, and mayflies. In addition, leeches and terrestrials — carpenter ants and grasshoppers from the summer to early fall — are part of the menu for Deer Creek’s trout population. It really has it all.
To fish successfully here, though, you have to think a little outside the box. After fishing Deer Creek for most of my life, I have found that while normal fly-fishing techniques work well and produce hits, there are a couple of tricks that can reward an angler with bigger than average fish.
The first is a modification to the usual indicator and high-stick nymphing techniques. If you are fishing close to tailouts, stop your indicator or your rod near or at the end of the drift and let the flies rise up in the water column. This little added action may produce a strike. Some of the patterns I use when nymphing are Mercer’s Poxyback Golden Stone, size 12 and 14, Hogan’s S&M in olive, size 16 and 18, Gray’s X-May in olive, size 16 and 18, Fox’s Poopah in olive and tan, size 14 and 16, and Beadhead Prince Nymphs in black or purple, size 14 to 18, all fished on a 91/2-foot leader. If indicator nymphing with a hopper/dropper setup, use a Salmonfly imitation or hopper pattern with one of these small nymphs about three feet under it.
The other trick may seem a bit over the top for a small Sierra freestone stream, but there are some big trout holding in those deep holes, and they are looking for a meal. Present them the fly in the correct way, and you will have great success. To attract these big fish, I switch to an intermediate poly leader and swing or strip streamer-type flies such as Woolly Buggers, leech imitations, or minnow imitations around structure and along the bottom of the channel in deeper water. I like patterns such as J. Fair’s Wiggletail in black, burnt orange, or olive, size 10 and 12, Gray’s TS 2 Beadhead Bugger in peacock or glimmer medium olive, size 10, and the Muddler Minnow, size 6 and 8.
Pocket water, runs, riffles and tailouts can all be fished by nymphing, but dry-fly fishing is productive, too. As with many Sierra streams, dry-fly attractor patterns are appropriate for Deer Creek’s pocket water and riffles. In the runs, tailouts, or slicks, try to match the hatch as best as you can. Sometimes the size or silhouette of a dry fly is more important than the actual color. This is especially the case in lowlight conditions. Some of the dry fly patterns I use are Gray’s Coffin Nail, size 14 to 18, Narbaitz’s Indicator Humpy, size 14 and 16, Royal Humpies, size 14 and 16, the Parachute Adams, size 16 and 18, Stimulators in orange and yellow, size 12 and 14, Salmonfly patterns, size 8 and 10, parachute hoppers, size 14 to 18 or size 12 hopper imitations, and carpenter ant imitations in black and cinnamon, size 14 and 16, all fished on leaders 10 to 12 feet long.
Tributaries to Deer Creek
Many other streams flow into Deer Creek, including Cub Creek, Slate Creek, Round Valley Creek, Elam Creek, Alder Creek, and Guernsey Creek, now called North Fork Deer Creek. While fishing the tributaries to Deer Creek, remember that these are very small streams. Dry-fly action is probably your best bet there. Flies that can be used are small versions of the Parachute Adams, Gray’s Coffin Nail, and Humpies. If nymphing, use small flies such as Hogan’s S&M, Gray’s X-May, and stonefly and caddis imitations. When fishing these small streams, please value the fish and treat them well.
Big Chico Creek
Back down Highway 32 toward Chico, Big Chico Creek cuts through the same terrain as Deer Creek, but is much smaller and at times steeper. Big Chico Creek is a freestone stream that flows from its source near Colby Mountain down through the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (owned by the University Research Foundation and managed by Chico State’s Institute for Sustainable Development), through Chico’s Bidwell Park, and to the Sacramento River.
This creek is very rough for walking and wading, and carrying a wading staff is a good idea. All the techniques mentioned above will work effectively. It is best fished downstream or upstream from the Highway 32 Bridge. The best time to fish the reserve is in the early spring, and you will need a day pass from the Reserve’s managers. For more information, visit the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve Web site, http://www.csuchico.edu/bccer, or phone (530) 898-5010.
The stream has special regulations. Parts of the creek are closed during the spring, summer, and fall to protect populations of spring-run chinook salmon. From the upper boundary of the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve to Higgins Hole Falls, located about one-half mile upstream from Ponderosa Way, it is closed to all fishing all year. From Bear Hole to the upper boundary of the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, it is open from November 1 to April 30, and only barbless, single-hook, artificial lures may be used. No trout or steelhead may be taken, and it is closed to salmon fishing. From the mouth to Bear Hole, located approximately one mile downstream from the upper end of Bidwell Park, it is open with no special regulations from June 16 to October 15. From October 16 to February 15, the above special regulations apply.
Equipment
You likely already have the tackle necessary for a Highway 32 adventure. This is basic Sierra trout fishing, requiring little more than an 8-1/2foot to 9-foot 3-weight to 5weight rod, a floating line, indicators, split shot, an intermediate poly leader, tippet material, and the flies mentioned above. If fishing in the early spring, waders are a must because the water temperature can be very cold due to snow runoff. Studded wading boots, neoprene gaiters, and a wading staff are useful at any time of year.
If You Go . . .
Highway 32 is easy to find. If you’re traveling via Interstate 5, when you reach Orland, take the Highway 32 exit east. This will take you into Chico. Highway 32 in Chico turns into Nord Avenue, then Walnut Street. Do not be worried — just look for the Highway 32 signs that are posted along the route. Highway 32 then becomes a one-way street and heads to Highway 99. From there, just follow the signs, and in about an hour, you will be fishing Deer Creek.
The Deer Creek Highway offers access to a special place, with rugged terrain and fascinating history. It has made me appreciate all such places that we have across state and our country, and how we should never forget those who have traveled them before us.
Fly Shops in the Deer Creek Area
Sierra Stream and Mountain, 847 West 5th Street, Chico, CA 95927, (530) 345-4261, http://sierrastreamflyshop.com.
Fish First!, 766 Mangrove Avenue, Chico, CA 95929, (530) 343-8300, http://www.fishfirst.com.
Chico Fly Shop, 1154 West 8th Avenue, Chico, CA 95929, (530) 345-9983, http://www.chicoflyshopinc.com.
The Fly Shop, 4140 Churn Creek Road, Redding, CA 96002, (800) 669-3474, http://www.flyshop.com.
Lake Almanor Fly Fishing Company, 181 Main Street #1, Chester, CA 96020, (530) 358-3944, http://www.almanorflyfishing.com.
Lincoln Gray
