Quincy is the largest town in Plumas County and the county seat. It lies at the heart of the “Lost Sierra” at an elevation of 3,432 feet. Within reach of it, a wide variety of creeks, rivers, and lakes offer exceptional fly fishing. Some of the more popular waters to fish include the Middle Fork of the Feather River, the North Fork of the Feather, Bucks Lake, Lake Davis, and Lake Almanor. But there also are smaller streams near Quincy: Spanish Creek, the East Branch of the North Fork of the Feather River, Nelson Creek, and Yellow Creek. All of them open the last Saturday in April and remain open until November 15. They, too, reward an angler’s attention.
Yellow Creek
Yellow Creek is a spring creek that originates above a large meadow called Humbug Valley near Lake Almanor. You can access the creek off Highway 89 on the west side of the lake. Take Humbug Road for about ten miles until you reach the meadow and then Yellow Creek Campground. You can fish upstream or downstream from there. There are approximately two miles of meandering stream in this meadow section before the creek enters an approximately ten-mile-long deep and rugged canyon.
Much has been written about this beautiful creek over the years, for it has been a well-known and highly regarded fly-fishing stream, notable for big browns in the deep runs in the meadow section. I first visited the meadow section of Yellow Creek in October 2014. The creek reminded me of a smaller version of Hat Creek, with crystal-clear, cold spring water and a beautiful open meadow. No one was there, and I had the whole meadow to myself. I sight-fished to medium-sized trout, mostly rainbows, with an occasional brown.
Recently, a group of us spent two glorious days and nights fishing the remote canyon section of the creek and camping there. Using Google Earth as a tool, we were able to gain 4-by-4 access to within a half mile of the river and then backpacked down the rest of the way. I got the opportunity to try out my new tenkara rod for the first time. I had a blast experimenting with this technique, and I found fish in every riffle, run, and pool big enough to hold them. We did not get into any of the large browns the creek is reputed to hold. Judging from the looks of some deep pools, they should be there. Yellow Creek meets up with the North Fork of the Feather River at Belden. I have fished the section of Yellow Creek above Belden many times, catching mostly 6-to-10-inch rainbows, with an occasional 14-incher. There is a good trail along the west side of the creek heading upstream for about a mile or so, giving access to beautiful runs that all hold trout.
Because this is a spring creek, flows remain consistent around the 75-to-100cfs range, and the water remains cold all season. There is snow runoff early in the season, but this dissipates as the weather begins to warm up in June. Given the variety of water in the canyon, you can productively fish dry flies, nymphs, and streamers. The meadow fish, however, can be more difficult to tempt.
Spanish Creek
This distinctive creek flows east from the Meadow Valley area between Bucks Lake and Quincy, through Quincy, then continues northward until meeting Indian Creek at the junction of Highways 89 and 70. I have not fished the section upstream from Quincy, since flows are very low most of the year, but there are approximately ten miles of fishable water between its confluence with Greenhorn Creek, just outside Quincy, downstream to Indian Creek at the Greenville Y. Spanish Creek Campground has easy access to the creek and is located on Highway 70 about six miles east of Quincy. A fee is required for camping or parking at the well-maintained campground. The campground is open from May through September, and you can reserve your campsite through the Plumas National Forest website. Beware though: the trains passing on the nearby railroad tracks can be a little loud in the middle of the night.
Two other ways to access the creek are on your way out of town. Heading northwest from Quincy on Highway 70 toward Spanish Creek Campground, there are many pull-out opportunities which allow a very short walk down to the creek. The other easy way to access the stream is at the confluence with Indian Creek where Highway 89 turns off from Highway 70 toward Lake Almanor, which is a few miles past the campground. You can fish the creek working upstream from that point.
Spanish Creek has a completely different feel than the other streams I fish in the area. The creek is plush with Indian rhubarb (Darmera peltata), or “umbrella plant,” which can make you feel like you are in a scene of Jurassic Park. The big leaves add shade and hiding places for the wary trout. You can find every type of water on the creek, including pocket water, runs, riffles, and large pools. You can best fish Spanish Creek by wading from the shoreline, but moving to a trail when you can find one, because shoreline wading can be difficult at times. You often will find yourself in the creek in order to get to the next run upstream.
I have caught both rainbows and browns in the Spanish Creek. It is one of the streams in Plumas County where I feel I have the greatest chance of hooking a brown. The typical trout is in the 8-to-12-inch range, with the occasional 13-to-18-incher. I have seen a big brown in Spanish Creek, perhaps 20 inches long, but I have yet to catch one that large there.
I could not find average flow rates for the stream, but I am guessing that typical summer flows are around 50 to 100 cubic feet per second at Spanish Creek Campground. Many different hatches occur throughout the season, so be prepared for mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies in a variety of dries and nymphs. Woolly Buggers work well, too. Fishing is good all season, even in the hot summer months, because of the cold spring water that enters the system.
The East Branch of the North Fork of the Feather River
The East Branch of the North Fork of the Feather begins at the confluence of Spanish Creek and Indian Creek where Highway 89 breaks off toward Lake Almanor. It flows through the Highway 70 canyon, which is a National Scenic Byway. (I wrote about it in the September/October 2017 issue of California Fly Fisher.) There are about fifteen miles of stream along the route, but access is very difficult most of the way. The East Branch of the North Fork ultimately meets the North Fork of the Feather from the north at Caribou. Look for pullouts along the highway where rocks may give you stepping-stone access down to the river. The best access points include where the river begins at the confluence of Spanish Creek and Indian Creek, the Paxton bridge, Twain, Hallsted Campground, Rush Creek, and its confluence with the North Fork at Caribou.
This stream begins the season as a medium-sized river in the 300 cfs range, but it drops quickly once the rains end, becoming more like a creek in the 50 cfs range later in the season, around the end of June. All types of water are available on the East Branch of the North Fork, including riffles, pocket water, runs, and pools. As I mentioned, making it to the river can be a challenge, but once you are there, shoreline wading is not a problem. This stream is relatively new to me, because I have spent over fifty years driving past it to get to my “home water,” the Middle Fork of the Feather. During the summer of 2017, while on a scouting trip with a good friend, we decided to stop and give it a try. We were tired from a day on the North Fork, so my buddy (he’s going to hate me for bringing this up, so let’s just call him “Bruce”) decided to take a nap while I hit the water. It was close to dark, and I had about twenty minutes of daylight left. I tried one hole, and lo and behold, I caught 8-to-10-inch rainbows on every cast fishing two nymphs under a medium-sized Air Lock strike indicator. I think I could have caught and released 100 trout from that one pool, if time allowed. I was shocked.
I have gone back to that same pool twice now, not with the great success I had last summer, but I still have caught fish. I have tried a few other spots along the drive and have had some luck, but I still need to put in more time on this relatively untouched stream. Although it is definitely worth visiting early in the season, the East Branch of the North Fork does suffer from low flows and warming water as the season progresses, making it less desirable to fish.
You can fish dries, nymphs, and streamers on the East Branch. I have had my greatest success fishing two nymphs under an indicator wherever I can find white water in small falls or behind boulders. I would avoid shallow areas two feet deep or less. Swinging a size 10 black Woolly Bugger or a Muddler Minnow through runs three to four feet deep can be deadly. Nymphs that work well are the Prince, Copper John, Holy Grail, and Pheasant Tail. For dries, try caddis patterns, the Parachute Adams, and Stimulators.
Nelson Creek
Nelson Creek forms from a combination of snowmelt and springs in the mountains just west of Plumas Eureka State Park near Eureka Ridge and the Pacific Crest Trail. It flows approximately ten miles until it reaches the Middle Fork of the Feather River. Access to most of the creek is very difficult and remote.
The Middle Fork of the Feather becomes a new river once Nelson Creek enters it at Nelson Point. Nelson Point was a mining town that was established when a gent named Nelson found gold there in 1850. The Middle Fork flows below Nelson Point into a deep, rugged canyon that only those desiring an extremely rigorous hike will want to explore.
Upstream of Nelson Point and the confluence with the Middle Fork, though, access to Nelson Creek is much easier. Trout move into Nelson from the Middle Fork searching for colder water. If you decide to begin fishing at Nelson Point and work upstream, you will not find an easy way out for approximately two miles, where the Quincy–La Porte Road bridge crosses the creek. The water, which is spring fed, is cold all season. There is an access trail into old mining areas with many miles of creek to fish upstream from the bridge. Access from the trail can be difficult at times, though. There are many fish in the stream, but most are small, in the 6-to-8-inch range.
All types of water are found in the stream, so be prepared to fish dries, nymphs, and streamers using the same types of flies mentioned for the other creeks. Flows are higher in the spring due to snowmelt, around 200 cfs early in the season, but then flows stabilize and remain around 75 cfs for the remainder of the season.
Plumas County and the Plumas National Forest offer many waters for a fly fisher to explore, but if you are willing to get off the beaten path, your reward will be many miles of fishable water. These four streams are among my favorites. Get out a map, and you will likely find new favorites of your own.
