HAT CREEK
EASTERN SIERRA
Truckee River
Little Truckee River
West Carson River
East Carson River
West Walker River
East Walker River
Upper Owens River
Lower Owens River
Hot Creek
Crowley Lake
Pyramid Lake
WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA
Upper Sacramento River
McCloud River
Hat Creek
Fall River
Pit River
Almanor Lake
Davis Lake
Baum Lake
CENTRAL VALLEY
STILLWATERS
VALLEY TAIL WATERS
Lower Sacramento River
Low Flow Feather River
Lower Yuba River
Lower American River
Lower Mokelumne River
Putah Creek
NORTH COAST
Trinity River
Klamath River
Eel River
Russian River
FISHING REPORT
Updated - 11/9/19
Current River Conditions: water is normal and clear
Fishing Conditions-Great: On cludy days the BWO hatches are intense. The Fly Shop in Redding reports that during the current warm weather spell we are experiencing, a hopper-dropper rig with a size #18 or smaller mayfly pattern suspendeded below will do well if fished near the weeds. Swinging Bird's Nests or other Caddis pupae immitations will get grabs too. This is a good time to swing leeches too, spot those lunkers in the holes throw a black or olive Crystal Bugger their way. The most important hatch are Baetis (BWOs) on cloudy days. Only a few caddis still around but the fish will take a swung Bird's Nest or Fox's Poopah pattern or something similar.
Recommended General All Around Patterns
Nymphs Click Here to Go To Our Fly Catalog
Bead Head Pheasant Tail #12, #14 & #16 & #18, Hot Bead San Juan Worm, #8, #10 & #12 Kiene's Golden Brown Stone Nymph , Copper John/red or copper #14, #16, #18, Bead Head
Prince Nymph (various sizes), Wooly Bugger/rusty, black, Black Rubber Legs #2
tungsten bead Zebra Midge/black, brown, red, Fox's Poopah #14 & #16. Scud/pink #14, Bird's Nest #14 & #16, Micro Mayfly, Little Sloan Stone #14, #16, Vinci's "Depth Charge Bird's Nest"/olive, black, or natural
Dries Click Here to Go To Our Fly Catalog
Stimulator #2-#12, Adams Parachute #14 & #16 & #18, Elk Hair Caddis #14 & #16, .Trico Parachute #20, Parachute PMD #16, Quigley Cripple/gray #14 & #16, and #18, Elk Hair Caddis #14 & #16, Cutter's EC Caddis #16, Rusty Spinner #16 & #18, Fat Albert #10
About Hat Creek
Hat Creek is located about an hour and a half northeast of Redding on California Highway 299 near Burney, a blue-collar lumber town reminiscent of what all trout towns used to look like before urbanites with money arrived to build ski resorts and turn Main Street stores into expensive boutiques and T-shirt shops for tourists. Burney remains much the same as it was in the 1960s, home to individuals who in most cases grew up there. Burney sits on a pretty plateau surrounded by forests of lush conifers; an extinct volcanic cinder cone appropriately named Burney Mountain overlooks the town.
Hat Creek originates on the slopes of Mount Lassen, the southernmost active volcano in the United States, and runs for about 40 miles to its confluence with Lake Britton. Because it courses through a porous lava rock substrate, Hat Creek is fed by many springs that keep it cool in summer and warm in winter, and it runs at a steady flow year-round.
The most famous section of the creek is known as the Powerhouse 2 riffle. The name refers to the PG&E powerhouse that sits at the upstream boundary of the special-regulations section and supplies a steady flow of water to the creek below. The section flows over lava substrate for about 100 yards and then flattens into a wide, slow-moving flow—a classic spring creek—for a couple of miles until it becomes a freestone flow again at the lower end. It is accessible by car, with a parking lot overlooking the riffle.
About a mile downstream from the powerhouse section is Carbon Flats, also served by a convenient parking area. Most of the lower stretch, which is north of where Highway 299 crosses the creek, is no longer accessible by vehicle, so to get to the riffle at the lower end of the creek, you turn north onto a dirt road just before you get to the county park next to the bridge. After a short distance, you will come to a parking area, from where you will have to hoof it for about 0.25 mile to get to the riffle.
The 100-yard-long freestone section of water just below the powerhouse holds some of the biggest fish-mostly Rainbows and some Browns- along with lots of aquatic food to sustain them. It gets lots of pressure from both the knowledgeable anglers who drift nymphs through its seams and pockets and those who take advantage of the relatively shallow water to cross to the other side. Hat Creek is famous for its multiple hatches, and the fish can rapidly switch from one insect to another or one life stage to another.