Tag Archives: Hat Creek

Fishing Hat Creek, CA

Posted on by

I met up with my fishing buddies from California last week and spent 4 days fishing Hat Creek near Redding.  I’ve been fishing with these guys for over 30 years so it’s always great to get together with them on our “Guys Fishing Trip” once a year.  The creek was in great shape.  It proved to be pretty challenging fishing during the day but much better each evening.  Lots of Salmonflies, Golden Stoneflies, Yellow Sallies, and Caddis were out.  For all my fishing, I used my 9′  0″  4 wt Euronymphing rod.  It did great during the day throwing all sorts of nymphs, and then switching over to a dry line during the evenings for the hatch.  Here are a few photos of my trip.

Hat Creek, CA

Salmon Fly

Salmon Fly

Hat Creek Rainbow that took a Yellow Sally.

This guy took a golden stonefly.

 

 

Czech Nymphing with Bamboo Fly Rods on Hat Creek, CA.

Posted on by

I just got back from my annual “Guys Fishing Trip to Hat Creek” in Northern California.  I’ve been fishing with the same group of guys at Hat Creek on Memorial Day Weekend for the past 30 years.  We probably know every rock in the stream.  Nymph fishing was great in the mornings with #14 yellow sally nymphs fished with Czech Nymphing methods.  I used my 9′  0″  3 wt Czech Nymphing Bamboo Fly Rod and picked up quite a few nice fish in the 15″ to 18″ range.  Here are a couple of photos of our time at Hat Creek.

Fishing one of my favorite runs on Hat Creek with Curt, Ken, and Paul.

A nice 18″ rainbow that took a #14 Yellow Sally Nymph.

Lots of color on this 17″ rainbow.

Another pretty 16″ rainbow and my Czech Nymphing Bamboo Fly Rod.

Northern California Fly Fishing Trip

Posted on by

I just got back from 5 days down in Northern California fly fishing with a 5 friends from the Bay Area with whom I’ve been fishing for 30 years.  We spent several days fishing Hat Creek and Manzanita Lake.  Lots of fun fishing nymphs and dries on Hat Creek, and chironomids on Manzanita Lake.  I fished my 8′  0″  5 wt slow action Spring Creek Series bamboo rod during this trip, and it produced well.  Here are a few photos from my trip.

A #14 tan ant pattern that worked well during the day on Hat Creek.

A #14 tan ant pattern that worked well during the day on Hat Creek.

A nice Hat Creek Rainbow that took my ant pattern.

A nice Hat Creek Rainbow that took my ant pattern.

A colorful Salmon Fly hanging out in the grass.

A colorful Salmon Fly hanging out in the grass.

A small but colorful little brown that took a #14 X-Caddis dry.

A small but colorful little brown that took a #14 Elk Hair Caddis dry.

A nice unusual colored brown trout that took a Pale Evening Dun pattern one evening on Hat Creek.

A nice unusually colored brown trout that took a #16 Pale Evening Dun pattern one evening on Hat Creek.

Launching our float tubes at Manzanita Lake.

Launching our float tubes at Manzanita Lake.

A beautiful Manzanita Lake Brown trout that took a #14 black and red chironomid.

A beautiful Manzanita Lake Brown trout that took a #14 black and red chironomid.

This big rainbow took a #16 brown and green chironomid pattern.

This big rainbow took a #16 brown and green chironomid pattern.

 

Getting Ready for a Northern California Fishing Trip.

Posted on by

I’m heading down to Northern California in a few days for a “guys fishing trip” on Hat Creek, the Pit River, and several area lakes.  I’ve been getting together with the same group of great guys down there for about 30 years.  I’ll post a few photos when I get back.  I’m getting my fly boxes ready this week.   Got my stoneflies, callibaetis, damsel flies, caddis, midges, green drakes and buggers.  I realized this morning that I should have a few Tricos in my box so I tied these up this morning…size 22.  Now I’m ready!

#22 Tricos

#22 Tricos

Hat Creek/Pit River in Northern California

Posted on by

I headed down to Northern California last weekend for my annual “guys fishing trip” with some friends from the San Jose Area.  We’ve been making this trek every Memorial Day Weekend for the past 30 years.  Hat Creek is a great little stream that gets pretty low fishing pressure in the lower stretches.  One evening, using a 7′  6″  medium fast action 5 wt bamboo rod, I picked up several fish on March Brown dries and Golden Stonefly nymphs.  Here I am getting started and a typical Hat Creek rainbow:

Hat Creek - May, 2015

Hat Creek – May, 2015

Hat Creek Rainbow that took a golden stonefly nymph.

Hat Creek Rainbow that took a golden stonefly nymph.

We also fished the Pit River one evening.  The Pit can be a treacherous river to wade, and it was a little on the high side last weekend.  But, we found a spot we could safely access the water and tried some dries.  I used my 8′  3″  medium fast action 5 wt bamboo rod.  The fish weren’t all that selective, and were happy to come up for orange stimulators, large salmonfly immitations, PMDs, and green drakes.  Here is the group of 3 great anglers, Ted, Ken, and me, and a nice fish that took my favorite parachute green drake dry.

Ken, Ted, and I getting ready to hit the Pit River.

Ken, Ted, and I getting ready to hit the Pit River.

#12 Parachute Green Drake

#12 Parachute Green Drake

A Pit River Rainbow

A Pit River Rainbow