Baum Lake, Hat Creek

Hat Creek Evenings & Baum Lake Megabows

Hat Creek is a magical place that holds some of the most difficult fish I’ve ever tried to catch. This spring creek is one of the few spring-fed streams in California that is public and easily accessible. Other spring fed streams that come to mind are the Fall River, Yellow Creek, Hot Creek, and the Upper Owens however Hat Creek in my opinion is the best.

Hat Creek is incredibly difficult to fish during the mid-morning and afternoon due to the bright sunlight. Although I could clearly see fish holding in the current they were not interested in my nymphs and if they were to would grab it they would spit in out in less than a second. I learned this trip that the fish hide in the undercuts during the day. As I waded downstream along the bank I stepped into a hole and watched as several decent sized fish swam out of the undercut they were holding in. How would I approach this new found knowledge and would these fish even take?

It’s been a few years since I’ve fished Hat Creek and I was excited to get back on it. The restoration project is still a work in progress however I did notice a significant improvement along the banks as the trees planted have grown a bit. The water seemed a bit higher than usual which is always welcomed as more water means more fish. There were a few slots in the creek that were also much more deeper than I remember which were nice to find.

I had a limited amount of time this trip and decided not to try chase the afternoon Hat Creek “bite.” Instead I waited for the evening Hat Creek hatch. Hat Creek fishes its best from 6pm to last light. As the sun goes down the bugs come up and the trout come out.

The evening hatch on Hat Creek this time of year is typically a mixture of PMDs and caddis. As I observed the water I noticed more PMDs than any other bugs and tied on a size 18 PMD comparadun on a 12ft 5x leader to match the hatch. This was my first chance getting to break in my new Echo River Glass 8ft 5WT that was perfectly suited for a stream like Hat Creek. I was able to rise a few small fish below Powerhouse #2 but they were only about 3” and flew off as soon as I set the hook.

My favorite spot to fish the evening hatch is at Carbon Flats. The PMD hatch started around 8pm and lasted until last light around 9:30pm. I didn’t hook any Hat Creek trophies but was able to rise a few medium sized rainbows. Despite being a bit small these Hat Creek rainbows fight hard.

Prior to fishing the Hat Creek evening hatch I paid a visit to Baum Lake which is always a great place to fish. Trout from the hatchery are released quite frequently into the lake along with a few trophy brooders in addition to wild mega bows that can be found lurking in the depths.

Baum Lake isn’t a difficult lake to figure out how to fly fish; the fish like zebra midges, callibaetis, damselflies, bugger, and scuds patterns. Baum Lake can also produce a decent dry fly bite in the afternoon and a few hours before sunset; just remember to bring both stillwater and stream dry fly patterns such as tricos, PMDs, caddis, and callibaetis. A float tube is critical as the lake has a current similar to a spring creek. It’s also a lot easier to kick through the weedbeds and mud sitting in a float tube than trying to wade through it.

I caught fish throughout the day on Baum Lake and was lucky enough to hook into a couple megabows that ended up being long distance released. I did manage to catch a new personal best rainbow trout that was an absolute chunker. The fish was released to live another day and will definitely put a smile on the next person who manages to haul it in.

Eagle Lake, Heritage Trout Challenge

Heritage Trout Challenge #7: Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout

Eagle Lake sits at an elevation of 5,098ft and is the second largest natural body of water in California. The lake is a remnant of the last ice age similar to that of Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. The lake is known for it’s unusually high PH balance and alkalinity which very few fish species aside from its native species can tolerate. Pine Creek is Eagle Lake’s primarily tributary and is where the native trout have historically spawned. Due to years of logging, agricultural grazing, climate change, and drought the spring-fed waters of Pine Creek no longer flow permanently leaving no viable spawning grounds for the native trout. The lake levels can fluctuate depending on the snowpack which can allow Pine Creek to flow however such events are a short-lived miracle of a dream many would love to see come true. In an effort to save the trout from extinction the trout have been artificially bred in hatcheries for the past several decades. Eagle Lake is an important body of water with historical significant and is home to the heritage trout named after it, the Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aquilarum).

The Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout is a subspecies of rainbow trout that are endemic to Eagle Lake. These rainbow trout are known for their fast growth rates and hardiness which makes them popular as a stocked species throughout California. The lake itself naturally produces trophy-sized fish due to the abundance of invertebrates and baitfish.

I have always wanted to fish Eagle Lake and capturing another heritage trout was an added bonus. Before heading out into the wild I did my homework and learned a great deal about the history of the lake and its past fishing patterns. Eagle Lake opens on the last Saturday preceding Memorial Day and the regulations state that you are allowed to keep two fish per day with four in possession.

The fishing on Eagle Lake is heavily dependent on water temperature. Like all rainbow trout ideal temperatures range between 60° – 65°F. Due to 2021 being a severe drought season I knew temperatures were possibly going to be a bit higher than usual especially early in the season.

Eaglelakefishing.net is a fantastic resource created by Valerie Aubrey that I referred to many times during my research. All the information on the website was interesting and helpful. I found the Eagle Lake map absolutely invaluable. The map identified the topography as well as the different types of structure around the lake such as islands, springs, and tule fields.

Lake access around Eagle Lake seemed pretty limited. Although there were roads all around the lake there weren’t many that brought you close to the lake that weren’t near civilization i.e. resorts, campgrounds etc. I ultimately chose to access the lake at Youth Camp on the eastern side of the lake off Rd 226. The road was a well-maintained gravel/dirt road and thankfully there were markers at the forks that helped tremendously from getting lost (though I have a GPS). Driving at about 20MPH I timed the trip from the HWY to Youth Camp to be around 40-50 minutes.

I arrived at the lake at around 9am and it was already starting to get hot. There was one other person out in the area however other than that complete silence, loneliness, and bliss. I rigged up two rods one with type 3 sinking line using a burnt orange bugger and a brown crystal bugger and the other a floating line with a olive balanced leech and midge pattern. Feeling good, I threw my float tube into the lake, dropped my transducer, and started the day.

The Youth Camp area was relatively shallow until I was about 50ft-80ft off the bank. I marked fish mostly in the 8-10ft depth and they were rising all around me throughout the day. The water surface temperature was good at around 62°F in the morning to about 65°F in the afternoon. The water was initially flat until the wind started picking up as the day went by. Flat water on lakes are usually tough times to fish however the trout didn’t seem to mind this day.

I started out trolling my sinking line for a few minutes at first however I opted for my nymphing rig after finding no success. I cast out my bobber rig at a depth of about 8ft and hooked my first Eagle Lake rainbow trout. This was one of the biggest rainbow trout I’ve hooked fishing a stillwater and I was trying to haul it in as quickly as I could. As soon as I got it close to the net the hook came loose and the fish made its escape back into the depths. I was disappointed but excited to have actually hooked something.

It wasn’t long until I hooked another fish and though a bit smaller than the first I was able to land it without any issues. The fish had taken my olive balanced leech and the many fish after that would do the same thing. I throat pumped a few of my catches and found mostly scuds. I added a scud pattern to my rig however the fish were still only on the balanced leech.

I observed the water throughout the day and saw a ton of black caddis in size 16 along with a few mayflies and midges. The fish were rising for what I suspect were the black caddis as the rise forms were splashy and sporadic.

I’ve read that Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout takes can be very subtle and without a quick hookset seconds upon seeing the bite they’ll be long gone. I enjoyed experiencing this truth in person. Throughout the day I watched my indicator go down several times and with any hesitation on my hookset I laughed as I knew the fish had won.

The fishing was fantastic this day and I hooked about a dozen fish while missing a bunch of others before calling it quits at around 2pm. The fishing itself didn’t seem too technical although it did seem like I might have just been lucky and had the right fly at the right place this trip. The biggest fish I caught was perhaps 3-4#s with an average of about 2#s. Eagle Lake Rainbows live up to their reputation as large, strong, and hard fighting fish.

Eagle Lake is a fantastic stillwater fly fishing destination that holds some of the biggest heritage trout you can chase when participating in the heritage trout challenge. It’s a shame that the Eagle Lake rainbow trout is unable to naturally spawn however I am hopeful that one day they will be able to. I had a lot of fun on Eagle Lake and look forward to making more trips in the future.

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