Butt Creek, Indian Creek, Middle Fork Feather River, Yellow Creek

Plumas County Summer Stream Hopping

by Matt

August can often be one of the warmest months in Northern California. The average temperature this time of the year usually ranges from the low 90s to triple digits making the heat miserable for both anglers and fish. This summer however has been a bit of an exception. The large snowpack that we received during the winter and spring has helped provide cooler water for fish giving anglers more time than previous years to purse their fishy friends.
I spent my last weekend in Plumas County, a recipient of this cool water blessing, and got into some of the best fishing I’ve had this time of summer in a long time.

Green Yellow Creek

My first destination would be Yellow Creek near Almanor. It’s been about three years since I last visited this beautiful spring creek and I was excited to see if there had been any improvement with the fishing. Although the meadow was looking a bit yellow it was also mid-summer so I wasn’t expecting verdant green fields this time of year. I settled for a spot a bit below the empty Yellow Creek campground and rigged up my 3WT.
A quick look into Yellow Creek made me rethink if driving to the creek was a good idea. There seem to be an awful lot of green algae settled in the bottom of the creek which I had never seen before. Spring creeks are suppose to be made up of the purest and cleanest water so why was there so much gunk everywhere.

Yellow Creek Rainbow Dry Eater

I started working my way around the creek and found a few small fish here and there. It was mid-afternoon so dry flies weren’t working too well. I switched to an indicator rig and began picking off fish. Most of the fish I spotted and caught where small however I did manage to sight one of the biggest fish I had ever seen in this creek near an undercut. It looked about +18” and spooked as soon as I noticed it. After catching few rainbows and a brookie I decided to move to a different stream. The fishing was just too slow for a few dinks, not fun.

Butt Creek

On the way out I stopped at Butt Creek. I’ve seen a few nice browns in this creek however I’ve only had luck catching dinky rainbows even smaller than those in Yellow Creek. I left after about an thirty minutes still yearning for better water and better fish.

Indian Creek Falls
Below Indian Creek Falls

As I made my way to Quincy I stopped and fished Indian Creek below the falls. This was my first time fishing Indian Creek and unfortunately it didn’t fish as good as it looked. I managed to land a small trout and a hardhead before calling it quits. I felt like Indian Creek had more of a population of rough fish than trout. Maybe things are different when the flows are bigger and cooler though. I may have to try it again next season before crossing it off my list.

Middle Fork Bow

I spent the night at my in-laws who live about ten minutes away from the Middle Fork of the Feather River. The MFFR usually runs a bit warm this time of year giving me doubts about how well it would fish however I couldn’t beat how close it was to the house.

I hiked into the canyon and found myself in a familiar place that I wish I returned to more often. The cool breeze as I stepped into the cool water felt nice and the river looked like it was in fantastic shape. The fishing was excellent. There were fish everywhere, in the riffles, runs, pools, tailouts, and even in the flats all eating dries, streamers, and nymphs. It was nice to hook into some quality MFFR fish instead of just dinks this weekend. These fish were wild bright red white tipped rainbows that only a wild and scenic river could produce. Now that is what I call fun.

Doesn’t Look Like It But This Fish Was +20”
Lake Marlette

Hiking and Fishing Marlette Lake

by Matt

Marlette Lake is a high elevation lake in Nevada within the Carson range. The lake sits at about 7,841ft and the only way to get to it is to either hike or bike. Marlette Lake is known for its brook trout, rainbow trout, and Lahontan cutthroat trout that are used as brooders for Nevada’s fisheries. These fish can range from very small 6” fish to large trophy size +20”.


The hike up to Marlette Lake begins at Spooner Lake and is about a ten mile round-trip; five miles of steady uphill and five miles back downhill. The elevation gain is about 1,140ft. The hike up Marlette Lake is half the experience of fishing the lake and though it was pretty tough it was worth it.

 

Spooner Lake



Our hike began at about noon from Spooner Lake. Due to a running event that was taking place around the lake we had to shuttle in from the watercraft inspection area a few hundred yards away from the entrance. After a quick bathroom stop we were off to Marlette Lake.

The hike to the lake wasn’t too difficult but it was challenging. The first mile was pretty leveled however the following three miles was steady uphill climbing. It wasn’t until the last mile where you would then start to descent down to the lake.

Hiking Up
First View of Lake Marlette



We arrive at Marlette Lake at around 3pm and found it to be as beautiful as it should be. An inlet creek that was modified for spawning could be found right as you entered the first access to the lake. I brought my 5WT with me along with several different flies. The first pattern I tied on was an olive woolly bugger which I stripped from the banks. The water was surprisingly warm which had me a bit worried. On my second cast I hooked what felt like a nice fish and into the net was my first big brookie.

Nice Big Brookie
Casting Marlette Lake

After some success I continued fishing but couldn’t get any more takes. I switched to a smaller pattern, a zebra midge, and hooked a small brookie. I contemplated whether or not I wanted to catch more fish or bigger fish and decided it was either go big or go home. I switched back to my bugger and started pounding the banks for a big grab. The shore around the lake was pretty shallow and weedy so I used a beadheaded bugger on a floating line. I covered some water on the eastern side and hooked another big brookie that threw the hook. I kept making my way north but couldn’t find any fish.


The clock was ticking and I was starting to feel it. I knew it would take about two hours to get back down the hill which left me only about an hour before we had to start heading back. I got out of the water and started hiking towards an area that looked like an island. As I entered the cove next the island I spotted several trout cruising around. It was a good mix of primarily rainbow trout with a few brook trout all between 10” – 18”. These fish were keyed in on white moths that were committing insect suicide by jumping into the lake. I quickly tied on a Sheep Creek special and hooked my first Marlette rainbow trout. It wasn’t a big fish but it got me closer to a grand slam. I continued to fish and hooked a few more fish before I reached my time limit.

White Satin Moth
Marlette Rainbow


We started to hike back down at around 6pm. The sound of thunder kept us company during our downhill trek and we finally arrived at our initial starting point at around 8pm.
My impression of Marlette Lake is a moderately difficult hike with the reward of catching some nice fish at the end. The weather was perfectly overcast during our hike which kept the temperature nice and comfortable. It was a long day but overall worth the trip up. Though I wish I had more time to fish, I had a lot of fun and would do it again. 

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