I like to find info on the new river I'm visiting either online or by visiting/calling local fly shops and finding out what I should have in my box. Then I'll visit the creek/stream/river/lake and look for "fishy" spots, turn over a few rocks to see what kind of bugs are around, and sit and watch for any fish activity (not necessarily in that order). I cannot stress how important it is to sit still and look and listen. I find it's really hard for me not to immediately wet my line as soon as I approach the water but when I do it always pays off in dividends. Armed with all the knowledge that you'll have gathered from the above you'll have a pretty good idea of what to try first.
I've fished Hat Creek once in the late spring/early summer and I remember that where we were the water was really flowing. By noon of that day the potential of being skunked was becoming a hard reality. Then two kids showed up, a brother and sister under 11 years old, and within an hour they had a stringer of trout. Swallowing my pride I asked them how they did it and they said "Gee mister, all you got to do is put a worm on a hook and fish it under the bank." I hadn't realized that the trees that overhung the creek had some pretty intricate root systems that held a solid bank of about 1 to 2 feet in depth which was greatly undercut by the current. Swinging bugs up to and under the edge was the hot ticket. Hope that may help even though I'm sure the flows now won't be any where near as fast as they were then.
Yeah what emerger said. I'm slowly learning to just slow down and look around, be able to identify what is going on. I find it hard sometimes but just taking a seat and watching for some time is time well spent. Not how many drifts i get in a day but making each and everyone count.
Sitting back and analyzing the situation is great advice. I know that on a place like Hat Creek where the trout are probably wiser than Putah trout, it is especially important to pay attention to bugs, active fish, etc. I know on Hat, if you splash a dry too hard or are using a big indicator you often spook the fish. Its one tough river to fish.
Speaking of analyzing the water, I've been doing a lot of carp fishing lately. Its definitely the most challenging fishing I have ever done. It requires you to be very cautious as the fish are often right against the bank sifting through the mud. You definitely can't just walk up to them and cast to them, they will spook. You need to be able look for mud trails or ripples in the water or tailing fish, not always the easiest thing. Out of three trips in the last several days, I've had three good shots at fish that I didn't spook right away. Casted to two of them, spooked within two casts. Got about 4 or 5 casts to the third and watched the fish eat my fly, set the hook, fish took off and hook pulled. I'm not counting the 20+ fish I spook just trying to get close enough for a decent cast.
Here's what I've been looking for:
The fish that I did end up hooking, I sat on the ground watching for several minutes to see which way it was going. Made sure to pull out enough line and crawled closer to the fish. This was totally necessary in order to not spooking the fish. I don't think the fish on Hat are this spooky, but they're pretty close.
Sorry for totally stealing your post, I wanted to post about my carp adventures and this was very much related to the sit back and analyze everything.
Chris What type of set up are you using? I have a slough near my house that has huge carp. Are you just dragging a fly through the mud? I have heard that carp are vegetarians.
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God does not subtract from your life the hours you spend fishing. Â Â Herbert Hoover.
Right now I'm using a 9' 4w. I would use heavier but where I am fishing there is tons of brush and my 5 and 6w are all over 9' which makes casting tough with the heavy brush around. I really don't have much experience doing this, I haven't landed one yet.
As for flies I'm using a little damsel type fly sz 10 with rubberlegs. I was told that carp aren't real selective but look for movement. I know wooly buggers are used a lot and work well too. Basically I'm looking for feeding fish like the one above, stalk it to the point where I can get a good cast in. You usually only have one shot before they spook so its important to get in position to make a good cast. I just cast it a foot or so in front of the carp in the direction is heading, give the line a twitch and watch the carp, if it reacts I slowly pull the line till I feel tension and then give it a real good strip strike.
Also, don't expect to catch one right away, they are tough! I can't believe how many fewer I spook now than when I first started coming to this spot this week. I'd say my decent chances have increased five-fold. Just keep at it and you will get one eventually. I'm going to try before dark since they seem more active at low light periods.
Rich, whenever you are going to a new place, try Googling something like "Hat Creek fishing report". Places like the Fly Shop in Redding have fishing reports that will tell you how the fishing is and what flies to use. They will usually offer tips, as well.
Rich...I've fished Hat Creek for over 15 yrs and mostly on dries or chucking salmon eggs or panther martins on an ultralight spinner. For dries I usually use Adams, Brown Hackle Pea****, orange Stimulators, yellow Humpies, Mosquitos. I did catch a 6.5 lb planter brookie on a San Juan Worm at Old Station. I've found best action for dries in the evening.
I hear the nymphing on the Hat is pretty good, but like some of the other posters, the Hat gets a lot of action...especially during the opener and summer. There are some good holes, but the Creek is very narrow and fast in a lot of places. You can try Big Springs, Bridge Campground, other campgrounds down the highway, Baum Lake with streamers, the Powerhouse riffle, the Pit River, Fall River Mills, Manzanita Lake, Burney Falls, etc. Research on-line and get a book on the area.
Don't forget to check out the lava tubes, Burney Falls, the Crystal trout hatchery (There are a lot of big trout in here like the Eagle Lake strain), and Lassen Park itself...beautiful country...JW
