It's a Great time of year for Fly Fishing at Hat Creek

Hat Creek - CA (Shasta County)


by The Fly Shop
10-8-2011
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Current River Conditions:
The smooth, clear waters of Hat Creek harbor some of the most sophistcated rainbow trout anywhere. It's a beautiful time of year to stroll the banks of Hat, scanning for rising fish. Anglers fishing the PH#2 riffle have been doing best with small #18-22 midge and mayfly patterns, like brown and olive Gidgets, black and olive Glass-bead Micro Mayflies. Small grean mayfly hatches (=BWOs, PEDs) in the morning and late afternoon should produce a few rise forms along the flat-water section below PH#2.

Click here for flow report on the trophy trout section of Hat Creek

Click here for flow report on the upper section of Hat Creek

The Fly Shop's ? Tips:
Look for rising fish along the flats below the Power House #2 riffle. For the best presentation, drift your D&D Cripple down and across to rising fish. For a fun challenge, try catching Hat Creek trout on as many tactics as you can: small indicators with nymphs, swinging wet flies and/or streamers, and, of course, with a well-presented dry fly. The Powerhouse #2 Riffle is one of the best spots on the creek, but also one of the most popular. Anglers seeking a real challenge should sight-cast to trout in the fabled "carbon flats" section, and those looking for solace can hike into the freestone section just above Lake Britton. 5 wt rods are perfect. Have an extra spool loaded with a Scientific Anglers Wet Tip Clear Fly Line.

Flies:

Dries:

• D&D Cripple-ANY!
• Normans Loop Wing BWO & PMD
• Hackle Stacker BWO
• Parachute Adams #14-18
• Fox's Crowning Poopah
• Spotlight Caddis Emerger Olive #16
• Mercer's Missing Link #16-18

Nymphs:
• Glass-Bead Micro May-Black or Olive
• Mercer's Gidget Brown or Olive
• Pat's Brown Rubber Legs #6-8
• Hogan's S&M Olive #16
• Micro Poopah #16 Cinnamon or Black
• Harrop's Bubble Back Caddis #18 Black
• Mercer's Tungsten Swing Caddis
• Black Zebra Midge #18-20
• PT Nymphs #16-20
• Posse Bugger #14
• GB Birds Nest #16
• Beeottis Olive/Gold #16
• TB Pseudo Nymph Black #18
• Red Copper John #18

Streamers/Leeches:
• Fox's Cone Bugger Rust
• Double Bunny
• Beaded Mini Leech Olive



More Reports

Good dry fly fishing in the mornings! Productive nymphing up until about 5:00 PM on the Fall River.
Fall River

10-7-2011
Current River Conditions: Good hatches of BWO's, Mahogany Duns and a few PMDs are driving the quality of the...... Read More