History of Hat Creek - amazing video.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QofGI6Z64I


Many of us were there in the 1970s when it was amazing.

It was extremely difficult for most.........so many hatches.

It had some very deep runs and some really big trout.



Fall river and Hat creek were just amazing fisheries in the 1970s.




On the weekends people showed up from the Bay area with price tags on their new gear.


Hal Janssen, Dick May, Dick Galland, and Bob Quigley were just a few of the pioneers of Hat Creek.

[HSano]

My brother and I visited Hat Creek in June of 2016 two years before the video was made. The meadow section below the power house was very shallow. There were a couple of people in the parking lot but no one was fishing. Has the restoration project gotten rid of some of the silt and increased the water depth? Are people fishing it again? I'm old enough to have fished Hat from the mid-70's into the 80's. It truly was a remarkable stream (but incredibly demanding!).

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Hello Hsano,

We were fishing it in the 1970s and 1980s too when it had some very deep runs.

Not sure if about the restoration but we will have to find out how it is going.

Fall river and Hat creek both have silted up over the last 50 years.

[mattv-mcfly]

Does anyone here regularly fish Hat anymore? I feel I might be the only one. There aren't a lot of accessible spring creeks in California so Hat is kind of special in that sorts. The fish majority of the fish aren't that big but I know there are a few chunky +18''ers in there. It only seems to fish well in the evening though but I feel like I just haven't figured it out or am not on it during prime time in the spring.

I've definitely notice that the creek is a bit deeper now in some sections after several years of fishing it. Spots where I could easily walk across before are spots where my waders will fill if I'm not careful. But maybe it was because the powerhouse was running and adding water though. From what I've noticed the only thing that was a success with the restoration project was the new bridge and fallen trees below Carbon Flats. None of the riparian plants that were planted seem to have taken off. I'm sure there were other things done that aren't visible though.

I understand with the Pit, Fall, and other lakes and streams nearby who wants to spend their limited time chasing small trout in a finicky spring creek.

[BobVP]

I do!

It is almost impossible for me to drive past Hat Creek and not turn off to Carbon. There is just something special there, even today... even after I fished it in the late 70's and on.

Maybe it is because I met some great people fishing there or went with friends or, possibly, because I caught my biggest fish at Carbon in 2000. I cannot say exactly.

What I can say is that the last three time I have been there (just once a year the last 5 years or so) I have been entirely alone! Maybe that is because it is usually a Monday.

I simply love that piece of water.