Camping/Fishing the Pit. Anyone else?

[WinterrunRon]

Looks like this weekend might be the last opportunity for family camping, which almost always inculdes fishing. 3 days to go somewhere. Thought the Pit River would be a good choice to fish since it's reasonably close to the State Park, the weather should be mild and we'll see Lassen VNP on the way home Sunday. Last time I tried to go, it was a bajillion degrees.

Anyone else headed that way this weekend? Is there any fishing to speak of in Lassen VNP?

[jhaquett]

Manzanita Lake is basically the only fishing in Lassen (accessible with a family anyway), problem is that it is difficult to fish without a pontoon or tube. There is a good flying ant hatch right now that is supposed to be creating some great dry fly action if you want to try it anyway. Manzanita Lake is on the Highway 89 side of Lassen opposed to the Highway 36 side so it will be easy to access on your way to/from the Pit area.

Don't know how familiar you are with Lassen, but if you haven't ever hiked there you should check out Bumpass Hell, always worth the trip to see boiling sulfur pits and I can nearly guarantee you that the weather will be far from a bazillion degrees up there at 7,000'.

[Alastair]

Manzanita Lake is at least a very picturesque place to fish. It is best from a float tube or a boat or canoe. Bumpass Hell trail is very cool, too. Here are some pics from my last trip up there. http://mtshasta.saxlessons.com/index.html
Have a nice trip, wherever you go.

[WinterrunRon]

Thanks for the info, gents.

How long is the trail you recommend? My youngest is 10 yrs.

[MrBig]

If you are gonna drive through Lassen Park to highway 36 and back down you can hit Battle Creek.

But if you want a really easy place for the kids to catch trout, try Grace and Nora lake just out of shingletown (hwy 44 just south of LP). It's and easy drive but be warned you'll see your share of "treble-hookers" there. Great place for kids to catch trout though. The lake in the back is the best.

And the trail to the peak of lassen only takes about 5 hrs round trip if you have time. But if you haven't checked out the Subway Cave lava tube, I highly recommend it. Your kids will love it. Just don't forget a flashlight.

Have fun!

[El Rey]

Plan to fish Hat Creek at PH-2 most of Saturday. Hope to do better than my last trip there in June. If you're there, look me up. My green Outback with a NCFFB sticker will be in the lot.

[dtp916]

I used to be able to do the Lassen hike in 1.5 hours, my buddy would run it in 45 min!

But a 10 year old.......just carry a beating stick and whip em when they slow down!

Another buddy fished Manzanita last week for 3 days and didn't catch a single thing...saw lots of big rainbows, but couldn't hook them. He's not that experienced with the fly rod so you know....

[jhaquett]

I hiked Lassen when I was in 4th grade with my class, so I was 9 I believe. It was a piece of cake. My little sister who was 6 at the time did it fairly easy as well. So you could hike the peak. If you want to hike Bumpass Hell it is a very gentle (IMO) hike and is only 3 miles roundtrip.

MRBIG is right about Nora and Grace Lake. They are pretty neat little lakes, especially Nora (the one in the back MRBIG was talking about). EXCELLENT place (when properly stocked) to practice fly fishing (there is a pier-like thing that you can stand on and cast virtually without compromise) and to practice presentation to nice trout that you can see feeding all over the place! Its a lot of fun. Grace is not so great...tons of catch and kill bait fisherman and a lot more people in general. I have only seen one other person at Nora Lake one time (I've been there like 5 times) and he was fly fishing also and simultaneously Grace Lake is loaded with bait people.

Fish Hat Creek in the Burney/Cassel area but also fish it at Subway Cave Campground near Old Station off of 89 just to see how much the creek changes (its pretty wide and gentle near Burney and very small, brushy and pretty fast at Subway Cave. Around powerhouse 2 (Burney/Cassel) it is riffle fishing but at Subway Cave it is hole fishing; high stick style shot nymphing these holes is absolutely deadly. Both areas are crowded but like anywhere just walk a ways and you'll get away from people. There are big, deep holes in the Subway Cave Hat Creek and big fish hold in them. I caught a 22" brook trout out of a hole that was in a section of stream no more than 12 feet wide. I'm not exaggerating on the size either I actually had a tape measure for that one . Really unbelievable fish, especially for the section is was caught in.

If you get the chance check out Baum Lake, some big rainbows and browns can be caught with leech patterns in there. Fish the section of water around the inlet on the opposite side of the parking lot and continue walking down that way....lots of big fish (I've seen a pretty fair number of 24" rainbows....on stringers :\ ).

Also checking out Burney Falls and nymphing the waters all around there is a great way to burn time

Hope this information helps, you are heading to one of the greatest areas around, IMO of course.