Event Description:
This is a 3 night-4 day campi
ng trip to Baum, Manzanita, and Medicine Lakes in the Shasta and Lassen National Park watersheds.
Cost: Camping facilities will be used at all three facilities and costs shared between participants as required.
Fishmeister: Mark Spruiell
Accommodations and Food: Camping will be at campgrounds to be selected by the Fishmeister. If you are anticipating bringing an RV or trailer you may need to reserve a separate site so be alert for coming emails on actual camping details.
Each individual is responsible for their own food, although we may decide later to do some group meals at an additional cost based upon number and food costs.
Location Notes
Medicine Lake
This is a large lake (4 mi by 7 mi) with a maximum depth of about 50'. There are several smaller lakes nearby, but of these Little Medicine Lake is the most likely to support fish given its maximum depth of 150'.
Restrictions: None
Cell service: Unlikely
Baum Lake
Fed by both Hat Creek and Crystal Lake, Baum Lake has a current and therefore an anchor is strongly recommended. There are some areas near the ramp where the current is light and you can live without an anchor, but that also puts you in casting range of folks on shore. You should bring an anchor; this one works well for me with my pontoon. If your boat has oars, you should definitely bring those too.
Baum is shallow with lots of weed beds and some deeper channels (3-8'). The rainbows and browns in this lake have plenty of food, so they grow quickly and fight well. The abundance of bugs means regular hatches and good opportunities to fish dries. Fishing nymphs under an indicator is very common, and stripping streamers can also work well.
Restrictions: No gas motors; electric motors are allowed
Cell service: You can get a Verizon signal only in a couple of spots on the water; AT&T supposedly works in the parking lot
Manzanita Lake
Located just inside the gate of Lassen Volcanic National Park, Manzanita Lake's wild trout make it popular with fly fishermen. It's considered a good lake for fishing dries, and there are plenty of shallow areas (2-8') where you can use nymphs to target fish holding in the weed beds. There's also a large central area with deeper water up to 30' where stripping streamers with an intermediate or sink-tip line can be very effective.
Given its location inside a national park, there is a $30 park entrance fee per vehicle unless you have a lifetime or annual pass.
Restrictions: No motors; barbless hooks; catch & release
Cell service: Basic calling/texting on Verizon works in some areas of the lake; other carriers unknown. No Verizon service in campground, although there is a pay phone near the camp store.
Gear and Tackle Recommendations:
Rod & line weights/types: 4, 5 or 6 weight rods, reels and floating and sinking lines
Leaders and tippet: Fishing style dependent but normally I fish a 9’ 4X leader and adjust with added tippet of up to 4-6’ of 5 or 6X for the dry flies.
Other gear: Float tube/pontoon boat/pram, and normal fishing wear.
Flies: Flies to match hatches above and we will send out a more current list as we get closer to the dates and better understand how the weather and water are impacting the hatches.
