Private Waters

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Antelope Creek Ranch

Bailey Creek

Riverside on Fall River

Clear Creek Ranch

Rock Creek Lake

Hat Creek Ranch

Battle Creek Ranch

Lake Christine

Fishing Seasons

The cold water of Antelope Creek pours out of alpine aquafirs and tumbles off the slopes of nearby Mount Shasta before settling into its tranquil, meandering nature as it courses across our ranch. Simple irrigation diversions control the flow in the main stem of the creek and the stream runs clear and fishable every day from the middle of May through the end of our season in late October.

Antelope Creek carves its path right through the middle of the ranch and offers nearly two miles of meadow fishing for rainbows and resident brown trout . The creek is not broad, but it typically cuts under banks, tails out in flats, and forms deep pools. It twists and turns its way all through the ranch, intermittently dividing the meadow and cutting through the surrounding willows and evergreen forest. The fish in the stream are not routinely large, but there are quite a few browns and rainbows that will top two pounds. They are easily spotted in the placid creek waters, and sight-casting to specific trout is commonplace.

The two lakes on the property have healthy populations of trophy rainbows and browns that will make any angler's heart race. In fact, each year several of our guests take home photos of themselves smiling with 30+ inch trout ready to be released. The upper lake is small and can easily be fished entirely from the shore. It is surrounded by many varieties of trees and is a pleasure to experience. The lower ranch lake is larger and can accommodate several float tubers, though it can also be fished effectively from shore.

May and June

In May and June the high (5000') altitude translates to cool mornings and evenings and guests at the ranch house usually rise to a morning fire in the lodge's beautiful stone-lined fireplace. Hatches aren't heavy in the creek or either of the two trophy trout lakes until late in the morning, when the sun hits the water solidly, its warmth stimulating the insect activity - and the trouts'! Fish feed actively all day long and leeches, streamers, and nymphs are very effective throughout the day. The single most effective dry fly and nymph fishing in the stream are small mayfly imitations, while standard damselfly or water boatman patterns work well in either of the two lakes. Slowly retrieved streamers and small, bead-headed patterns are equally productive.

Midges are very active in the spring months, and imitations continue to work well every day of the season. Sometime early in June there is a migration of termites that moves through the high mountain forests. Trout begin rising with apparent abandon to beetles and ant patterns that resemble the termites.

Moreover, the water boatman that begin to hatch in early to mid June is one of the most excited stillwater hatches you will every come across. The water boatmen are very fast and have the unique ability to both fly and swim, which enables them to tantalize the trout into very aggressive takes. Once you've experienced the water boatman hatch at Antelope Creek's lower lake you'll want to come back year after year.

The ranch comes alive with wildlife during the this time of year, and it isn't unusual to have dozens of mule and blacktail deer foraging in the meadow adjacent to the lodge. Bald eagles, osprey, Great Blue Herons, and a non-stop migration of songbirds add color and sound to every spring day.

July and August

July and August at Antelope Creek Ranch contrast dramatically with the scorching summer weather of the Sacramento Valley. The high (5,000') ranch elevation generally supplies the most pleasant and consistent mid-summer weather in Northern California. At the same time, the terrestrials start to come out, and grasshoppers blown into the lakes and the stream become a prime item on the trout menu in mid-summer. Leeches, streamers, midges, callibaetis nymphs and dry flies, beetles and ant patterns remain a staple in every Antelope Creek fly box.

September and October

September and October are spectacular at our ranch from both a fishing and a visual perspective. The groves of aspen turn brilliant shades of yellow, contrasting vividly with the evergreen forest. Hunting is not allowed on the ranch and herds of deer, intuitively knowing that they are protected, congregate on the property. The fishing remains very consistent throughout the fall. Hatches are predictable, the selection of flies doesn't change much, and guests are once again met in the morning and end their days with a warm fire in the ranch house.

Though the fishing remains productive until well after the first snows fall, use of the lodge is returned to the Michalak family and their private guests in late October.