Pinotblogger: the Capozzi Winery blog

Hat Creek Ranch is my favorite place on earth. Each night I’m here I open the windows and let the sound of the rushing water ease me to sleep. Each day I marvel at the natural beauty of this area, sandwiched between Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta, both of which are visible from different parts of the Ranch.

I came up here to look at portions of our farmland at the Creek and 45 minutes north up in the small town of Beiber with my Dad, Reynaldo Robledo and his son Jenaro. I’ve written about the Robledos before, and spending a day up here with them both was a real treat. Reynaldo reports that a book about his life is soon to be released and the movie is still in the works as well. The link above has the details of his inspiring life. Very cool.

The goal of the visit was to get a rough idea if any of our land up here is suitable for growing wine grapes. Reynaldo thinks that there is potential for some Icewine cultivars to thrive up here, and I’m excited to see what the future brings. I’m a huge Icewine fan and starting a project that could potentially produce some of that perfumey nectar fills me with joy.

Cabin for Rent

But this isn’t just a travelogue post! I also wanted to let any anglers in the audience know that we still have some openings at the cabin. Fishing season runs into November so there is still plenty of time to plan a trip, and Hat Creek is widely considered to be one of the best trout streams in California.

Most of the creek is public and is under fairly heavy pressure from weekend anglers, but at Hat Creek Ranch you have an entire half mile of private frontage to fish all to yourself. The trout here are wild, wily and big. Reading through the Trout Journal we leave out for guests to write in, visitors are routinely pulling out 3-plus pound rainbow and brown trout - if they can get them to shore without them breaking the line! Here are some quotes from the journal.

7-1-06

Big trout. Beautiful site. Cozy Cabin. Up at 6 - fishin’ the creek. Lunch - fishin’ the pond. Nap - reading - early dinner. Back to the creek until almost 10 pm - because the fishing is so fun and the trout are beautiful! Hat Creek Ranch exceeded all our expectations.

Ken and Chris - Millville CA

7-8-06

Beautiful cottage, idyllic view of the stream. Wandered around taking it all in. Found the lake…hooked and lost several big ‘uns, “wide bodies” as the wife calls them. 5x tippet just doesn’t cut it…Explored the river from one boundary to the other. Who knew the best fishing was going to be right in front of the cottage! Evening action again very slow until we finally found a nymph that worked. Then every good cast was rewarded. Hooked some real monsters. Broke off a 4x tippet like it was nothing. Fished until 9 pm with our wonder fly. Day 3 - On the water by 6 am. 6-7 the most exciting fishing of the weekend…good size, but not the monsters from yesterday. When a big one did take the fly, there was an epic battle, into the backing 4 times before the fish broke off…If I learnt as fast as these fish seem to, I’d be a rocket scientist by now!

Jennifer and Tim - San Mateo

31 July

Beautiful experience! Landed 8 monsters (between 2 and 4 Kgs!), 6 in the lake and 2 in the river, especially with the dry…Great vacation for my family.

Uberto - from Italy

Uberto’s girls are the ones who created the wood art out in front of the cabin in the pics Last one:

What a wonderful spot you have! Thanks for allowing me to experience it. Home is very comfortable - nice porch and BBQ. Below the bridge might be the best water in Hat Creek. Very challenging. We will visit again.

Scott and Rochelle - Carmel Valley CA

We’re really very proud of the ranch and would love to have you visit. There’s plenty to do and see (ATV’s, hiking, Burney Falls, kayaking, paintball etc.) so if you are interested have a look at the Fly Shop’s ordering and information page or give the shop a call at 800-669-FISH.