27 Documented Tributaries9 Priority TributariesLive USGS Data
Clear Lake
Tributaries
Every stream that feeds Clear Lake tells part of the hitch story. These creeks are the spawning grounds and nurseries that sustain California's most endangered endemic fish. Some run strong. Some have gone dry.
Priority Tributaries: 2025 Status
Relative spawning importance — a qualitative ranking from recent survey activity, not a measured count.
All Tributaries: Alphabetical27 creeks
Adobe Creek
South shore, Big Valley
Historic #2 spawning stream, most frequented in 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2025. Highland Creek joins upstream.
Alley Creek
N shore, Scotts Creek watershed
Joins Clover Creek before feeding into the Scotts Creek system. Part of the largest single freshwater input to Clear Lake via Rodman Slough.
Burns Valley Creek
SE shore, rearing habitat
Rearing habitat: ~4,000 juvenile hitch and thousands of larvae documented in 2024. Major juvenile nursery on the SE shore.
Clover Creek
N shore, Middle Creek feeder
Joins Middle Creek before the combined flow enters Scotts Creek and Rodman Slough. Part of the Scotts watershed system.
Cole Creek
South shore, East of Kelsey
Funded restoration project: 1.55 miles of hitch spawning habitat. Downstream reach ran dry in 2024. USGS gauged (discharge + temp).
Cooper Creek
N shore, Scotts Creek feeder
Feeds into Scotts Creek on the north shore. Dayle Creek joins upstream. Part of the Rodman Slough watershed system.
Copsey Creek
East shore, Seigler Canyon system
Adults confirmed March through May 2024, the most encouraging signal from the Seigler Canyon drainage in two decades.
Dayle Creek
N shore, Cooper Creek feeder
Feeds into Cooper Creek, which feeds Scotts Creek. Part of the broader Rodman Slough watershed on the north shore.
Forbes Creek
West shore, Lakeport
4.7-mile stream entering Clear Lake at Lakeport. Adults confirmed April 18, 2024. Flow cut off May 28, 2024.
Hendricks Creek
N shore, Scotts Creek feeder
Adult hitch confirmed April 2, 2024 in Lake County WPD surveys. Feeds into Scotts Creek. Pool Creek joins upstream.
Highland Creek
South shore, Adobe Creek feeder
Joins Adobe Creek upstream in the south-shore drainage. Conditions in Highland directly affect the Adobe Creek spawning reach.
Hill Creek
South shore, McGaugh feeder
No adults observed in 2024-2025. Upstream feeder to McGaugh Slough. Access requires McGaugh to connect to the lake first.
Kelsey Creek
South shore, Clear Lake State Park
In 2020 every single one of the 1,672 hitch observed lake-wide was here. The most critical active spawning tributary. USGS gauged.
Lucerne Creek
NE shore, rearing habitat
Rearing habitat near the town of Lucerne on the NE shore. Limited survey data, an NE shore monitoring gap.
Lyons Creek
NW shore, Upper Arm
Listed in historical hitch habitat documentation as a spawning tributary. Limited recent survey coverage.
Manning Creek
SW shore, Big Valley
CDFW confirmed adults 2024 and 2025. Thompson Creek was rerouted into Manning Creek, and both drain together to the lake.
McGaugh Slough
South shore, between Manning & Adobe
No adults observed 2024-2025. Hill Creek joins upstream. Positioned between two active tributaries.
Middle Creek
N shore, Upper Lake, Scotts feeder
Flows through Upper Lake, joins Scotts Creek before Rodman Slough. UC Davis TERC flow monitoring. No water temp data.
Morrison Creek
NE shore, Upper Arm
Listed in USFWS Species Status Assessment as a historical hitch spawning tributary. NE shore monitoring gap.
Perini Creek
East shore, Seigler Canyon system
Feeds into Seigler Canyon Creek on the east shore. Part of the Cache Creek drainage. Historical spawning tributary.
Pool Creek
N shore, Hendricks Creek feeder
Feeds into Hendricks Creek, which feeds Scotts Creek. Part of the Rodman Slough watershed on the north shore.
Rodman Slough
North shore, largest inflow
Entry point for the entire Scotts Creek watershed. Scotts Creek (~24% of lake inflow, 30 miles) and Middle Creek enter the lake here.
Rumsey Slough
South shore, historic Thompson Creek channel
Enters between Manning and Adobe Creeks. Historic Thompson Creek channel once drained here before being rerouted into Manning.
Schindler Creek
East end, rearing habitat in the Keys
Rearing habitat in the Clearlake Oaks Keys area. 2024 WPD survey site: no fish observed.
Scotts Creek
N shore, Rodman Slough, largest stream
30-mile watershed providing ~24% of all Clear Lake inflow. Enters via Rodman Slough. Hendricks, Cooper and feeder creeks join upstream.
Seigler Canyon Creek
East shore, Cache Creek drainage
No confirmed adults at Seigler Canyon since ~2004. Copsey Creek (same system) confirmed adults March-May 2024.
Thompson Creek
SW shore, Manning Creek feeder
CDFW confirmed adults 2024 and 2025. Rerouted from Rumsey Slough, it now feeds Manning Creek in the Big Valley corridor.