Carson River — East & West Fork
Markleeville / Hope Valley (Alpine Co.) · near Markleeville · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Season late Apr–mid Nov; snowmelt blows out the East Fork May–June, so July–Oct fishes cleanest. Fall browns a highlight
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+). Hwy 88 (Carson Pass), Hwy 4 (Ebbetts) and Hwy 89 (Monitor) close in winter; the Markleeville/Woodfords corridor stays open year-round.
What is here
- Features
- Roadside wild + stocked trout · Meadow water in Hope Valley · Alpine tributaries · Fall spawning browns
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Fishing detail
- Water type
- river
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Fly · Spin · Bait
- Boat
- shore
- Target species
- Rainbow trout · Brown trout · Brook trout · Cutthroat trout
- Intl tip
- These are pocket-water and meadow streams — a 9-ft 4/5-wt fly rod with a dry-dropper is ideal, but a spinner works on the West Fork. Fish early or late in summer.
The guide
The Carson River's two forks are the classic Highway 88/89 trout country — the freestone East Fork tumbling out of the Carson-I…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Carson River — East & West Fork — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.672, -119.757