Getting There

The small town of Markleeville is located on Highway 89 in California near the Nevada border and just south of Lake Tahoe. Here you can meet all of your fishing needs such as a bait shop, hotel, restaurant, bar, and general store. We made this a family trip and stayed at the Creekside Lodge instead of camping.

The Hike

You can see the elevation profile of Markleeville Creek here. This details the elevation of the creek from the confluence of Markleeville Creek and the East Fork of the Carson River up to the third bridge upstream. Roadside access prevails here but still avoid private property. Do a little planning before you go and talk to Todd at the Creekside Lodge. He'll know where the fish are.

The Fishing

Markleeville Creek is a put-and-take fishery that is regularly planted with trout including some that range from 5-7 lbs. Markleeville Creek is planted all summer until the flows get too low.



REPORT - May 16, 2015

The opener was hampered by weather this year so there was a lack on angling pressure at the onset on Markleeville Creek.

We had amazing luck this spring on Markleeville Creek using the traditional Markleeville Creek Salmon egg setup (see below). We landed a beautiful 4 pounder as our first Markleeville Creek fish this year and it gave us a great fight.

I gave my best shot at using egg patterns and nymphs with my fly rod but the fish in Markleeville Creek were looking for bait. When all was said and done we landed one on Salmon eggs and one on a whole crawler. Both fish were huge and we were told to keep them and eat them as the Markleeville Creek strain taste great. I look forward to finding out.



REPORT - May 25, 2014

The fish are biting in Markleeville Creek. They are really beautiful Rainbows with a red, rosy hue. I landed a 14" Rainbow in no time. There is no hatch at this point in the season so I didn't bother with flies. I was advised to use a number 10 hook, loaded with 3 salmon eggs, and weighted with two small split shot. This worked perfectly as I released 6 nice fish in less than an hour.

While the water is running high and cold in this area due to snow runoff, avoid getting onto the water too early. Waiting until 9:00 am to start fishing will help you be more successful. The afternoons produced the most fish for us. Before you head to Markleeville, give Todd a call at the Creekside Lodge and he will tell you where the best holes are.

When you are done at Markleeville Creek, you can head right over to the East Fork of The Carson River to try your luck there. This is the heart of Alpine County and Alpine County kicked off the opener by stocking 1800 pounds of fish into the river systems, and will continue to make plants of rainbow trout. Both Alpine County and the State (DFW) will plant fish ranging from 8 inches to 4 pounds.

The roadside water access along the E F Carson river is amazing. Just park and fish.