Indian Creek Reservoir | Alpine County | Indian Creek Recreation Area

Indian Creek Reservoir
(Alpine County)
Indian Creek Recreation Area
June 10, 2017

Getting There

Indian Creek Reservoir in Alpine County, California is located on Airport Road, near the town of Woodfords. I chose to come from Highway 89 and took the Airport Road turnoff from there. As you drive, you will pass Curtz Lake on the left. While Curtz Lake may occasionally hold fish, it is currently fishless, as well as nearby Summit Lake which suffered a die-off due to drought. About 4 miles down the road you will find Indian Creek Reservoir.

Planting Rainbow trout at Indian Creek Reservoir

The Hike

No hiking needed. However, some driving on rough, dirt road is needed so beware.

Newly planted Rainbows shooting around the shallows

My fishing spot on the west side of the lake

The Fishing

Indian Creek Reservoir is a put-and-take fishery that is regularly planted with trout including some that range from 5-15 lbs.

REPORT - June 10, 2017

We fished the annual fishing derby and got to see the fish truck dump in a couple loads of fish, some of trophy size. The wind was howling again but the turnout was pretty good. As far as I know, three fish were caught. A young man to the left of me landed a 2 pounder, I landed a 2 pounder, and a young angler to my right landed a 5 pounder. All in all, the fishing was slow at the derby and most people gave up around noon and headed home. We decided to take a break about lunch time, packed up our gear and regrouped at the Creekside Lodge in Markleeville. I was a little discouraged but my wife talked me into trying the less windy side of the lake, the southwest corner. As we expected, there was very little wind and we settled in at the boat launch near the campground. We threw out some bait near the boat ramp but we weren't getting any action so I grabbed a couple poles and headed over to the steep drop off west of the boat launch. From there I began hooking up right away. I landed 4 fish at this spot including one five-pounder and a big, beautiful Heenan Lake Cutthroat dawning it's spawning colors. Great fish. great fight. I'm glad I took my wife's advice and tried this side of the lake: total success!

A big Rainbow landed by a young angler next to me

REPORT - April 21, 2017

We arrived at Indian Creek Reservoir in the early afternoon on a very windy day. We had the kids and my 93 year old grandfather with us on this outing. When we got down to the water near the dam, the wind was howling hard and there were even white caps on the water. We sat grandpa down in a chair and wrapped him in a blanket and cast out four lines. With the wind blowing so hard it was difficult to see if we were getting any bites. The conditions were tough and we only lasted a couple of hours. We didn't get any bites and therefore got skunked. We made plans to go the next morning but the wind started kicking up early so we skipped it and headed home.

Nice Rainbow landed during the fishing derby

REPORT - May 17, 2015

The fishing at Indian Creek Reservoir was great this spring for Rainbows weighing up to 4 lbs! Fishing on the east side of Indian Creek Reservoir near the dam usually produces action. Indian Creek Reservoir produced many bites and lots of lost hook-ups for us. I gave my black Wooly Bugger a chance on a number of casts but decided to put the fly rod down after receiving no bites.

We did manage to land one really nice Rainbow at on an inflated mini-crawler with a red foam puff ball. I even tried floating some Salmon eggs off of the bottom using a red puff ball and had some action with that setup. The bite at Indian Creek Reservoir remained steady all morning until a hail storm drove us off the lake. I am looking forward to visiting Indian Creek Reservoir again to catch up with one of those 10 pounders lurking out there.

A nice Rainbow landed and released near the dam

A colorful Rainbow

REPORT - May 25, 2014

The fishing was good at Indian Creek Reservoir! I made my way towards the eastern side of the dam looking for deeper water as most of the eastern side appeared to be very shallow. The water was slightly stained and Hydrilla flourished on the bottom at Indian Creek Reservoir in some locations. Regardless, I witnessed many signs of fish activity in the water. While walking close to shore, I spooked a large trout in the shallow reaches of a cove, only inches from the shore.

I thought I would try some bait while I decompressed from an earlier hike off of the Tahoe Rim Trail. I put an inflated nightcrawler on a hook and cast out off of a point and, after a short while (less than an hour), I had a hit on my rod.

The fight was on!

The Lahontan Cutthroat makes for a good fight but differs from other species in energetics. At times you may wonder if it is foul-hooked. However, the runs are substantial and I was forced to use my drag to the best of my ability. A Rainbow/Cutthroat hybrid fights much harder. After about 10 minutes of fighting this fish at Indian Creek Reservoir on my 4lb test, I brought this beast to shore. A 5lb Cutthroat!

After visiting with some fellow fishers, I found that they were having good luck catching 11-14" Rainbows using nightcrawlers as well. Indian Creek Reservoir is planted throughout the season with catchable and larger sized trout.