East Fork Carson River
(Alpine County)
Mokulumne Wilderness
August 11, 2018
Getting There
The East Fork Carson River is a stream near Markleeville, California
that starts at the lakes at the top of Ebbetts Pass and flows northward, picking up momentum as Silver Creek and Wolf Creek feed into it.
It is stocked regularly throughout the spring, summer, and fall until the water levels drop and the temperature gets too high to plant fish.
The strain of Rainbow trout planted here is of high quality with rich red meat and are there for the taking and eating.
Small Lahontan Cutthroat landed on the fly
The Hike
The East Fork Carson River is divided into two sections. The first section, on the head water side is planted with hatchery trout and the other section,
past Hangman's bridge is designated wild trout water and has barbless and artificial regulations to consider. The further you hike downstream from
Hangman's bridge, the better the fishing. Upstream from Hangman's bridge the holes and riffles are full of hatchery trout for about 6-7 miles
up to the confluence of Wolf Creek.
The recommended way to approach this stretch of water is to drive to the first bridge past the Highway 89 turnoff and work your way downstream from there.
Both the holes and the riffles offer good fishing.
East Fork Carson River
The Fishing
REPORT - August 11, 2018
We went down to our favorite fishing hole on the East Fork Carson and starting drifting eggs with the kids. It wasn't long before we
started catching some planter Rainbows. A couple people showed up and stood on the bank behind us just watching. Eventually they asked
if we were having any luck and proceeded to tell us that they had been there earlier that morning and had hooked into a beast they
estimated to be 23 inches long. About 20 minutes later I hooked what I knew was a hog. It held in the current a while before taking a long
run to the edge of the pool - making me think I was going to have to walk it downstream to the next run. When I brought it in I noticed that
the big boy had a wounded lip like he had been hooked before. At 24 inches long I'm pretty sure this was the same fish that they hooked
earlier.
After that I pulled out my fly rod and began tossing elk hair caddis flies into the riffles at the top of the run and started catching some of
the Lahontan Cutthroat that DFW had started planting. That weren't big but it was a lot of fun.
Gonna need a bigger net
The High Sierra fishing on the East Fork Carson River was excellent this October when I took my family trout fishing. Everyone caught fish including a 3 1/2 pounder landed by my 92 year old grandfather. We drifted salmon eggs with a couple of split shot which put us into a lot of fish. Most were hatchery catchables but a couple were over two pounds. I tried fly fishing for a while but received no attention which I attribute to the water being stained from the rain that fell the day before. I weighted down the lines with up to an ounce of egg sliders on a couple of rods and that slowed the drift down and managed to fool a few fish. We kept a few fish and released about 10 in total. The local report was that fish were being caught from the second bridge to down past the resort. With 9 days left until winter regulations set in, you may want to get out there while there are a lot of fish and very light pressure.
Small planter Rainbow from the East Fork Carson River
Small Rainbow Trout landed on the East Fork Carson River
REPORT - July 21, 2016
The High Sierra fishing on the East Fork Carson River was outstanding on this outing with over 20 fish landed out of one hole. We took the kids and they enjoyed catching Rainbows on Salmon eggs while I used my fly rod. While the Salmon egg action was non-stop, the fly fishing was a bit slower but continued to produce using nymphs, Caddis, and gold Brassies. I used a couple of split shot keep my wet flies deep where the fish were feeding. When the sun went down over the hill, the fish were actively feeding on the surface so I switched over to dry flies like a Parachute Adams Emerger and eventually a yellow Humpy. The last hour of sunlight was especially productive using dry flies with a hit or a fish on virtually every cast. It was quite exciting.
The next day I spotted Todd at The Creekside Lodge in the morning and he mentioned that the Alpine County Hatchery and the State Hatchery had both planted almost 2000 lbs fish so the fishing should have been really good. I agreed that it was and I'm hoping it will last for a few weeks. He also mentioned that they placed gill nets in certain sections of the hatchery stretch of the East Fork Carson River to reduce dispersion and keep the fish bunched in certain holes. I wish I knew where, exactly those holes are, but I don't.
Rainbow trout from the East Fork Carson River
Fly fishing the East Fork Carson River
REPORT - July 23, 2014
Before I go fishing on the East Fork Carson River I talk to Todd at The Creekside Lodge. Todd will tell you where the best fishing is since he's the guy who plants them.
The fishing on the East Fork Carson River starts at the opener when the water is stained from snow runoff and is ready to go on opening day. We hit the upper stretch in October when the water levels were lower and caught many fish in about an hour. We kept five, released four and had many trout shake our barbless hooks and get away. The preferred technique on this section is to drift salmon eggs with two split shot in the holes and riffles. Crawlers work too but we didn't bring any this time. The fishing is excellent and exciting with reports of Rainbows weighing 8 pounds and more for some anglers. Our largest catch probably weighed two pounds on this outing.
After we had our fill of trout action we head over to the Wolf Creek Bar and Grill for some really decent food, drinks and if it is Saturday, live music in the evening. We find that the best place to stay is the Creekside Lodge which is situated in the center of town and provides quick and easy access to the East and West Fork of the Carson River, Markleeville Creek and Wolf Creek. Another option is to rent a camp site at the Carson River resort which provides easy access to the water. The West Fork Carson can be crowded so the East Fork makes a great alternative and always has fish.
A small angler fishing the East Fork Carson River
Another nice Rainbow
Rainbow landed at the East Fork Carson River