West Fork Carson River | Woodfords, CA

West Fork Carson River traveling south, stained and running hard.

West Fork Carson River
(Alpine County)

June 4th, 2016

Getting There

The West Fork Cason River is a slow moving meadow stream that starts at the Lost Lakes near Blue Lakes and to begins to pick up flow at Pickett's juction as the terrain begins to decline towards the Nevada border. I prefer to fish downstream of the bridge at Pickett's Junction so I find parking near this area and walk. Pickett's Junction is the intersection of highway 88 and highway 89, south of Lake Tahoe.

West Fork Carson River, a drainage at the end of the run

The Hike

There is some minor hiking if you wish to travel downstream to new holes on the West Fork Carson River. The search for pocket water could get you moving. Or, you could plant a lawn chair on the bank and fish there. There seems to be a lot of both going on. Bear in mind, the elevation is 7000 feet at Pickett's Junction, so dehydration and altitude sickness are still valid considerations.

West Fork Carson River from the trail head.

The Fishing

The West Fork Carson River is a put-and-take fishery that is regularly planted with trout including some that range from 5-7 lbs. The West Fork Carson River is planted all summer until the flows get too low or the water becomes too warm.

REPORT - June 4th, 2016

Fishing on the West Fork Carson River was slow for us this year with only one fish landed. We fished the area downstream from the Woodford's bridge and managed to land only one fish using salmon eggs weighted down with a couple of split shot. The water was running high and a bit stained but we found a good run about 100 yards downstream from the bridge.

West Fork Carson River, a nice run.

We saw only two other anglers downstream from us and it looked as though they were striking out too. This spot is very popular as there are always cars parked here but there was only one other vehicle when we were there. There is a trail that parallels the river for two hundred yards at least, but we did not follow it all the way to the end.

West Fork Carson River running hard.

Perhaps better fishing was waiting downstream but the sun was dying and we were tired from driving and fishing so we made our way back to the lodge in Markleeville having landed only one tiny fish.

West Fork Carson River, a small native released back into the run.

West Fork Carson River

REPORT - October 19th, 2014

Before I go fishing on the West Fork Carson River I talk to Todd at Todd's Bait and Tackle. Todd will tell you where the best fishing is since he's the guy who plants them.

A popular run on West Fork Carson River

The fishing on the West Fork Carson River was good this October for planter Rainbows in the 12-20 inch range. Drifting bait like salmon eggs or crawlers works well with these fish. Finding the pocket water is the name of the game. Flies work too late in the season. I observed some guys using flies but I did not see them land any fish.

Landing a Rainbow Trout on the West Fork Carson River

After packing up and leaving, we stopped to take a photo at the bridge. I looked down and saw 4 trout looking to be about 2-3 pounds each on the west side of the bridge. There were about 5 guys casting to these fish who appeared to be very uninterested.

West Fork Carson River from a small bridge.

West Fork Carson River

A run near Pickett's Junction.