Carson River Fishing Spot

• Last Modified By: vinny60 on 09/28/09 09:24 AM
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The Carson River, named after explorer Kit Carson, is a river in northern California and northwestern Nevada in the United States, approximately 150 mi (241 km) long. It originates in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, fed by melted snow, and flows generally northeast into Nevada, emptying into the enclosed Carson Sink. It rises in two forks in the Sierras of northern California. The East Fork rises in southern Alpine County, southeast of Markleeville in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. It flows northeast then north into Nevada. The West Fork rises in California Sierras near Carson Pass and flows northeast into Nevada, joining the East Fork near Minden. The combined river flows north, passing through Carson City, then generally northeast past across Lyon County, past Dayton. In eastern Churchill County it is impounded by the Lahontan Dam to form the Lake Lahontan reservoir for irrigation and hydroelectricity. Downstream from the dam the river flow east past Fallon, then northeast into the Carson Sink. The East Fork Carson River is a popular recreation spot for fishing, river rafting, mountain biking, off-roading, hunting, and horse-back riding. Development along the river in Douglas, Carson City, and Lyon counties has limited public access in some areas. The main Carson River begins near the town of Genoa by the merging of the east and west forks and continues on to the Carson Sink near Fallon. Pioneering anglers (mid- to late 1800s) originally fished for Lahontan cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish. However, Comstock mining activities, channelization, water diversions, introduction of other fish species, and over-harvesting caused the demise of the native trout and limited the range of the whitefish. Currently, rainbow and brown trout are stocked annually, but black bass, catfish, and bullhead can also be captured in the river. The Carson River fishery primarily begins at Mexican Dam (adjacent to Carson City) and ends in the town of Dayton. Public access to the river occurs in many places down to Dayton with Dayton State Park being about the lower end of easy public access. Rainbow and brown trout are stocked at various sites close to Mexican Dam and downstream to Dayton. An 8-pound brown trout was captured in 2002. A 37 pound 4 ounces carp was captured in 2007. Additionally, anglers catch warmwater game fishes such as black bass (small and largemouth), channel catfish, and brown or black bullheads on an occasional basis. Handicap access to a fishing platform can be found along the Carson River at Lloyd’s Bridge (a fish-planting site adjacent to Carson City) located near the Silver Saddle Ranch. All of the Carson River has general fishing regulations, i.e. fishing is permitted any hour of the day or night and the fishing season is open all year. The limit is 5 trout, 10 mountain whitefish, and 15 warmwater game fish of which not more than 5 may be black bass. Trout management in the Carson River is put-and-take, meaning the river is stocked with trout that are expected to be taken (harvested) out within a short period of time. The fall should see low flows. Black bass may be caught throughout the river, but catfish and bullhead are more common downstream of Carson City.