Silver King Creek and Upper EF Carson

Suggested Flies for Silver King Creek:
Eastern Sierra Hatch Selection

Other Local Favorites:

Nymphs:
Gold Ribbed Hares Ear #8-14
Zug Bug #8-10
BH Flashback Pheasant Tail #12-18
Fox Poopah #14, tan or olive

Drys:
Humpy
Royal Wulff #14-16
Griffith Gnat #18

Stoneflies:
Royal Trude #6-12
Golden Stimulator #6-8

Directions:

Silver King Creek. At junction of Highway 89 and 4, Turn East and continue on Hwy 89 toward Monitor Pass. Go 4 miles up steep hill and turn right onto a dirt road just south of Heenan Lake. This road will take you into Bagley Valley and reach Grays Crossing in 5.2 miles. Continuing southeast another 1.6 miles you reach Vaquero Camp and the trailhead starts from there.
Upper East Fork Carson. From Grays Crossing, at 1 mile take the left spur road and continue another 0.6 miles to the trailhead at the Upper East Fork Carson.

Notes:

Above the confluence of Wolf Creek, the river once again is a designated Wild Trout fishery of rainbows, browns, and brookies. The general fishing regulations of a 5 fish limit still apply. A trailhead, the Carson River Trail, starts off Wolf Creek Road where the East Fork merges with Wolf Creek. This trail will take you to either the Silver King Creek fork or along the East Fork of the Carson. At the junction of Wolf Creek, the river is a pool and riffle stream and becomes a meadow-type stream with undercut banks holding Browns within the Silver King Valley. At the south end of Silver King Valley, the EF Carson continues to be a pool and riffle stream up to Carson Falls. Carson Falls presents a natural fish barrier that protects pure strains of native Lahontan Cutthroats above the falls from hydridization with introduced Rainbows. Silver King Creek forks off at the southern end of Silver King Valley and is a meandering meadow stream until it is above the Silver King Valley and becomes a freestone stream up to Llewellyn Falls with many small brookies and some larger rainbows up to 14" in the larger pools. The river is closed above Snodgrass Creek to protect the native Paiute Cutthroats, a close subspecies of the Lahontan. Rotenone treatments were conducted in 2013-15 from Llewellyn Falls to the Silver King Canyon. The poison was nuetralized near the confluence of Snodgrass creek. A series of fish barriers were installed within canyon and Piute Trout have been introduced back into these waters above the barriers. You can fish the Silver King Creek up to the confluence of Snodgrass Creek which includes all of the Silver King Valley. The suggested safe wading flows for this stream is less than 300 cfs.

Fishing Regulations (Effective March 1st, 2021)

Silver King Creek below the confluence with Snodgrass Creek:

From the last Saturday in April through November 15, 5 trout daily bag limit, 10 trout in possession; and, from November 16 through the Friday preceding the last Saturday in April, 0 trout bag limit, artificial lures with barbless hooks only and trout must be released unharmed and not removed from the water.

Silver King Creek and tributaries (Alpine Co.) upstream of the confluence with Snodgrass Creek.:

Closed to all fishing all year.

East Fork Carson River to Carson Falls:

From the last Saturday in April through November 15, 5 trout daily bag limit, 10 trout in possession; and, from November 16 through the Friday preceding the last Saturday in April, 0 trout bag limit, artificial lures with barbless hooks only and trout must be released unharmed and not removed from the water..

All other creeks and tributaries:

Fishing Maps Available

Carson Drainage

Silver King Creek