South Lake Tahoe

Suggested Flies for South Lake Tahoe:
Sierra Tahoe Hatch Selection

Other Local Favorites:

Dries:
Clark's Little Yellow Stonefly #12-16
Yellow Madam X #12-14
Stimulator #6-12
Royal Trude #12-14
X-Caddis,Olive #14-18
Elk Hair Caddis #14-18

Directions:

The Upper Truckee River can be reached from Hwy 89 out of the town of Meyers, just south of South Lake Tahoe. A road known as Upper Truckee Road will turn right off Hwy 89 about 3 miles south of Meyers and take you to the trailhead where the road intersects with the Upper Truckee River. A trail follows the stream up to it's headwaters' lakes.

Notes:
A couple tributary streams off the Upper Truckee are worth noting. Trout Creek is a small meadow stream with Rainbows and Brookies in the 6-9 inch class. You can reach this from Pioneer Trail off Hwy 50. The upper reaches of Trout Creek tend to be overgrown with Alder, your best bet is to fish the narrow meadow section. Saxon Creek is also a small tributary stream with a number of meadows. Brookies and Rainbows in the 6-9 inch class exist here. Access is by way of Pioneer Trail to Oneida Road.

The Upper Truckee River is mostly within an urban residential environment as it flows through the cities of Meyers and South Lake Tahoe. Although there are fishing opportunities within this setting, the best flyfishing occurs in the upper reaches of the Upper Truckee. Most of the fish within the Upper Truckee are rainbows in the 7-10 inch class, Brookies are slightly larger up to 12", and Lahonton Cutthroats have been reintroduced to the headwaters portion of the river, also in a 7-10 inch class. Large rainbow spawners make their run up the streams in the lower sections of the Upper Truckee from Lake Tahoe in the Spring.
The Upper Truckee is a freestone stream with small pools and runs. It holds a wide arrangement of insect hatches such as Little Yellow Stoneflies, Caddis, and Mayflies. The Upper Truckee is open from July 1st to September 30th.

Fishing Regulations (Effective March 1st, 2021)

Tahoe Lake tributaries upstream to the first lake:

Saturday preceding Memorial Day through Sept. 30. Artificial lures with barbless hooks. 0 trout.

Tahoe Lake:

Open all year, five trout daily bag limit, 10 trout in possession.

Tahoe Lake within 300 feet of the mouth of its tributaries:

Saturday preceding Memorial Day through Sept. 30. Artificial lures with barbless hooks. 0 trout.

All Lakes and Reservoirs:

Open all year. No restrictions. 5 trout per day. 10 trout in possession.

All other creeks and tributaries: