Webber Lake

Suggested Flies for North Fork Yuba River:
Sierra Tahoe Hatch Selection

Streamer Flies:
Woolly Bugger #4-10
Marabou Muddler #4-10

Nymphs:
BH Hares Ear #12-16
Birds Nest #12-16
A.P. Nymph #10-16
Pheasant Tail Nymph #14-16
Little Yellow Stone Nymph
Golden Stone Nymph #8-12
Copper John #12-16

Drys:
Royal Wulff #14-16
Buzz Hackle #10-16
Yellow Humpy #10-12
Olive Elk Hair Caddis #12-16
Little Yellow Stone #12-16
Gold Stimulator #6-10
Royal Trude (#6-12)

Directions:

From Junction of I-80 and Hwy 89 in Truckee, go north on Hwy 89 , 11 miles to Little Truckee River Bridge. Take Fibreboard Road for 8.7 miles to Webber Lake.

Notes:
Webber Lake (2600 acres at 6800 feet) might be the birthplace of sport fishing within the Sierra. Dr. Peter Webber stocked this natural lake in 1860 and built a hotel along it's shores. He sold the property to the Johnson Family in 1870 and they had maintained the lake as a private fishing camp for over 100 years. During those early years, the Henness Pass Road was completed to bring supplies over the Sierra to the California gold fields and Nevada silver mines. The Webber Lake hotel was a favorite stoping place for stages and freight haulers. In 2012, the Johnson Family sold the property to the Truckee Donner Land Trust and the lake became available to the public for the first time. The lake has a history of fish stockings of Rainbows, Browns, and Brookies. At one time, the lake was reknowned for the trophy sized trout that were caught in it's waters. However, those large behemoths are gone and most of the lake has small rainbows as the CDFW has been planting 8" rainbow stockers for the past 7 years. Starting in 2017, CDFW has been planting Lahontan Cutthroat fingerlings in the hope of making this a native fishery. The lake has good tributary spawning areas with Lacey Creek that feeds Webber Lake and the lake has some deep sections of over 40 feet. The fishing regulations are standard with no gear restrictions. There are a good amount of weed beds along the bottom with an abundance of red shiners and good hatches of midges, caddis, and mayflies. The lake is best fished from either a pram or float tube. There are currently about 40 campsites available and the cabins and hotel are being considered for restoration.

Lake of the Woods: A small, shallow lake at 7,427' elevation. An easement to this lake was acquired by Truckee Donner Land Trust in 2010 from Sierra pacific Industries and the lake has become a popular destination, particularly on the weekends. There are lots of weeds around the shore, best to use a float tube. There are approximately 15 camping spots with fire pits and picnic tables situated along the shoreline.  There is no piped water available.  This lake generally opens later in the spring as it sits at a high elevation and takes longer for winter snows to melt to gain access.   Camping is free and on a first come - first served basis. The lake has both public and private property.  Fire restrictions may be different depending on whether you are on the public Forest Service campground or the private property. Lake of the Woods is another TDLT project that offers a nice little campground and good Cutthroat fishing. Contains Browns, mostly 10-12 inches, however, Lahontan Cutthroats have been stocked recently.

Upper Little Truckee River: The Little Truckee River starts from Webber Lake and Perazzo Creek. Most of the flow from the Upper Little Truckee is diverted to Sierra Valley at a small diversion dam that is located two miles from Hwy 89 along Fibreboard Road. This diversion has been taking place for over 140 years. This diversion has changed the river below with wide, easily erodable banks, and low stream flow resulting in high water temperatures during the Summer. Above the diversion, the river channel is narrow and the banks are well vegetated. There have been impacts to the river above the diversion dam with introduced beaver in 1945 eliminating many of the streamside aspen and cottonwood trees. Cattle have been grazing within this section of the river since the mid-1800's and many of the banks have had substantial damage. The USFS is trying to restore the Perazzo Meadows using a "plug & pool" method to retain more water to these meadow areas. The river mainly holds wild rainbows. However, during the Fall, large Browns and Kokanee Salmon will migrate out of Stampede Reservoir and migrate upriver.

Coldstream Creek: There are actually two named creeks in this vicinity. One stream comes off the northern slopes of Mt. Lola. This stream has had a long history of providing trout to the local ranchers and farmers. The first stocking of Webber Lake were from trout taken out of Coldstream Creek. There are plenty of gravel beds to support spawning and has a healthy population of Brookies. Sculpin, Rainbows, and Brown trout exist within the creek but in very low numbers. The other named creek is below Little Truckee summit. This Coldstream Creek receives the water diverted from the Little Truckee Diversion dam and flows onto Sierra Valley for irrigation purposes. There is a campground along this creek known as Cold Creek campground and Rainbows are plentiful within this section.

Bonta Creek: Bonta Creek is located approximately 4 miles south of Sierraville. Brook trout live in the deeper pools of this creek, which were created by the beavers.

Haypress Creek: The headwaters of Haypress contain brook trout in the 6-8 inch range.

Fishing Regulations

Webber Lake:

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

All other Lakes:

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

Upper Little Truckee River:

Last Saturday in Apr. through Nov. 15. No restrictions. 5 trout per day. 10 trout in possession.

All other creeks and tributaries: