west carson

[rouleur35]

I was curious if anyone fishes the west carson much. If so where are the areas and is it a wading river or bank fishing.

thanks,
tom

[smokeater]

I don't know it well, but I did fish it for the first time last month when I drove up and found the east Carson blown out. Access is pretty straight forward, you can park there where the river passes under 89 and walk either up or downstream. As far as wading or bank fishing I would say that since it's so narrow it would be best to bank fish because when I was there it seemed so tight that you were practically right on top of fish and the rocks make it difficult to get a long drift so I found myself casting more to specific holes and doing quite a bit of sight fishing. There are spots where you can wade but with such a small stream it seemed bit too tight to be able to wade and not spook the fish you just found. A shorter rod like a 8' or 8'6" 4 weight would probably be well suited to the conditions you'll find there.

The best advice I can give you is to walk a long ways from your car to get away from crowds. It seemed like once I located some fish the gear guys would come along and set up directly across and proceed to cast right on top of me. It was really aggravating!

[El Rey]

The river is pretty skinny this time of year. You don't really need to wade. The meadow section west of the Hwy 89 bridge is wide open and easily accessed. From Sorensen's downstream through the canyon it can be a little more difficult. Just find a pull-out and scamper down the bank. The fishing is actually much better in the canyon.

[Mike O]

I don't know it well, but I did fish it for the first time last month when I drove up and found the east Carson blown out. Access is pretty straight forward, you can park there where the river passes under 89 and walk either up or downstream. As far as wading or bank fishing I would say that since it's so narrow it would be best to bank fish because when I was there it seemed so tight that you were practically right on top of fish and the rocks make it difficult to get a long drift so I found myself casting more to specific holes and doing quite a bit of sight fishing. There are spots where you can wade but with such a small stream it seemed bit too tight to be able to wade and not spook the fish you just found. A shorter rod like a 8' or 8'6" 4 weight would probably be well suited to the conditions you'll find there.

The best advice I can give you is to walk a long ways from your car to get away from crowds. It seemed like once I located some fish the gear guys would come along and set up directly across and proceed to cast right on top of me. It was really aggravating!

Start popping false casts over their heads until they get the message.