One of my favorite Places to Fish.....

....is the Upper Little Truckee between 89 and Webber Lake, but I am not sure why.

I have never had "great" days there, with a lot of fish or "big ones".
Never caught a hatch going off.
Never found some "secret" hole loaded with hungry fish.

But I love it.

Maybe it is the combination of meandering along a clean little creek that is not very far from the road and doing it, for the most part, alone. Because of the distance I do not get over there much but the four or five times I have fished that area I believe I have counted two other folks fishing! There were probably a few others but it is a long enough stretch of water that dozens of people could fish it and have plenty of space.

I imagine right now (May 12) the road is still covered in snow and the fish are probably pretty lethargic. But this will pass and I will try my best to get there one more time to walk and cast and walk and sit and eat a small lunch, maybe drink a small beer and wonder why that little creek calls to me.

I guess it is not really much of a mystery as I caught my first wild trout in a tiny creek behind my house in West Marin (Yes, it was a trout and not a baby steelhead...in that creek) and have always felt at home beside tumbling waters, surrounded by brush and trees. Creeks I can step across in some spots. Creeks that hold so much life, not just the fish but the animals that know the banks and trails....fox, bear, deer, badger, cats and birds.

The funny part to me is that when I start to think of fishing again in the Spring my first thoughts move to those bigger waters I also love...Hat, Fall, Pitt, NF Yuba, Feather...those places I have caught bigger fish and a lot more of them than the Little Truckee. But slowly my head turns a little inside out and I start to think of "where" I want to fish and not "what" I want to catch.

Maybe I will make it to the ULT this year. Maybe just one more time, so I can ponder and catch a brookie or two.

We will see.

Nice Bob

What rod do you like to use and what flies on the ULT?




I have a funny story about the ULT river.

Maybe 20 years ago a rancher/farmer up that way told me he ran some anglers off his property.

He said that the ULT ran through his property and it was closed to fishing private property.

He said these folks told him that you send them there? He told me to stop sending folks up there.



I am not sure if any of that ULT is open to the public or all private.


Several different friends of mine used to keep a trailer and boat at Webber Lake some years ago.

Past Webber Lake is Milton Reservoir which is small and very fickle.

Hi,
The road is still covered in snow. The sno mo trailhead will be moved to the Independence Lake turnoff this weekend. Webber was still ice-bound as of Tuesday. Snow depth at Webber is 8 feet in places (in the campground). But there are dirt patches too. It won’t be too long!

The land trust I work for as well as USFS have acquired several parcels in Perazzo - there is a lot of public land/land trust land open to the public along the upper little Truckee!

I have fished that section over the years as well. Above and below the campgrounds. I think the tough issue with that section of the ULT is that it gets so dewatered by the middle and end of summer, that is it a trickle by August. Very pretty looking water though. I believe that section still gets plated trout earlier in the summer.

Bob, where did you grow up in West Marin ? I used to firefight for Marin County Fire years ago, logged many shifts at Hicks Valley and some at Woodacre station.

Bob

So it appears there are two sections of private in between 89 and Weber

Attachment 19017



One is from 89 to 39.49674, -120.28206

Attachment 19018


And the other has a big chunk owned by the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which may be accessible to the public?

Attachment 19019

The rest is private , starting from the east @ 39.49138, -120.31059
to 39.49414, -120.31698, where the TDLT land starts and then ends at 39.49413, -120.33889


And yes, still lots of snow up there. but it looks like the river is clear in a few spots.. here is a sat image from 5/11

Attachment 19020

Creek season will be late this year, and probably short! Enjoy it, it's also my favorite time of year. I now do most of my fishing in Idaho and Wyoming, my favorite creeks open there only on July 1 but likely won't be fishing well till mid-July this year given the snowpack. I'd love to scratch my itch sooner on some of the tributaries of one of my favorite rivers here in CA, but I think they will be in runoff at least as long based on their topography. Some of the foothill creeks here in CA this year will likely be fishing well now and probably better than normal given the higher water.

Yes the Truckee Donner Land Trust lands in Perazzo and Webber Lake are open to the public. Neither are accessible by car yet. USFS is plowing Jackson Meadows road to the West Perazzo access this upcoming week. We hope to get Webber car accessible around Father’s Day.

My favorite place is Milton. Hoping to be there in a few weeks if the snow is gone.

I used to fish some of the creeks in the American River drainage. There used to be some excellent fishing with some large fish in these small streams. Access favored the physically fit angler. The last 2-3-4 years or the drought had many of these streams/ creeks with little or no water, and the fish populations suffered dramatically. Being a mid sixties adult who has had 4 knee surgeries, my days of making major hikes for the hopes of fish are now behind me I hate to admit.

We needed this winter badly. The sacrifice of good early season creek fishing versus the long term health of the creeks and watersheds is well worth the trade off. Hopefully this is the beginning of a good rebound for all of our fisheries. As well, what are usually the dog days for our mountain streams, I.e. July and August, might be out top fishing months this year!

Bill,

The rod I have used the most when fishing the ULT proper is an older #2 Scott. Not much casting needed on that little stream. But when I have fished Perazzo I tend to use my #5 bamboo, made by Frank...? Truly my favorite rod of all time.

As for flies: Anything that seems right at the time! Everything from "Bivisble" to "copper john".