Lake Tahoe Fishing

Resting at 6,230 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lake Tahoe is approximately 22 miles long, 12 miles wide and 72 miles around. Tahoe is famous for crystal clear waters, and beautiful mackinaw and kokanee salmon.  The best time to fish for makinaw is in the winter.  In summer, you'll want to go for the kokonee salmon.  "Macks" weighing 5- 10 lbs make the most delicious eating, in our opinion.  Some macks may be found in shallow water during early season but most are found at the 200 foot level.  A guide is highly recommended if you are fishing for mackinaw for the first time.  The charter fishing expedition operators have morning and afternoon hours.  Toplining and shore fishing is slow overall.

Below are pictures from a makinaw fishing excursion aboard the "Prophet", operated by Tahoe Sport Fishing Co. Click on any thumbnail picture below for a larger image The 8 ounce weight keeps the line down, and the fisherman's job is to bounce the weight off the bottom.  A little practice is all that is needed, and the guides are extremely helpful. The fishing guide baits your hook with fresh bait (minnow), by threading the line through the minnow.  It's not a pleasant task ... and doesn't look like much fun for the minnow. The boat's afternoon catch.  Notice at the sunset behind them.  It looks as though the mountains are on fire! On the way back to port, a guide cleaned and bagged all of the fish for us. Map showing the spot where the most fish were caught that day.

Here are some great places for fishing in the Lake Tahoe area.  Be sure to try them all while staying at the TahoeTarns vacation rental home at Zephyr Cove! The links open pages to detailed information for each place. Est. Distance/Driving Time from Zephyr Cove (miles) (minutes) Boca Reservoir 47.0 67 Caples Lake 38.2 53 Davis Lake 104.8 118 Desolation Wilderness (Eagle Falls T/H) 17.6 31 Desolation Wilderness (Glen Alpine T/H) 17.1 36 Desolation Wilderness (Pyramid Cr. T/H) 24.7 38 Donner Lake 47.3 66 Echo Lakes 19.5 34 Fallen Leaf Lake 16.8 35 Frenchman's Reservoir 92.2 110 Martis Creek Reservoir 37.8 57 Prosser Creek Reservoir 42.3 61 Stampede Reservoir 51.7 78 Sugar Pine Point 26.1 51 Truckee River 36.2 54