Silver Creek in Alpine County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Silver Creek lies in Alpine County, in California. The water sits 6,739 feet up. Start from Arnold, 22 miles down the road. Roseville is the closest city, 72 miles away. Water in the same corner: Mud Lake out at 0.4 miles, Utica Reservoir within 0.7 miles, Union Reservoir out at 1.4 miles, Elephant Rock Lake within 2.1 miles and Summit Lake out at 2.2 miles. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Silver Creek

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Log jams gather bait and everything that eats it. Undercut banks hold fish that the middle of the river never will. Open biodiversity records for Alpine County list brook trout, rainbow trout, great basin cutthroat trout, cutthroat trout and tahoe sucker. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Silver Creek fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put August near 60°F and December near 28°F. The freeze here is occasional rather than annual. It should never be assumed safe, whatever the month says. February into May fishes hardest as the water warms. The season on Silver Creek rarely departs from it. The week either side of a change of season often fishes hardest.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. A camping area sits within half a mile of here. Facilities include toilets around half a mile from here. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Mud Lake sits 0.4 miles off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Silver Creek in what we hold.