Donner Lake Community and Recreation Whether you’d like to go for a brisk swim or simply relax and soak in the sun, Donner Lake’s inviting, crystal-blue waters reach an average temperature in the summer of 76°–six degrees warmer than Lake Tahoe.
Is Donner Lake good for fishing?
Fishing at Donner Lake The lake has a reputation for producing bigger Mackinaw than at nearby Lake Tahoe. Most people fish from boats, but they have to be wary of afternoon winds. The lake is stocked with kokanee salmon and rainbow trout.
Is Donner Lake stocked?
PowerBait or ice jigs will work well, and Donner Lake is among the best ice fishing lakes in California, thanks to its high elevation, year-round fishing season, and ample trout to catch. If it’s rainbows you want, check out the best rainbow trout fishing lakes in California.
When can you fish in Donner Lake?
It is three miles long and about ¾ miles wide with a surface area of approximately 1.5 square miles. The maximum water depth of Donner Lake is 328 feet with an average depth of 108 feet.
Is Donner Lake stocked with fish?
The sequence of pictures below documents the release of rainbow trout into Donner Lake during a morning hour on August 22, 2012. A fish truck— its tanks containg 8,000 rainbow trouts—arrived from a Sacramento fish hatchery at the boat ramp in the northwest corner of the lake.
Can you fish Donner Lake year round?
Courtesy USDA Forest Service. Locally known as “Catfish Pond,” this green pool of water at the top of Donner Pass in the Tahoe National Forest is home to dozens of small, whiskered catfish. Catfish are not native to the Sierras, nor are they naturally found at such high elevation (approximately 7,000 ft.).
What is the depth of Donner Lake?
Any person, 16 years of age or older, must have a valid California or Nevada sport fishing license to fish in Lake Tahoe. Surrounding lakes and streams require a license for the state in which the person is fishing.
When was Donner Lake stocked?
Though a handful of companies have harvested crayfish in Lake Tahoe over the years — and sold to restaurants in Reno and Tahoe — there are currently none in operation. But for those still interested in tasting Lake Tahoe’s crayfish, fishing for personal consumption is allowed on both sides of the state line.
Are there catfish in Donner Lake?
Truckee River Season open year around, any hour of the day or night, except in that portion from Derby Dam downstream 1,000 feet, which is closed to fishing.
Do you need a license to fish in Tahoe?
NOW Open from May-September. Prior to a watercraft being launched into Donner Lake for the first time for the season, the owner or operator must submit a self-inspection form to the Town of Truckee and obtain an inspection sticker for the watercraft.
Can you eat the crayfish in Lake Tahoe?
Today Donner Lake is approximately 2.6 miles long and . 75 miles wide with a maximum depth of 230 feet and an average depth of 108 feet. Snowmelt provides the majority of inflow to Donner Lake with the water level now controlled by a man-made dam built in 1928.
Is Truckee River open for fishing?
The lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout.
Can you put a boat on Donner Lake?
This river is one of the most heavily fished waters in the state, supporting between 60,000 and 100,000 angler days per year. Anglers can fish for rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish, and largemouth bass (in lower sections).
Is Donner Lake man made?
Fishing – Kings Beach has a shallow shelf which requires a good distance away from shore to reach deeper waters. While the fishing is not spectacular at Kings Beach, fishing is allowed.
Is a lake trout a char?
Persons may spearfish for unprotected fish in all Nevada waters except Lake Tahoe and Topaz Lake.
Can you fish in Truckee?
A Donner Party member murdered two people for use as food. Indeed, when the duo was found days later, exhausted and lying in the snow, a hiking party member named William Foster shot both of them in the head. The Indians were then butchered and eaten by the hikers.
Can you fish at Kings Beach?
The swim is a 2.7 mile swim that starts at Donner Memorial State Park on the East end of the lake and ends at West End Beach.
What happened at Donner Lake?
Donner Creek is a stream near Truckee. The most popular species caught here are Rainbow trout, Brown trout, and Black bullhead.
Is Donner Lake swimmable?
Lake Tahoe has some of the best inshore fishing in the country, and to the delight of fisherpeople it’s happening year round! Lake Tahoe fishing features a variety of hotspots, including Lake Tahoe itself and other nearby lakes (such as Pyramid Lake and Donner Lake), the Truckee River and streams and tributaries.
Is Donner Lake warmer than Tahoe?
Boca Reservoir is the perfect fishing destination for catching salmon and trout. You’ll find rainbows, brown trout and Kokanee salmon here. Ice fishing is popular during the winter months.
Are there fish in Donner Creek?
Divers, Shore-based Anglers: Open year-round.
How is the fishing in Lake Tahoe?
Closed to all fishing above Carson Falls. From Hangman’s Bridge (south of Markleeville) downstream to the Nevada state line, there is a minimum size limit of 14 inches and you must use artificial lures with single barbless hooks.
What kind of fish are in Boca Reservoir?
Whether grilled or smoked, Lake Tahoe fish make for a tasty treat if prepared well. Rainbow, brown, Mackinaw and Kokanee. If you landed one of these fine Lake Tahoe fish, a delicious meal awaits.
Is lake Spaulding open for fishing?
Regulations – Limit is 5 game fish. The capture, possession, or use of baitfish, whether dead or alive or the parts thereof, other than preserved salmon eggs and commercially prepared and preserved baitfish is prohibited. Aquatic bait may be used only in the water from which it is taken.
Are barbless hooks required in Lake Tahoe?
Fred Jackson (left) and Justin Pulliam (right) of Tahoe Lobster Company pose with Richard Massey last fall on the Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe. Business owner Jackson earned a permit to commercially fish the lobster-like crayfish last summer.