Prosser Creek Reservoir California Fishing, Boating, Camping

The Prosser Creek Reservoir is a large lake in California that is great for year round fishing, boating and camping. There is a dam at one end that makes for other adventures. Visitors can experience recreation that is only limited by the imagination. The scenery is spectacular, allowing for campers and hikers to also join in the unique experience of relaxation by one of the Washoe Project's finest lakes.

After its completion in the 1960's, California's dam at the Prosser Creek Reservoir was set to make the area into a recreation hot spot. Tourists and locals pour in every year in the hundreds, seeking out the best fishing spots, revving their boat engines for a slow jaunt passed the dam, and pitching a tent of or two along the scenic shoreline, under the cover of fir trees and the beautiful mountains that surround it.

The reservoir and its dam are amongst some of the Washoe Project features, a year round location, covering some seven hundred and fifty acres of water storage and an eleven mile shoreline. During the winter the reservoir is covered in a thick sheet of ice, perfect for ice fishermen. Access is via California 89 north, just outside the town of Truckee.

Fishing is one of the highlights of Prosser Creek. Fishermen can enjoy power baiting, using inflatable night crawlers and other lures during the spring to the fall, even sometimes in the winter. The best areas to catch the many types of trout are by the boat ramps, the creek inlets and the dam. Trolling is better for the other areas, using needlefish, hum dingers, sparkle fish, cripplures and rapalas lures. Some fly fishermen find that quiet contemplation and old fashioned leeching and the use of Clary buggers are more successful from inflated and floating inner tubes. Occasionally fishermen will encounter bass, which are best caught by anglers and boaters along the shorelines with trout bait or more traditional lures. The best time for bass is during the summer months and into the fall.