Another superb east slope trophy trout stream. The Carson River runs in northwestern Nevada and empties into the Carson Sink. Good fishing can be found from the headwaters, through Markleeville and the wild trout section, down to Minden. Much of the river below Markleeville is accessible only on foot or in a raft. No trout are planted here due the wild & scenic designation but the resident trout do quite nicely all alone like that.
The 205 miles Carson River watershed encompasses 3,966 square miles and includes two major forks in the Sierra Nevada in its upper watershed region. James "Grizzly" Adams trapped beaver in the Carson River around 1860, "In the evening we caught a fine lot of salmon-trout (cutthroat trout), using grasshoppers for bait, and in the night killed half a dozen beavers, which were very tame."