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Wednesday, December 12, 2018

TruckeeTrout Unlimited 103 Completes Wild Trout Habitat Enhancement Project on the Truckee River


After the success of recent fish habitat projects in Truckee River watershed and 2 years of planning, Trout Unlimited Chapter and Staff completed a large-scale fish habitat improvement project this Fall on the main stem of the Truckee River at Horner’s Corner, also known as “The DFW Loop.” This project, aptly titled the “Truckee River Fish Habitat Enhancement Project” constructed 3 major rock structures which greatly increased the available habitat for large adult fish and available fishing opportunities in a quarter mile long stretch of river.

The Truckee River itself is a mecca for anglers from all over that want to fly fish for abnormally large brown trout and rainbow trout in crystal clear mountain water and this project put new structure in the river that provides the best possible habitat for these large specimens.



This project materialized in 2016 to build off of momentum from previous Trout Unlimited fish centric projects. Horner’s Corner was identified as a suitable site for fish habitat by TU and CDFW staff. The site itself (on the upstream stretch of the loop) was devoid of natural habitat because of previous human usage in the form of logging and ice trade and rarely held large catchable trout.


The project went into construction in October 2018 and three large rock structures were placed in less than a week. These three rock structures completely changed the composition of the project site and created prime fishing spots in areas that previously had none. In addition to the rock structures, a few dozed boulders were placed throughout the project to create even more holding water, especially in the lower flows of late summer when fish need a place to escape to hold in deeper, cooler water. After construction was complete over 85 volunteers came out and helped put the finishing touches on the project by decommissioning illegal roads and building trails to help focus human usage on this stretch of river. 








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