Bridgeport Reservoir

Bridgeport Reservoir floods the north end of Bridgeport Valley at about 6,500 feet, held back on the East Walker River just north of town. Built in 1924, it covers up to about 4,000 acres when full and is shallow and rich, which grows big rainbows and browns. The East Walker below the dam is one of the best known tailwaters in the state.

The south end, where the river and the creeks come in, and the shallow flats around it fish best in spring and fall on leeches, chironomids and damsels; the bigger browns come into the shallows in late fall. The reservoir drops through the summer for irrigation, and the shallow water warms and grows weed. Statewide trout rules apply to the reservoir; its tributaries have their own.