Fall Fish Festival Canceled

The Fall Fish Festival will not be held in 2022, due to limited staffing capacity. A limited number of field trips are available Wed-Fri. Please call the visitor center at 530-543-2674, during open hours to schedule. Fall visitor center hours are Fri-Sun, 8-4 p.m. through Oct. 24, 2022.

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The Fall Fish Festival focuses on a variety of fish species that live in Lake Tahoe and its rivers. In addition to the Kokanee, these species include the federally threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout and little-know smaller fish, such as speckled dace.

The Taylor Creek Visitor Center is located three miles northwest of the City of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89. Join the fun and participate in this free family event, which has become one of the most fascinating educational and wildlife viewing events in Northern California!

The festival encourages participation by children and their parents in a wide variety of educational and entertaining activities, that over the years has included:

• Fish Painting
• Educational Booths
• Streamside Information
• Mascots - Lulu the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout and Sandy and Rocky Salmon
• A visit from Smokey Bear!
• Giant inflatable Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (sponsored by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

 

• Educators may call the Taylor Creek Visitor Center (530) 543-2674, beginning in September to reserve a ranger-led conservation education program and field trip. 
• Programs and field trips are designed for third grade classes, Monday through Friday during the month of October.
• All other grades are welcome to take a self-guided tour to see the spawning salmon. 
• We offer additional information to assist educators including the Educator’s Pre-visit Packet and the Kokanee Cycle Club Coloring Book

Bears

Black bears are omnivores and opportunistic eaters.  Salmon are a natural food source and feeding on the spawning salmon is a positive behavior for bears. Biologists and wildlife managers prefer bears forage on natural food sources instead of seeking out human food sources from picnic tables and unsecured garbage cans.

The Forest Service does not encourage visits to see bears and advises the public to stay away from bears, as they are wild animals and dangerous. When in bear country it is important to stay on trails, and if you do spot a bear, keep your distance and never approach the bear for any reason, including a photo opportunity.

For more information on living in and visiting bear country, visit TahoeBears.org.

Background Information the Kokanee Salmon of Lake Tahoe

The Fall Fish Festival celebrates the dramatic and colorful spawning behaviors of the Kokanee Salmon, where a close-up look at this natural display is available in Taylor Creek and the Stream Profile Chamber.

The Kokanee, landlocked cousins of the sea-going Sockeye Salmon, were introduced to Lake Tahoe in 1944 by biologists working on the lake's north shore. These predecessors of today's inhabitants quickly adapted to the alpine environment, joining brown trout, rainbow trout and Mackinaw among the most prominent game fish in Lake Tahoe. However, no other species in Lake Tahoe offers such a spectacular show during their mating season.

Each autumn, nature calls mature Kokanee to return to the streams from which they were hatched, select a mate, spawn and die.  As that time approaches, adult males develop a humped back and a heavy, hooked jaw, equipping them for the inevitable battles over both mates and territory, and both sexes turn from their usual silver/blue color to a brilliant red. Then, en masse, the fish make one mad dash to their mating grounds, fighting their way up the shallow stream, displaying their colors to attract a mate, then battling to protect the small patch of gravel stream bed where they make their "redds" or nests.

Along the stream banks, the autumn aspens, willows and grasses will be as brilliant as the display in the creek below.  Almost as dramatic as the story of life and death being played out in the water are the colorful combinations of orange, gold and red as the vegetation prepares to shed their foliage in anticipation of winter. Throughout the Festival, Interpretive-Naturalists will be on hand to explain the forces of nature that cause these annual displays.

Whereas most Forest Service wildlife programs focus on land animals or birds, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has created a unique educational program to view the Kokanee Salmon in their natural habitat. For those that cannot make it to the festival the Kokanee Salmon can typically be seen in Taylor Creek throughout the month of October.

For more information on the Fall Fish Festival, contact the Forest Service office in South Lake Tahoe at 530-543-2600. Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.