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Thompson Creek

Santa Clara County, California. Thompson Creek midpoint in San Jose, California. Thompson Creek ends in San Jose, California.138 feet (42 meters) 14.11 miles long (22.70 kilometers)

About The Thompson Creek

Thompson Creek is a River located in Santa Clara County, CA. Starting in San Jose, CA the Thompson Creek flows 14 miles through San Jose, CA before ending in San Jose, CA. The Thompson Creek rises to an elevation of 138 feet. Find maps, fishing guides, weather and recreation information at Guidesly.
 

About Thompson Creek, CA

Thompson Creek is a stream near Sonora and the city of San Jose in Santa Clara County, California. It is a tributary of Coyote Creek via the Lower Silver Creek and parallels it to the east. It is also one of the major components of the Coyote Creek watershed. The water body starts from the Diablo Range near San Felipe Road and flows in a northwest direction. It is located 2.7 miles from Alum Rock. The stream also goes by the name “Dry Creek”. 

Its tributaries include the Cribrari Creek, which joins the stream meandering approximately 4 miles downstream. Other tributaries such as the Yerba Buena Creek joins the stream after 1.5 miles while the Evergreen Creek joins Thompson after another half mile. The stream continues as a natural channel for about another mile and is then joined by Fowler Creek, another tributary. Quimby Creek then joins half a mile downstream and Norwood Creek meets it at the confluence with Lower Silver Creek. Its other tributary is Ruby Creek.

The creek also features a gravel trail that runs for about 4.4 miles. The area around provides plenty of opportunities for hiking, camping, fishing, cycling, and wildlife viewing. 

Thompson Creek Fishing Description

All About Fishing in Thompson Creek, CA

Fishing in Thompson Creek provides you with plenty of opportunities of catching largemouth bass, spotted bass, and rainbow trout species, which are the most popular catches here in the area. The stream is said to be seasonally dry, but you may still find fish species such as brown trout, common carp, silver carp, chinook salmon, chub, rudd, goldfish, and grayling while angling here. There have also been reports of sighted bluegill, minnow, gudgeon, three-spined stickleback, and zander fish species. Eel species may also be found occasionally here. 

Ideal fishing techniques used here would be baitcasting, surfcasting, and fly fishing. Most fish species lurk at a shallower depth, such as the chub, grayling, rainbow trout, brown trout, silver carp, and three-spined stickleback species. Others tend to dwell on deeper parts of the water, such as the bluegill, common carp, goldfish, gudgeon, minnow, rudd, and zander fish species.

Note that you may need a fishing license before you can fish out here in the stream. The state offers annual fishing licenses, and you can get short-term licenses such as the One-day Sport Fishing License or Two-Day Sport Fishing License as well. You may get more information regarding this from the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife website.

Thompson Creek Seasonal & Other Description

Fishing Seasonality

The best times to fish in Thompson Creek would be at 3 AM, 9 AM, 11 AM, and 3 PM, which are generally epic bite times in the stream. You may also try angling here during 2 AM, 4 AM to 5 AM, and 10 AM. While drought could hinder you from having decent catches, you may still try under good weather conditions throughout the year. You can fish for brown trout and rainbow trout species best along the month ranges of April through November, which is the state’s fixed trout season. You may also try fishing here during the warmest months, from early June to mid-October, when the fish become more active in freshwater areas.

Temperature and Optimal Seasons

Fishing Seasonality

The best times to fish in Thompson Creek would be at 3 AM, 9 AM, 11 AM, and 3 PM, which are generally epic bite times in the stream. You may also try angling here during 2 AM, 4 AM to 5 AM, and 10 AM. While drought could hinder you from having decent catches, you may still try under good weather conditions throughout the year. You can fish for brown trout and rainbow trout species best along the month ranges of April through November, which is the state’s fixed trout season. You may also try fishing here during the warmest months, from early June to mid-October, when the fish become more active in freshwater areas.

Thompson Creek Fish Species

All About Fishing in Thompson Creek, CA

Fishing in Thompson Creek provides you with plenty of opportunities of catching largemouth bass, spotted bass, and rainbow trout species, which are the most popular catches here in the area. The stream is said to be seasonally dry, but you may still find fish species such as brown trout, common carp, silver carp, chinook salmon, chub, rudd, goldfish, and grayling while angling here. There have also been reports of sighted bluegill, minnow, gudgeon, three-spined stickleback, and zander fish species. Eel species may also be found occasionally here. 

Ideal fishing techniques used here would be baitcasting, surfcasting, and fly fishing. Most fish species lurk at a shallower depth, such as the chub, grayling, rainbow trout, brown trout, silver carp, and three-spined stickleback species. Others tend to dwell on deeper parts of the water, such as the bluegill, common carp, goldfish, gudgeon, minnow, rudd, and zander fish species.

Note that you may need a fishing license before you can fish out here in the stream. The state offers annual fishing licenses, and you can get short-term licenses such as the One-day Sport Fishing License or Two-Day Sport Fishing License as well. You may get more information regarding this from the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife website.