Truckee River Public Waters | Matt Koles | E63

Along one of the best stretches of the Truckee River for fishing, a private landowner in Hirschdale has been blocking legal public access by placing no trespassing signs below the high water mark of the river. Longtime Hirschdale resident Matt “Gilligan” Koles, who’s been a fly fishing guide on the Truckee River for more than two decades, has been fighting these illegally placed signs, as well as dealing with aggressive intimidation tactics involving drawn firearms by the landowner. The Truckee is considered a navigable river, meaning the public has legal access to the river below the high water mark. Nonetheless, the illegally placed signs have not moved, and the intimidation has scared most of the public away. In response, last fall, Matt and a group of fly fishing friends formed @truckeeriverpublicwaters – a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to protecting legal public access to the Truckee River. In Episode 63, the boys chat about the importance of the Truckee River, a bit of its history, a little about fishing and a lot about the access struggle community members in Hirschdale have been facing and what we as the public can do to ensure legal access is preserved.