It really feels like spring in Truckee this week with temps in the 60’s this weekend, and even potentially hitting 70 in the middle of the week. These next few weeks will likely be some of the best conditions the Truckee and surrounding rivers will have for the foreseeable future given the mild winter. While the early start of spring has us a bit worried about later in the summer, all we can do is make the best of what we’ve got and get after it now.
March 13th Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River, Little Truckee River and Pyramid Lake
Spring Half-Day Guided Floats
Trade the long wade for a spring float on the Truckee. This is one of the best windows of the year, Skwalas and Baetis bringing consistent dry fly chances and higher flows setting up the kind of streamer water this river is known for. Spring can bring some of the most exciting fishing of the year, and our guides know how to stay ahead of shifting conditions. It’s a short season, book a half-day float and make the most of it.
Truckee River Fishing Report
The flows on the Truckee have stabilized since last week’s report, and we are seeing the Farad gauge holding at around 900 CFS with water temps warming up to 45 degrees. The warming temps will likely initiate the rainbows to begin spawning, so please remain aware of redds and avoid targeting spawning fish. If you are unaware of what a trout’s redd looks like, please don’t hesitate to reach out, we are happy to explain. As the water continues to clear up, fishing a streamer will be a bit tougher of a sell, at least here on the California side. That said they will still be a good way to head hunt the larger fish, just be sure to fish quickly, covering water to find the aggressive fish. We have also heard reports about a few fish being caught on crawdads this week. We prefer to dead drift them with the tight line set up but fishing them under the indicator or stripping them on a sinking line are also good choices. With the clear water this week, we had some of our best luck on baetis nymphs once again and we’ve been paring these under either a worm, egg or stonefly nymph imitating a skwala. There have also been some drake and march brown nymphs around as well, so don’t be afraid to mix in some larger flies such as duracells, blowtorches, frenchies, etc. This is the time of year where the fish are beginning to really wake up from the winter doldrums and start to feed aggressively, so it’s up to us as anglers to capitalize on this! The weather and conditions are all aligning this week, and we highly recommend you take advantage.
Recommended Flies for the Truckee River
Little Truckee Fishing Report
The fishing on the Little Truckee has been good as we see a variety of hatches around all at the same time. Right now, the winter stones seem to be the dominating bug out here, but with midges, baetis, and skwalas around as well, both the fish and the angler have some choices this week. The flows have been stepped down a bit over the last week, starting as high as 200 CFS and sitting today at 125 CFS. They have also shut down the flows coming out of Boca dam to begin filling up the lake for the spring, so we will certainly see lake levels come up over the next couple of months, which will create a constantly changing inlet. So, for those of you that like to fish this area, where you find fish one day may not be the same as the next. While the fish on the LT don’t necessarily spawn at the same time as the fish on
the main river, we are still at that time of year, so we are asking that you remain aware of where you’re wading right now and avoid stepping on or near redds. Please also leave actively spawning fish be and give them plenty of space to do their thing.
Because the winter stones (In fact, all stoneflies) hatch along the edges of the stream, instead of midstream like mayflies and caddis, there is no clear “hatch window” right now, when dry fly fishing is best. This is both a good and a bad thing, it allows for the possibility of good dry fly fishing during any point in the day, but there may not be those crazy flurries of activity that one would see during a baetis or PMD hatch.
Recommended Flies for the Little Truckee River
Pyramid Lake Fishing Report
With the early start of spring, the fish at Pyramid have already begun their yearly migration into the shallows, and we are seeing large schools of fish start to hang out in inches of water in search of suitable areas to do their deed. While this is always a lot of fun to watch, it doesn’t typically make for great fishing as they often become “lockjawed” when the begin this behavior. There will still be plenty of fish still hanging out in the deeper water as of now, and these are the ones you would be targeting if heading out here. We still have a few good weeks of fishing out here, but it’s hard to anticipate a very good shore bite in April with how quickly things are warming back up. Using midges under the indicator or stripping bugger/beetle combos will be the best methods to find fish right now. For midges, try some smaller sizes, something like 12-14. If the bite proves to be really tough, consider mixing in some of those curveball bugs such as duracells, copper johns, etc. You never know! As the fish move into shallows, try some of the beaches with more gradual drop-offs such as The Nets, Windless or Separator.
Recommended Flies for Pyramid Lake
Check the Flows Before You Go...
Trout Creek Outfitters Clearance Rack!
Before you go, take a moment to explore our end of summer blowout sale featured on this Clearance Rack. It's a great opportunity to find quality gear at reduced prices, perfect for adding to your kit or trying something new. You might just hook a fantastic deal!
Watch Doug Ouellette Break Down Pyramid Lake Beetle Retrieves on YouTube!
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