After a mostly dry and warm spring, we have seen a significant amount of snow drop early in the week and as of today there are still even some patches here in town. We are also seeing a cooldown for this week with 2 more days of light precipitation. Every one of these days means more water and cooler water temps when we need it most during the summer. This early spring gave us a taste of some great fishing and once things warm back up again, we should see things kick right back into gear!
April 17th Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River, Little Truckee River
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, Drakes 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 flow regime on the Truckee has changed a bit this week with more water coming from up higher in the system and a significant decrease in flows out of Boca Reservoir. As of Wednesday, 4/15 we are seeing 300 CFS coming out of Lake Tahoe, which is above normal for this time of year. This is likely due to the early start of the season causing the lake to fill up earlier coupled with the seemingly conservative releases from the lake over the last year. There also appears to be a good amount of water coming out of Martis Creek right now too based on what we can see from the USGS gauges (there is no gauge at Martis Creek dam). Due to these factors, we are seeing the Glenshire gauge reading around 725 CFS. Lastly, we are seeing the flows drop out of Boca, stepped down over the last week from 550 CFS to under 100 as of today. What does this mean for fishing the Truckee right now? Focus on two sections here on the California side or give the Nevada side a go. Here in CA, we would recommend trying down in the canyon where flows have dropped < 1,000, down from 1,200, or try the upper river along Highway 89, where there was a good bump in flows and we’re seeing ideal conditions for this section. The Nevada side has also been fishing quite well along most of it’s stretches and provides a lot of excellent areas to check out for this time of year. As for the bugs of choice this week, it remains much the same with worms and eggs providing consistent action for your attractor nymph and dropper flies imitating baetis or march browns picking up those fish that are a bit less aggressive. The streamer bite has also been good and using the tight line set up to present them with more of a dead drift has worked best. As we head into spring, we are also seeing the crawdad bite really start up, and these are an absolute staple for tight line techniques here on the Truckee throughout the summer!
Recommended Flies for the Truckee River
Little Truckee Fishing Report
The Little Truckee remains high this week, but has dropped a bit, sitting at +/- 350 as of today. This is high, but still normal for this time of year. At these flows you will need to remain somewhat selective as to what runs you should be fishing, but there will be quite a bit more available than last week when it was 650 CFS. With the surge in water over the last few weeks, we have seen good populations of fish moving up from the lake and into the river, which has improved fishing. As we see the flows continue to drop, we should see the first sign of spawning fish out here. Because this is a tailwater, this typically happens later in the year than the main river and will likely ramp up over the next few weeks. It will be important to keep an eye out for redds and avoid fishing to or near spawning fish. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about this! As for flies out here right now, the usual suspects will once again fish will and there should be a big emphasis on worms, baetis and midges right now. Other outliers would be skwalas, march browns and caddis, which we see less of, but are still a good option to mix it up with. We are seeing the fish resume their typical top water feeding habits with good dry fly fishing daily now, mostly on baetis. There are two types of BWO’s around right now, the typical size 20-22’s as well as a larger, darker one, around a size 16. In general for the LT, you will likely find better luck on the smaller imitations, and typically fishing the emerger stage. This should also be coupled with light tippet, down to 7x for best results.
Recommended Flies for the Little Truckee River
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!
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