May 2nd, Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River, Little Truckee River and Pyramid Lake

Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast

We are in the rollercoaster ride of spring flows right now, seeing flows fluctuate 50-100 CFS any given day. These flows are peaking in the afternoon and dipping to their lowest points in the middle of the night. This is typical of any freestone this time of year and the fish know the routine, not often missing a beat to feed during these months. In fact, you could say it’s just the opposite, they are certainly making the most of these rising flows becoming less discriminate on fly selection with a larger variety of bugs in the system right now. The warming water temps make the fish more active than just a few weeks back. The key is fishing deep enough, using enough weight, understanding what a good drift looks like and

being able to identify the correct holding water. Fly selection will come pretty far down the list of important factors for success.

With the storm systems pushing through the area last week we saw 6+ inches of snow drop here in town. These late season storms tend to come and go, and the snow didn’t even last until the end of the day, melting quickly with the long days and high angle of the sun. This did little to change the conditions on the river, other than temporarily slowing the runoff a bit. Overall conditions are very good right now, with the water remaining clear and not too high. Yes 900 CFS at Farad sounds like a lot of water, but for a river that often sees flows over 3k during spring runoff, this is very manageable and still allows for a lot of really great holding water for the fish. At these flows, the canyon section of the river will be a better bet due to a greater abundance of deep buckets and larger pools, making for more soft water.

As previously mentioned, fly selection is not the most important factor right now, but it is undeniable that there’s certainly some value in it. We’ve been playing the game of big fly little fly, meaning when indicator fishing, we are using a larger attractor nymph such as a stonefly, worm or egg as our top fly and something small(ish) as our bottom fly such as a perdigon, blowtorch, Duracell or the likes as our dropper. With the water being clear despite the increase in flows, we are having the majority of our luck on the little fly. The larger offering remains important to bring attention to the setup, add more weight, and provide the option of the big meal for the more aggressive fish. With the euro nymph fishing really picking up as the fish start to move into some slightly faster water, we are doing the same idea, but just reversing the fly position, bringing the big fly to the bottom of the set up and adding the necessary weight to get your set up down. We have also begun to have some luck with the jig streamers on the euro nymph rig, which is such a fun way to fish this time of year!

Little Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast

The Little Truckee has seen a big increase in flows this week, going from 150 CFS to 300+ over the last couple of days. This will likely throw the fishing off a bit for a few days, likely through the weekend. Once things stabilize, the nymph fishing should be excellent! We have seen the baetis nymphs remain the most consistent producer over the last few weeks, but we are also catching fish on worms, eggs, midges, caddis pupa and PMD nymphs. Having a variety of bugs at your disposal out here is a great way to unlock the code of this picky tailwater on any given day. At 300 CFS, we hope to see the fish spread out a bit more and allow for more areas to provide good fishing, in turn spreading out anglers a bit more as the river gets busier with the nice weather. This bump in flows will likely also push some

fish from the lake into the river and also probably initiate the spawn for the rainbows. Please be sure to avoid fishing to any actively spawning fish, fishing or walking near any redds, or otherwise disturbing these vulnerable fish at this time.

Pyramid Lake Fishing Report & Forecast

As we head into the very tail end of the season out here, this will be our last report on the “Big Salty Pond” for the year.

Wow, what an absolutely incredible season it was for Pyramid Lake. The amount of large fish seen this year was unprecedented and we feel it’s important to give a huge shout out to the Pyramid Lake Piute Tribe for their tireless work on reestablishing the original cutthroat genetics back into the lake and creating such an amazing place to fly fish. We really feel like it’s one of the premier fly fishing locations in the world and we have it right in our backyard! While fisheries are always changing and there’s certainly no guarantee on what the future of this lake and the fish in it hold, we are incredibly hopeful that this is only the start of an amazing comeback story for decades to come!

As for the fishing out here right now, the fish are beginning their post-spawn migration back into deeper water, and fish are now being found in 15 feet of water a bit more consistently. When the fish head back into the deeps, the best way to target them will be to use either a slip indicator and fish midges or leeches, or to use fast sinking lines and strip beetles, buggers, or various streamers to imitate the Tui-Chub, olive over white is always a good place to start for these. These techniques mostly require the use of a float tube or boat to have the best results, and a fish finder will be a helpful tool for not only marking fish and bait, but also for knowing the depth you are fishing and setting your flies just off the bottom with the slip indicator. If you’re shore fishing, focus on the mornings. While the fishing does remain good during the month of May, the crowds will thin out a lot and you can have most of the beaches all to yourself. This makes for a great camping trip with your friends or family, where you are not compromising on the fishing.