Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast

The Truckee suddenly decided to become a dry fly river this week as we are seeing oddly consistent hatches. These hatches consist of PMD’s and yellow sallies, a smattering of green drakes and carpenter ants as well as good evening hatches of PEDs and caddis.

We believe this is the healthiest that the Truckee River has been in some time based on what we’re seeing in terms of biodiversity and the health of the trout populations. The schools are now out and summer vacation has officially started for most. The river has been very busy this week, even during the middle of the week. This is likely also due to the high water on the Little Truckee pushing even more anglers towards the main river. However, we are fortunate to have a very long river system, all of which can be productive with a little know-how. There is certainly a lot of good fishable water to be had for those willing to hike just a bit further than most.

While water temps are continuing to trend upward, we are still seeing it top out at just under 60 degrees at the Farad gauging station and just under 64 degrees at the Sparks gauging station. We are expected to see a significant cold front come in this weekend and this will certainly drop these highs down for the short term. This dramatic dip may also throw the fishing off for a few days, but it should be very short lived. For those still fishing the lower river (I.E. Lockwood, Mustang, Patrick) we are quickly nearing hoot owl restrictions down here, and anglers should be sure to carry a thermometer with them, calling it quits if water temps exceed 66 degrees. For anyone fishing Reno and up, we will still likely have a few more weeks of blissfully good conditions before we need to keep an eye on the water temps.

As you may expect, the fish are sitting in fast water this time of year, and anglers should be focusing on riffles and pocket water right now. Yes, this means it’s a great time to bust out the euro nymphing rod and pick apart this water type with greater efficiency. As flows continue to drop in the upper river, we are seeing the section of river along Highway 89 become a bit tough to fish, with limited holding water at this time. Even Glenshire Drive has become a bit skinny, but is still fishing quite well overall. Keep in mind that this is one of the most popular sections for fishing, however, and you may very well be fishing around others if you choose to spend the day here.

Due to the heavy releases out of Stampede, we are also seeing a lot more water than normal coming out of Boca as well, and today the Little Truckee below Boca Reservoir is putting in 700+ CFS to the main river. This will mean flows are still over 1,000 CFS down in the canyon. While this is quite a bit of water for this time of year, the river still remains fishable, and overall is actually fishing quite well. The key here will be to use a lot of weight and fishing deep while still focusing on the faster water. The advantage of fishing this part of the river is the lack of angling pressure right now compared to being upstream, and this is typically where you will find the true Truckee River trophies.

Little Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast

The Little Truckee remains very high this week, running at the abnormally high flows of 570 CFS. This will make fishing out here tough, to put it kindly. It appears these extended high flows are put into place to drain Stampede so that the dam can get worked on this summer. That means that after these incredibly high flows, we will see it followed up with incredibly low flows.

Odds are the LT will be unfishable most of the summer, and anglers should look to fish elsewhere this year. We are very fortunate to have Boca Reservoir below this tailwater, providing a vital refuge for these fish during these extreme water events, and odds are we will see the river recover quicker than one may expect. At least that’s the hope.