TCO Fishing Report - January 17th, 2025 for the Truckee River, Little Truckee River and Pyramid Lake

The sunny weather has made for some great days on the river, but as expected the bite at Pyramid has been tough this week. Because of the chilly mornings, look to get on the river by around 10:00 to 11:00 as things thaw out for the day and fish through the warmest point of the day. The evenings have also fished well, so long as you can deal with the quick drop in temps once the sun dips over the hill. With the current flows being so good everywhere right now and a serious lack of weather so far, this may be one of those years where we recommend getting after it early, because summer fishing conditions may end up being low and warm. Let’s hope for another big spring, as the biggest addition to last year’s snowpack fell in March.
Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast
The river continues to fish well along most sections. The Glenshire area has continued to kick out some great dry fly fishing most days and they seem to be keyed in on midges primarily. Midge cluster patterns such as a Griffith’s Gnat have been productive as well as individual midge patterns like a para midge or fowler’s midge.
Further downstream, the name of the game would be indicator fishing the slow water using stoneflies, BWO’s and midges. Look for walking speed water, tailouts, bubble lines or slow deep riffles. The Nevada side hasn’t seen the best dry fly fishing yet with these bright and sunny days, the baetis are the main hatch out here and they really hatch en masse when cloudy days are present.
The streamer bite east of Reno on the other hand has been great, with good numbers found on sculpin patterns this week from Lockwood to USA Parkway. Winter fishing on the Truckee is a great alternative for those who plan a trip to Pyramid only to have sunny days and slow fishing.
Little Truckee River Fishing Report & Forecast
The Little Truckee remains accessible and continues to fish well this week. The hatches of baetis have been a little sporadic due to the sunny days, but we’re seeing enough most days to tempt some fish to eat on top. At 124 CFS, you can have your choice of dry fly, nymph or even streamer fishing out here right now. It’s all been good.
We are seeing a good amount of angling pressure out here most days, keeping the fish especially picky, so small drab flies and light tippet will help the cause.
Pyramid Lake Fishing Report & Forecast
With the high-pressure days as of late, fishing out here has been tough. But there are still some good bite windows to be had. These are mostly in the early morning hours, at or just after sunup. This is a great time to really focus on either fishing midges under the indo or put in some serious time stripping. Stripping will be a particularly good option during the low light hours, and midges will be best the rest of the day. On calm days, consider getting out on a boat or float tube to get into some of the deeper water right now.