Truckee Tahoe Fly Fishing Report November 12, 2021
With great conditions on the river and pleasant weather in the forecast, this should be another great week of fall fishing in the Truckee area. We encourage you to make some time to get out before the weather pattern shifts, as this has been proving to be some of the best fishing we’ve seen in months.
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report and Forecast
The flows continue to stay above the 100 year average this week, quite a nice change from the low water just a few weeks ago! Considering how low the general regulations section of river got, we recommend focusing on the Glenshire stretch down to the Nevada state line and even into west Reno if you have a Nevada fishing license. We have had quite a few reports of slow days on the lower river east of Sparks and we equate this to the low water earlier in the year, we do expect this section to start fishing better when winter starts settling in. Plus, the Lockwood to Mustang area can provide some excellent BWO hatches when conditions are right, but it doesn’t seem to be there quite yet.
Photo credits to Jason Shields for our big brown cover shot, Jeff Sasaki for sharing his talent with a friend, and Scott Keith for his awesome sunset on the river shot.
As the water clarity continues to improve on the California side the streamer fishing slows, but it will remain good in the canyon and through Nevada where water is still slightly stained and temps are a few degrees warmer. Sculpin patterns in olive, black or natural will be best and overall size can vary, but we tend to think smaller is better, at least up this way. The bugs will remain the same for the next few months and using stoneflies, BWO’s, midges, worms and eggs will be a sure bet for now through spring. As for right now, we still have a few October Caddis around and Crawdads dead-drifted can work well too, and we are big advocates for “giving them something different” so continue to play around with your fly selection if the usual suspects aren’t working.
Little Truckee River Fly Fishing Report and Forecast
The Little Truckee continues to be low, holding at just over 30 CFS. We where really hoping to see a change in the flows out here after the first storms of the year, but the water master continues to hold back water in an attempt to raise water levels at Stampede Reservoir. Access to the LT is wide open as any remaining snow on the road has melted, and fishing pressure here has been a light. Even though the crowds have thinned here over the last few weeks, the fish remain very very picky and using light tippet with an accurate fly selection will be necessary. We recommend using unweighted flies such as WD40’s or RS2’s or midge patterns like Don King’s with either a clear thingamabobber or yarn indicator or with a dry dropper set up for best success. The upper parking lot will be fishing best but on busier days fishing in the meadow will be a good alternative if fishing around others isn’t your thing. The inlet into Boca will also be fishing well using indicators or dries when hatches are present in the mornings and evenings.
Pyramid Lake Fly Fishing Report and Forecast
Pyramid continues to see improved fishing this week as fish are beginning to be found consistently closer to shore but with the high pressure system in the forecast this week it may make for some tough days until another storm cycle moves through, so be sure to make those grabs count as any cast could be a 20 pound fish. Both streamer fishing and indicator fishing have been close to equal, and using streamers during low light hours, while indicator fishing when the sun is high tends to be best, but more than anything it’s just about keeping your flies in the water. Remember, when fishing Pyramid this time of year it won’t be a numbers game but rather a game of endurance with the reward being the possibility of the largest trout of your life. We have heard good reports from some of the southern beaches such as Blockhouse, Sandhole and Wino after the influx of water from the Truckee has come and gone but with the amount of fish in this lake and due to the fact that these fish are constantly on the move you can usually find fish at any beach.
Thank you to everyone who attended our first ever in-house fly-tying class last night. We had a great time showing you all some of our favorite “must haves” for Pyramid Lake. Please stay tuned for the announcement of our next class in a couple weeks!
Also in the shop, we are excited to see a number of our gear holiday orders arriving, and we will have a great assortment of gift items this year too with more on the way. So stop in the shop and find that unique gift for the fisher “who has everything”.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner we would like to give thanks to each and every one of you who has supported out small town fly shop, We couldn’t do this without you!
~ Miles
PS - More hats have arrived in the shop!
