I fished the Truckee with a friend on Sat, Sun, and by myself for a few hours today. My friend had never fly fished before this trip so it was kind of a stretch bringing him to the Truckee as a newbie but he picked up nymphing admirably, although he did lose like half my fly box!! On saturday we started by nymphing some deeper, slower water with stones and small baetis droppers. I hooked up with 2 nice fish and my buddy hooked one but we couldn't land a single one! I think they were taking the #18 baetis because we kept losing them on the headshakes. The rest of the weekend was really tough. We tried changing locations and switching up the type of water we fished but it seemed like the fish just took the weekend off. I gave up reluctantly today at around 1pm, ending the weekend with a big ZERO. Maybe the bright skies and low, cold water put them off the bite or something. It was definitely lower than I have fished the Truckee before and the water temp was about 40 degrees. We found tons of golden stones in a variety of sizes from 12-6 hook size. They were crawling all over in the really shallow water near the shore. Other than that the insect activity was pretty sparse. No BWO's at all, a few midges here and there, and thats about it. I did catch a pretty big whitefish but I thought I hooked into a big brown so when I actually saw the fish I was less than pleased about it!! Overall it was a great weekend, no matter what I love fishing the Truckee, it always provides a challenge. If the weather stays consistent the fishing should start to pick up pretty soon. I'll just end this tale with a little quote from Ralph Cutter "Truckee River: The hardest river I've ever fished, and the most fun!" chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
Nice job, bud. Looks like you were doing the right thing. I always check the dreamflows before heading up there right now, it gives the water temps leaving Lake Tahoe.
March was stellar last year, but I think April will be THE month this year.
Hey dtp do you think the truckee will be good in april even if there is a lot of runoff? I don't fish the Truckee too much and I'm wondering how the higher, more colored water affects the fishing. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
Ok seriously, there should be run off this year. Last year there was none, and flows were relatively the same in March as they were the rest of the year.
It will fish fine as long as the temps come up and the clarity is reasonable. I pound big bugs along the edges and banks when the water is higher. Golden stones, green drakes, march browns, etc. A lot of guys go to streamers like the goblin or some sculpin pattern.
Main thing is water temp. Below 43 degrees and you will be working really, really hard for one or two fish. That's just my experience. There is over 3400 fish per mile in there and 55% are BROWNS. Do we catch more browns than rainbows, HAHAHA, No. Big flies = big fish on the Truckee. Look at the monster Arlo caught on renoflyshop.com home page. That is even bigger than the one he got last year they put in CA Fly Fisher.
If it is too high and murky and cold, there are many tribs to hit.
Man . . . April is an aggressive start on the Truckee. Last year, which was an unusual year, it was really July until the river was in shape. My guess for primo fishing this year on the Truckee is June, maybe Memorial Day. I agree, there are some great small streams up there . . . Alder Creek, Independence Creek, Cold Stream and many more on the other side of the summit, let alone a lot more that I know nothing about.
Big bugs and streamers early, good dry fly in June and later. This should be a great year on the Truckee, Little Truckee and Prosser.
wow i just looked at that fish. WOW. thats what i want to get into this yr. freaking wow. that brown is one big (as dtp would say) sonofabitch. well looks like i will have to give the truckee a try this yr as well. that was a beautiful fish.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Overall it was a great weekend, no matter what I love fishing the Truckee, it always provides a challenge. If the weather stays consistent the fishing should start to pick up pretty soon. I'll just end this tale with a little quote from Ralph Cutter "Truckee River: The hardest river I've ever fished, and the most fun!"
