Hope you all got some good fishing in this weekend.
I bucked the wisdom of fishing the truckee as a newbie, and went up there anyways on friday night. Got up early and fished the lower stretches a ways below Truckee and didn't get ****! I was with two buddies, and in 4 hours of fishing only one guy got a hit. We were swinging bird's nests and other soft hackles, did some nymphing, and tossed out some EC Caddis. Nada. Talked to another guy out there who was having some luck - apparently he knew what he was doing.
Anyways, after 4 hours of nothing, we were getting discouraged and decided to head to the NF Yuba instead. Got up there at about 3pm on Saturday and fished for the rest of the evening, hit a couple of spots from Sierra City down to near Downievile. Each of us got a couple of fish, mostly in the 5-10" range. While no means big, I'd much rather catch a bunch of dinky rainbows than nothing!
Camped out that night and fished the river again the next morning, catching some more little guys.
Gotta say I love that river. Insanely clear, and so small you can easily wade up and down the river and cover a lot of water. Beautiful scenery as well. I'm glad a couple of you guys suggested the Yuba, had a blast up there.
Were any of you guys up on the Truckee this weekend? What makes the truckee so hard? I don't quite understand why some rivers are easier than others.
Lots of factors can make one river more difficult than another, but you mentioned some things in your post you can look at. First the water visibility. The better the visibility the better the chance the trout will see your fly. There is a downside to this, in that they also have a better chance of spying your fly line or leader, but if the water is turbulent enough they won't notice it. Second is the smaller size of the fish you caught. Smaller fish are stupider than bigger fish. These days, in order to get big a fish has to avoid the artificials and lures and only feed on natural food. They become more discriminating because discrimination becomes a survival skill. Also they are more likely to have been caught multiple times in thier lives, and thus more likely to have learned thier lessons. Probably the most important factor is the ammount of pressure that a body of water gets. Heavier pressure=smarter fish. Fly fishing for trout isn't all about size if you ask me. It's great to catch the big ones, but the small ones can be just as much fun (if not more if you hit a heavy surface hatch). Congrats on not getting skunked on your first trip though!
Truckee's just plain hard. If we knew why it was hard it would probably be easy. Nah some reasons would have to be fishing pressure like Psyfisher said, warm water during these months definitely doesn't help, the river has some really deep holes where the big ones hang out and its hard to get down to them. Truckee's one of my favorites and will reward you with some epic fish if you put your time in. Things get easier in the fall when the weather/water cools down.
Before you beat yourself up too badly, here is a nice fact to know. Two years ago, the World Outdoor Games were held in Reno. It is a competition amongst the world's best in all kinds of outdoor sporting events. The fly fishing competition was held on the Truckee River. The winning angler caught one 10" and 0ne 8" fish over two days of angling!!!!! The Truckee is tough, but you can have big days on it. Covering a lot of water certainly helps. Fish hold in all of the usual spots, behind rocks, etc., etc. I think trout have to take a PH.D. class before living on the Truckee.
Glad you got to hit the NF Yuba. It is a pretty canyon and fishery. I love that place.
Truckee is hard because drag free drift means drag free F'ing drift. Most guys can't get it perfect and that what you need - perfect. And not perfect once in a while, but perfect every single time or you get ignored. There's a few others things to take into consideration, but I ain't spilling all the beans
That said, there are so many big fish in there its ridiculous. Plus there's more browns than rainbows but the big browns aren't caught very often. Arlo at the Reno Fly Shop makes it happen enough to have us guys shaking our heads in awe.
Every river is different, though some may fish similar, but learning the techniques, patterns, entomology, and distribution of fish will make you a successful angler. That just takes time...
I contribute a lot of my success to just being stubborn instead of giving up.
Well, I'm pretty damn stubborn, so hopefully that'll help me in the long run :)
That's f-ing nuts about the World Outdoor Games, oneweight!
I think i'm gonna be hitting up the East Walker labor day weekend, plus maybe hot creek or the owens. Definitely gonna get a guide for a day on that one, sounds like those rivers are pretty tough to fish.
Next time I go to the truckee I might have to throw down and get a guide as well. Seems like it'd probably be worth it in the long run.
dtp916 is a guide, he can take you out on the Truckee and show you a thing or two. Last I heard he has a sale going on from now until August. Check it out here:
Don't be too hard on yourself, everywhere is a bit off right now. I think the fires have something to do with it as well. Smoky air plus it gets so damn hot by 11 a. m. I was just up at the homewaters for four days which I feel comfy about fishing and I had to work my azz off for some fish. One chance at a cover shot fish saturday and I just blew it.
Spncer, If you fish the upper owens let me know I can give a bit of helpfull info. Personnally I dont think a guide is needed there, But then again i had a week to figure it out. When I was on hot creek even the guides were scrachting there heads that day. Stubborness pays off man, I'm the most stubborn, hard headed fisherman around, Never give up bro, Theres a great sense of satisfaction doing it without a guide. everything you need to know is right there in front of you, Just put the peices together. The truckee can't be all that tough guys, I ain't buying it, I guess I'l have to see for myself. Looking forward too fishing it in september if we get together for the trip with Oneweight.
I am currently guiding on Pit River, Upper Sacramento River, NF Feather River, and Deer Creek. Winter time (Nov-early Feb) I will focus on Putah Creek and the NF Feather River.
My shop outfits trips to most trout streams in Northern CA. I can tell you about the Truckee if you need info or a guide, but I decided not to guide there.
Trying to get a handle on it. Got space for one or two more. I'll have to get an idea on what's a good weekend date for everyone. Personally, I'm up for a 3/4 day weekend run.
