February 17, 2023 Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake
The longer days and above freezing temps have begun to open up access along the Truckee here in California. For the savvy anglers, this means we look for areas that have been previously inaccessible in search of fish that haven’t seen a fly in months.
The lower river down in Nevada has continued to fish great as the lower elevation makes spring fishing feel that much closer than up the hill. Pyramid has also continued to kick out some great fishing with some of the most consistent action of the year thus far. The longer days have made the midges hatch throughout most of the day, and these “elephants” definitely love their peanuts. We are now at a month away from the official start of spring, and with a banner snow year, we remain very optimistic of great summer fishing this year, but don’t feel like you must wait until then to find some excellent fishing.
Healthy Truckee river brown trout release this week
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
With good hatches of Baetis beginning to show in the lower river east of Sparks, the Skwalas nearing emergence here in California, and the big aggressive fish looking more regularly at a well presented streamer, there are a lot of good ways to find fish on the river right now. While using nymphs under an indicator will still remain the most consistent day to day, the dry fly bite in the lower river has begun and will get better as we head into spring … and then there’s chucking streamers in search of “the one”. Though the emergence of Skwalas is still a few weeks out, now is a good time to begin using the nymphs as an alternative attractor nymph to worm or egg patterns as we have seen some starting to show when flipping rocks this week.
Flipping rocks is getting interesting!
The streamer bite has been getting better and better as water temps continue their warming trend and the large fish in the river are a bit more willing to chase a well presented baitfish imitation. This will be especially effective in the evening hours when temps are at their highest for the day and the light is no longer directly on the water. If in doubt, fishing size 18-22 Baetis nymphs or midge larvae on light tippet will be a good way to get numbers throughout the day. As always, when nymph fishing or chucking streamers just be sure you’re using ample weight and fishing deep to find those fish hunkered down on the bottom of those deep runs.
Scott's 20+ Brown with some serious choppers
Pyramid Lake Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
The lake has been fishing very consistently over the last few weeks, and for those waiting to plan their trip to this destination fishery, the next 2 months will really be your best shots at great fishing. As for those that live a little closer and are just doing a day trip here, we have seen a window of good fishing in the afternoons, typically from around 12-4. So while you’ll still see a lot of hardcore anglers fishing from sun up to sun down right now, if you only have a half day to fish out here don’t let it stop you from getting out. They may catch a few more fish, but you’ll definitely be warmer, drier and less burnt out at the end of the day. This lake can be a grind at times, but the casual fisherman can still have a great day out here just the same.
The midges have taken over as the main fly when fishing under the indo, especially towards the afternoons, but we are still catching our fair share of fish on leeches. Paring both a midge and a leech on your setup will give the fish an option, and is how we prefer to fish, but some days the 2 midge set up reigns supreme. If going with the dual midge combo, be sure to use appropriately weighted flies to the conditions, I.E. wave height and amount of current, and use split shot to keep you down if necessary. The strip bite has been great in the late evenings when the additional movement of your flies is more likely to trigger a strike. Early mornings both methods have been equally effective, but either way you choose be sure to fish shallower as fish will mostly be high in the water column at this time of day.
The shop of full of gear and we’re having a customer appreciation sale at the shop this holiday weekend. If you didn’t get the email, you’re probably not on the list yet. That said, if you come into the shop and want to get $10 bucks off your purchase of $50 or more, just ask!