The Truckee/Tahoe area will be seeing its first bluebird days of the new year this week with the 7-day forecast looking perfect for getting outdoors. Most people will be looking to head out to the resorts this weekend and we can pretty much guarantee heavy ski traffic and long lift lines if heading out to any of the major resorts. You know where you won’t be around a lot of people while enjoying a beautiful bluebird day in the Sierra? Yep, you know where I’m going with this…

Truckee River Fly Fishing Report

The Truckee River has come into shape very nicely in the last week with excellent flows and water clarity. Some access here on the California side has begun to pop up, and Glenshire area has one parking area for 1-2 cars right at the bridge as well as a plowed parking area at the Legacy Trail right up the road from the bridge which provides easy access the this plowed trail system running along the river. Further down the hill, Hirschdale has a few areas to pull off around the Little Truckee confluence and around the western offramp but be aware of some no parking signs right underneath the interstate, being kept clear for snow removal.

While there’s still a good amount of snow on the ground in the lower canyon, Floriston and Farad exits will have a handful of parking areas available and with bright days this week, we should river access get better daily.  The Nevada side has very little snow on the ground by the time you get past Verdi and both parking and getting around will be easier down there. With the increased visibility this week, switching back to smaller presentations under an indicator with light tippet will once again be best, so be sure to have a good selection of size 18-20 BWO nymphs and midge pupa to use as your dropper flies, but the fish are still looking at the easy meals such as worms, stones and eggs as well, so these flies are best run in tandem, fishing an attractor with a smaller dropper below. As fish move back into there typical lies now that flows have settled down, we’ve seen the indicator once again do best thanks to its ability to cover greater distances and suspend in the slower slack water where fish will often hold in the winter months. Fishing will be best mid-day, so if you can’t tear yourself away from the ski hill, worry not, getting both skiing and fishing done in one day is certainly obtainable with the best skiing in the mornings and the best fishing in the afternoons!

Pyramid Lake Fly Fishing Report

Pyramid has been fishing very consistently over the last few weeks with good reports of daily numbers, although the sizes have been somewhat lacking so far this year as seemingly fewer big fish have shown us thus far. To be fair, when we say the fish have been a bit small, we are still seeing quite a few fish in the 8-12 pound range, but just less fish around 15 and up. However, we still have the best months ahead of us, with the big fish showing most consistently during the months of February and March.

Earlier this week, Jeff grabbed a nice Pilot Peak and Bruce netted a Summit.

The bite has been good using both indicators and stripping streamers and as always, we encourage you to have both set ups at your disposal for the day to mix up presentation depending on location, time of day or if and when one technique becomes monotonous. The bite seems to be pretty spread out amongst all the beaches this year, and most beaches will have their days. We’ve been fishing mostly from Pelican north, but with the flows settling on the river we should see the mud line along the southernmost beaches such as Popcorn, Cattleguard and Sandhole clear out, and fishing here could really pick up. The influx of fresh water will often push the baitfish down to the south end in search of food flushed from the Truckee, and when the baitfish move somewhere, the cutthroat are sure to follow. Only time will tell how this high pressure system on the horizon will affect the bite, but we would venture to guess that the bite window will likely shift to morning and evening hours or on days with overcast, so plan accordingly!

This week at the shop:

– Fly Tying Friday at 6pm. Free to all, just bring your stuff.
– Saturday is Intro to Fly Fishing, Free to all, bring your questions!.

Thanks, 

Miles

Winter Guide Trips Available
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