July 1, 2022 Fly Fishing Report for the Truckee River Region
This week the summer weather has quickly brought up water temperatures on our local streams, and if you don’t have one, we encourage you to begin carrying a thermometer with you to periodically check temps throughout your time on the river. For a reminder, we recommend getting off the river when water temps reach 68 degrees, as past this point the dissolved oxygen is too low to allow the trout the ability to recover after being caught and you risk causing a delayed mortality. If you have any more questions with regards to this, please feel free to reach out to us at the shop and we are happy to help. While we haven’t reached the 68-degree mark on the Truckee yet here on the California side, we have had reports of 70 degree waters in the lower river in Reno. This message is meant to be more of a preemptive warning more than anything and as of now the river is fishing very well, so take advantage of this fact and get some fishing in before the flows and temps become an issue later this summer.
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
Tying into the last paragraph, we have been seeing water temps up into the low-to-mid 60’s in the late afternoons and this has made fish really put on the feed bags as their metabolisms speed up. Last week we saw great hatches of yellow sallies and PMD’s throughout the day and in the evenings the caddis and golden stones have really kicked in to gear so if you’re heading out in the evenings, you’ll want to have a few of these adults on hand if the occasion arises. On any low-pressure days, you still have a good shot at some dry fly action on green drakes, and what they lack in consistency they make up for in size so don’t get caught without these in case they decide to present themselves.
While the river is still mostly a nymphing game, this is the time of year where the dry fly angler has some good shots at finding some noses. We have seen fish stage mostly in medium speed riffles and pocket water at this point, and often in relatively shallow water. This is where tight line nymphing techniques will really shine, but you can still certainly get the job done with the bobber as well, either way the name of the game will be using a good amount of weight to get down quickly in the faster water but fishing deep will be less important at this point. With an abundance of bugs around at the moment, we recommend starting with a stonefly nymph with a smaller dropper/point fly such as a caddis pupa, PMD or baetis, and if you’re not having much luck, keep on switching bugs, weight and water types until you find a consistent pattern.
Little Truckee Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
The Little Truckee has seen a small drop in flows and as of today is sitting at around 115 CFS. Water temps have started to warm up here as well despite it being a tailwater fishery. On the lower section of river we’ve had reports of temps of 60 degrees in the afternoon – but this is not a big concern at the moment but worth noting. At some point again this year we anticipate seeing temps reaching the 68-degree mark as Stampede becomes lower and less cool water is available at the bottom of the reservoir. Fishing pressure here has been a significant factor and for those looking to fish here we recommend focusing on mornings, and preferably mid-week for the best fishing with the least likelihood of crowds. As a whole, we are in the busiest time of year and we encourage you to look elsewhere when fishing for the day to give this fragile fishery a much needed reprieve from any undue pressure if you wish to see it continue to fish well in the coming years.
Local Still Water Fly Fishing
Summer is here and now is the best time to get out and take advantage of these long days by doing some exploring. This will also help out our rivers, doing your part to help spread out the ever-increasing pressure put on our easily accessible water, and the payout is seeing and learning new areas while fishing to less pressured fish, ultimately making you a better, more well-rounded angler. Day hikes and back packing is a great way to truly see the many options the Tahoe National Forest has to offer and find true solitude in a beautiful mountain setting. We have hundreds of lakes within an hour’s reach of town and the lakes found near Jackson Meadows Reservoir, around Grouse Ridge, the Desolation Wilderness and Gold Lakes basin are full of trout, some of which may have never seen a fly. If you find yourself getting frustrated when getting skunked on the river time and time again, consider thinking out of the box and trying something different like still water fishing. We are still planning on doing a lake fishing clinic this summer and we are currently waiting on finalizing our TNF permit before we announce these classes, so stay tuned!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by last week during our annual Anniversary Celebration. Congrats to our three winners of the raffle too. Watch our Instagram page @troucreekoutfitters to see who won and what they got from us. All the donations went to our partners at Clean up the Lake so that they can keep doing what they do, in the lakes and rivers of our region.
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