July 15, 2022 Fly Fishing Report for Truckee River and surrounding areas
With daytime temps in the 80’s and 90’s for over a week now, the dog days of summer are officially here, and trout fishing will be best reserved for the mornings when water temps are at their lowest. We have been seeing the temps on the Truckee River hitting 66 around noon and this is a good target time to be off the water by as the fishing will slow mid-day anyways. Please continue to keep your thermometers handy during this time, be sure to land fish quickly and minimalize handling to ensure a strong release and avoid potential delayed mortality for exhausted fish unable to recover due to low dissolved oxygen in the water.
Truckee River Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
As mentioned, the Truckee has been seeing temps exceeding 68 degrees daily and as of now we strongly encourage you to get an early start on the water and calling it a day around noon or when your thermometer reads 68 degrees. With that said, the river is fishing very well this week, and we’ve seen good numbers of smaller fish particularly active, with a few larger fish in the mix. We continue to be doing best on smaller offerings such as PMD nymphs in a size 16-18, caddis pupa in a 14-16 and yellow sallies in a 14-16, mixing in a few BWO’s, Stoneflies and crawdads, oh yeah, don’t forget about the crawdads!
We’ve seen a few molted craws this week, which is most certainly a dinner bell for the larger fish in the river, and fish have been taking them swung, dead drifted or tight lined. We’ve bolstered up our fly inventory on these and currently have a good selection of these clawed crustations, stop in! The fish have mostly been found in medium to fast water speeds and in 3-4 feet of water, so tight lining riffles, pocket water, and the tops of runs will be especially effective during this time of year. Dry droppers with a big foamy hopper like a Chubby Chernobyl will be a good way to work this water as well and can be a stealthier approach with the current clarity of the water right now.
Little Truckee Fly Fishing Report & Forecast
The Little Truckee saw a minor increase in flows this week from 42 to 50 CFS, and while this is nice to see, we still encourage you to fish elsewhere during this time to give this fragile fishery a break while conditions are less than ideal. A combination of low water, warm water and heavy fishing pressure can decimate a fishery, and this river has seen it’s fair share of these factors over the last few years. Remember, the Little Truckee is open year-round for fishing and you have free reign to this beautiful area most times of year, in an effort to preserve this excellent fishery we ask you to be cognizant of these factors when deciding whether to fish out here or not.
Local Still Water Fly Fishing
This has been an excellent start to the backcountry fishing season as we continue to see mostly smoke-free skies, beautiful weather and cool water temps at most of our high-country lakes, keeping trout active. This is the best time of year to check off that bucket list golden trout trip or just try for a day hike to one of your favorite spots for some brookies. This is also a great way to give the fish found in our rivers a reprieve as water temps begin to become an issue. Still water fishing in our lakes near Truckee remains fair as Stampede and Prosser have a good mixed bag of trout and bass being caught both off the shore and on float tubes, primarily while fishing under an indicator or with streamers on sinking lines. The lakes around Jackson Meadows are fishing very well for trout due to the slightly higher elevation and these are other great places to visit with a boat or tube. We just received our float tube order from Outcast and currently have good inventory on these. We expect to sell through these quick this year as the river warms.
Lastly, don’t discount the warm water species such as smallmouth, largemouth and carp as these guys are only getting more active as temps warm. Carp in particular, have been a shop favorite for years, and if you think you’re a good angler we encourage you to try your hand at this style of fishing and prepare to be humbled. These fish are spooky, hard to hook on flies, and incredibly hard fighting. These tackle busters are a great way to practice for your next destination trip for bonefish or redfish and will definitely up your game.
Hope to see you guys Saturday night at the Fly Fishing Film Tour event in Truckee. We still have discounted tickets at the shop for $20, or you can get them at the door for $25. Matt Heron is putting on a big raffle to help raise more funds for getting kids on the water. Join us!
Link to Guided Fly Fishing info